Chelsea player ratings vs Leeds: Enzo Fernandez keeps Blues’ season alive! Under-fire midfielder heads Calum McFarlane’s men into FA Cup final as Joao Pedro makes huge difference
Manager-less Chelsea earned the right to salvage something from their waning season by battling past Leeds in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley on Sunday, courtesy of Enzo Fernandez’s first-half header. Interim head coach Calum McFarlane can now prepare to lead his side out against Manchester City in the showpiece in May.
Chelsea looked completely revitalised following Liam Rosenior’s midweek sacking and the return of top-scorer Joao Pedro to the starting line-up, but it was Leeds who had the first clear sighting of goal as Robert Sanchez produced a sublime save to deny Brenden Aaronson one on one a quarter of an hour in.
The Blues snatched the lead midway through the first period, just moments after Pedro had smacked the inside of the post. Pascal Struijk’s error was seized upon and Pedro Neto’s clipped cross set up an easy header for Fernandez for what proved to be the only goal of the game. There was a flashpoint shortly afterwards, as Dominic Calvert-Lewin – himself the victim of a hair pull against Manchester United recently – controversially escaped a red card after a VAR check despite appearing to yank Marc Cucuralla’s curly locks.
Leeds predictably flew out of the traps in the second half, but Chelsea came through a flurry of chances unscathed – most notably a fierce drive from Anton Stach that was pushed away by Sanchez and the German’s free-kick that flashed just wide. The Blues held on, and McFarlane can now look forward to testing himself against Pep Guardiola for the second time this season in the final.
GOAL rates Chelsea’s players from Wembley…
