Calum McFarlane embarrasses Liam Rosenior as Chelsea beat Leeds United
The FA Cup final awaits Chelsea after the Blues managed to surpass an in-form, well-drilled Leeds United side at Wembley on Sunday afternoon, and Calum McFarlane deserves praise.
Going into the game, Chelsea fans will have been concerned about their side’s chances. The Blues had gone five Premier League games without scoring, losing all five, and had sacked their manager.
Liam Rosenior’s stint as Chelsea manager ended with a whopping 12 losses in 23 games, despite a decent start in which the former Hull and Strasbourg manager picked up six wins in his first seven matches.
DISCUSS: Sanchez should be Chelsea’s no.1 next season…
Calum McFarlane is a big fan.
Despite that, Calum McFarlane managed to guide his side to a 1-0 win over Leeds at Wembley. Typically, it was Enzo Fernandez that scored the only goal of the game – the man Rosenior banned while manager.
Calum McFarlane embarrasses Liam Rosenior in one key area
Not only did Rosenior lose 12 of his 23 games in all competitions, but the Englishman could only manage four clean sheets. Two of those came against lower opposition in the FA Cup: Port Vale and Hull City.
Chelsea conceded 38 goals during Rosenior’s spell, more than 1.5 a game. As long as that continued, Rosenior was never going to be a success. It meant Chelsea would have to score two or more per game.
But in his first game back as caretaker manager, McFarlane managed to do what Rosenior failed to do on 19 occasions in charge. A superb clean sheet, which his players fought hard for against a good Leeds side.
Does McFarlane have any chance of the permanent Chelsea job?
It feels incredibly unlikely that McFarlane will be given the chance to lead Chelsea beyond the remaining five games of the season. Chelsea have added another fixture to the calendar, the FA Cup final.
Chelsea’s player ratings v Leeds: Do YOU agree?
Gusto and Sanchez excellent!
But should McFarlane guide Chelsea to four wins and secure European football of some description come the end of the season, and combine that with an FA Cup trophy, fans may start to consider McFarlane.
One thing is for sure. Chelsea, on Sunday, looked much more organised, much more dogged and ready to fight than they did in the last few weeks under Rosenior. A solid win and a great start for McFarlane.
Next up for Chelsea is a return to Stamford Bridge and a clash against relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest, who smashed Sunderland 5-0 away from home last time out. Another tricky game for McFarlane.
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox
