The match report from Chelsea's FA Cup semi final with Leeds United at Wembley Stadium on Sunday afternoon, as the team book their place in the final
On Sunday afternoon, Chelsea faced Leeds United at Wembley in the FA Cup semi final, a repeat of the 1970 infamous game between the two sides.
For the task at hand, Calum McFarlane opted for an XI of; Sanchez; Gusto, Tosin, Chalobah, Cucurella; Caicedo, Lavia; Neto, Fernandez, Garnacho, Pedro.
Within the first 30 seconds of the game, Leeds had managed to mount a dangerous attack, forcing Moises Caicedo to commit a foul on the edge of the box. Fortunately, the free kick came to nothing.
After 13 minutes or so, Leeds had a one on one opportunity after a Trevoh Chalobah slip, but fortunately Robert Sanchez made a big save with his leg to deny Brenden Aaronson.
With just over 20 minutes on the clock, Enzo Fernandez slipped Joao Pedro through on goal at an angle, with the Brazilian smashing a left footed strike off the near post.
Just a minute later, Chelsea would take the lead. Pedro won the ball back in the middle before releasing Pedro Neto down the right, from there the Portuguese winger crossed the ball in for Fernandez who nodded the ball into the back of the net.
From there, the Blues gained a lot of confidence and finished the half strongly, though the scoreline remained 1-0.
Just sixty seconds into the second half, Anton Stach, who made his return from injury at the interval, forced a seriously good save from Robert Sanchez after the ball fell to him on the edge of the box following a corner.
Then, just a minute later, Chelsea should have made it 2-0. A brilliant team move resulted in Fernandez finding Pedro inside the box, but he did not get his shot away quickly enough, and was eventually dispossessed. Simply had to do better and get his shot off much quicker.
Not long before the hour mark, a threatening cross from Noah Okafor was met by the unmarked Dominic Calvert-Lewin, but his header was straight at Sanchez in the Chelsea goal. A warning sign.
However, after that, the game was seen out really well. Leeds had some possession and territory, but did very little with it, and Chelsea were very comfortably defending out of possession.
Despite eight minutes of stoppage time, McFarlane's side saw the game out very easily, and booked an FA Cup final showdown with Manchester City on Saturday, the 16th of May. Let's see what happens.
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