Enzo Fernandez heads Chelsea into FA Cup final after narrow victory against Leeds

[p]This was the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/chelsea/4fGZN2oK/"]Blues[/a]’ first outing since they sacked manager Liam Rosenior on Wednesday following a run of seven defeats in eight matches (W1), with interim head coach Calum McFarlane tasked with finding an improvement against a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/leeds/tUxUbLR2/"]Leeds[/a] side unbeaten in their previous seven games (W4, D3).[/p][p]McFarlane would have been encouraged by his team’s confident start, but the first big chance of the game fell to the Whites in the 15th minute, when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sanchez-robert/Q74F6aqr/"]Robert Sanchez[/a] denied [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/aaronson-brendan/0GqS59FE/"]Brenden Aaronson[/a] with his boot after the forward was put through one-on-one.[/p][p]Chelsea's top goalscorer [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/joao-pedro/CAmJERl2/"]Joao Pedro[/a] (G19) returned to the starting line-up after missing the past two games due to injury, and the striker came even closer to an opener when he fired against the inside of the post from a tight angle.[/p][p][b]The Blues had failed to score in their previous three matches, but they ended their drought in the 23rd minute when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/neto-pedro/lxtnUkIP/"]Pedro Neto[/a] crossed for the unmarked [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fernandez-enzo/nZnbEVWP/"]Fernandez[/a] to head home his 13th goal of the season across all competitions - and the skipper’s first since he was dropped by Rosenior last month over comments about his future at Stamford Bridge.[/b][/p][p]This was Leeds’ first FA Cup semi-final since 1987 and their players were perhaps overawed by the occasion, with Chelsea fully deserving their half-time lead.[/p][image alt="Match stats" id="267bf6b4-da2d-4411-a762-ceec7e220338" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="3c6f12cf-bbe1-48be-8156-7676f2041491" original-width="1200" original-height="1200" /][p]Leeds boss Daniel Farke made a double substitution and switched to a back four at the break in an effort to turn the tide, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/stach-anton/h8i6ur8L/"]Anton Stach[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rodon-joe/vskyBpSR/"]Joe Rodon[/a] replacing [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/justin-james/vqYXNUDI/"]James Justin[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bijol-jaka/0CykEP51/"]Jaka Bijol[/a].[/p][p]Stach almost equalised with his very first touch when he unleashed a thunderous effort from outside the box, requiring Sanchez to parry over the crossbar, before Pedro failed to make clean contact from six yards out and the ball bobbled wide.[/p][p]Leeds were looking much more threatening, and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/calvert-lewin-dominic/0WmBe6U2/"]Dominic Calvert-Lewin[/a] headed straight at Sanchez shortly after.[/p][p]Despite their second-half improvement, the Whites failed to find an equaliser and they have now lost 1-0 on all three of their visits to the new Wembley.[/p][embed guid="11794535-ec83-4501-a236-e322005f548f" url="https://x.com/EmiratesFACup/status/2048432144473628949?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]Their wait for a first FA Cup final since 1973 goes on, and attention now returns to confirming Premier League safety in the final four games of the season.[/p][p]In contrast, eight-time FA Cup winners Chelsea have the chance to salvage some silverware from a disappointing campaign in the final on May 16, and remain unbeaten against Leeds in this competition (W7, D3).[/p][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fernandez-enzo/nZnbEVWP/"]Enzo Fernandez[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/chelsea/4fGZN2oK/"]Chelsea[/a])[/b][/p][h2][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/chelsea-4fGZN2oK/leeds-tUxUbLR2/?mid=Yq4Gr64S"]Catch up on the match with Flashscore[/a][/h2]