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What must Liam Rosenior have made of this? After being sacked as Chelsea\u2019s head coach on Wednesday, his former players showed all the commitment that was missing during his four months in charge to battle their way past Leeds courtesy of a winning goal from \u2013 surprise, surprise \u2013 Enzo Fern\u00e1ndez.<\/p>\n
Only eight years ago, Rosenior\u2019s interim replacement Calum McFarlane was an assistant coach for Isthmian League side Whyteleafe. But even if he does not yet own a pro licence, McFarlane has now become the first English manager since a certain Frank Lampard to reach an FA Cup final, where they will face treble-chasing Manchester City next month. The irony that it was Fern\u00e1ndez \u2013 after being dropped for two matches by Rosenior for fluttering his eyelids at Real Madrid during the last international break \u2013 that came up with the decisive goal after 23 minutes was surely not lost on his predecessor.<\/p>\n Leeds, who were backed by an army of fans that had made the trip from West Yorkshire hoping to avenge their defeat to Chelsea after a replay in the 1970 final, tried valiantly to respond. But Daniel Farke\u2019s side Robert S\u00e1nchez in top form for once as the much-maligned goalkeeper pulled off a string of saves to end their hopes of reaching a first final since 1973 and make it no goals from their last four visits to Wembley. For the record, Eric Cantona in their 1992 Community Shield victory over Liverpool remains their most recent one.<\/p>\n Despite their poor record here, there had been plenty of optimism among the Leeds supporters as they made their way up Olympic Way in the April sunshine after an unbeaten run of seven matches that has steered them closer to Premier League safety. A banner referencing their song Marching on Together was unveiled in the end behind Lucas Perri\u2019s goal before kick-off. \u201cAt least until the world stops going round,\u201d it read, while the Chelsea fans who had been chanting for Lampard\u2019s return on the tube gave a nod to their infamous meeting here 56 years ago with a line from the Suggs song Blue Day on theirs at the other end. \u201cWe\u2019ve got some memories. Albeit from the 70s.\u201d<\/p>\n Released in 1997 when Chelsea went on to win their second FA Cup when Ruud Gullit was in the dugout, that may be slightly outdated these days. Yet the avalanche of trophies they picked up during the Roman Abramovich era must also seem like a distant memory after the last four years under the ownership of BlueCo. McFarlane, whose managerial debut was a creditable draw with City at the Etihad back in January after the departure of Enzo Maresca, now has an opportunity to win a first domestic trophy since their FA Cup triumph in 2018 when he was still working in non-league football. \u201cMaybe at the end of the season reality will hit,\u201d he said afterwards. \u201cBut there\u2019s so much that\u2019s coming thick and fast that you don\u2019t even have time to take it in, honestly.\u201d<\/p>\n Even if Leeds made the more positive start, it soon became clear that this was a different Chelsea team to the one that lost so meekly against Brighton in midweek to hasten Rosenior\u2019s departure.<\/p>\n