Chelsea booked their spot in the final of the FA Cup after a hard-fought 1-0 win over Leeds United in their semifinal clash at Wembley on Sunday.
The Blues, who were without a manager and had interim coach Calum McFarlane at the dugout, following Liam Rosenior’s departure in midweek, booked a spot against Manchester City in next month’s final.
Rosenior had been dismissed after a poor run of form which had seen the West London club lose seven of their last eight matches across all competitions and also five consecutive matches in the league without scoring for the first time in 114 years.
However, they continued their impressive cup run with an impressive performance, with Enzo Fernandez scoring the decisive goal of the encounter.
Chelsea started the brighter side and Fernandez fired straight at Lucas Perri, before Brenden Aaronson was denied by Robert Sanchez for Leeds.
Joao Pedro then struck the post, before the breakthrough came in the first half when Fernandez headed home from a Pedro Neto’s cross.
Both sides created several chances to score in the second half, with Leeds piling more pressure as they targeted a response, but Sanchez was in brilliant form to repel every of their attempt.
Chelsea held on to seal a 1-0 win and booked their return to Wembley, where they will now face Manchester City in the final on May 16.
The Cityzens had defeated Southampton 2-1 in the other semifinal clash on Saturday, coming back from a goal down to beat the Championship side.
Finn Azaz had given the Saints a shock lead, but goals from Jeremy Doku and Nico Gonzalez saw the Premier League side advance to their fourth consecutive FA Cup final.
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