Fernandez and Chelsea rediscover their groove ...a little too quickly

After Argentine sends Blues back to Wembley for a shot at a trophy many are left questioning where was this performance when players apparently downed tools under Rosenior

Mon, 27 Apr, 2026 - 01:44

Chris Hatherall

FA Cup semi-final: Chelsea 1 Leeds United 0

Chelsea’s interim head coach Calum McFarlane is targeting five more wins to change his club’s season after reaching the FA Cup Final with a gritty 1-0 win over Leeds United. But there remains an uncomfortable feeling that Sunday’s performance at Wembley made what went before even more unpalatable.

Enzo Fernandez’s winning goal, headed home superbly after 23 minutes in an all-action performance that earned him man of the match, secured Chelsea a crack at Manchester City on 16 May, with an opportunity to guarantee European football next season should they lift the trophy.

That’s huge in a season in which the same players have lost five Premier League games in a row without even scoring a goal, a run which earned McFarlane’s predecessor Liam Rosenior the sack after only three months in post.

That run also leaves them sitting eighth in the table with the possibility of dropping even lower should Brentford secure a result at Old Trafford on Monday night.

It’s no wonder that commentators, and some fans, greeted the victory over Leeds by asking: where was this team when we lost 3-0 at Brighton on Tuesday?

But, nevertheless, it could yet prove to be an important turning point for the club as it searches for a new manager and aims to somehow find a way into Europe against the odds.

McFarlane said: “It was important for us to win and break the momentum and form we were in – and I think it completely changes the feeling within the group. It gives us confidence going into the next five games. We want to win every single game from now until the end of the season and that includes the final.”

The 40-year-old, who also took over as caretaker when Enzo Maresca was sacked, can take pride in the decisions he made to set up victory over a Leeds side that smelt blood and was convinced it could come out on top.

He went for Tosin Adrabioyo at the back to snuff out the threat of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and, most importantly, handed the captain’s armband to Fernandez.

This is the player, remember, who was given a two-match club ban by Rosenior for making comments to the media that seemed to hint he was open to a move to Real Madrid – and who subsequently found himself without the armband when he returned.

The winning goal came after 23 minutes and was well worked, Pedro Neto swinging over a pacy cross that Fernandez met perfectly, arriving between two defenders to head home emphatically.

It proved to be the game’s defining moment because Leeds, despite all their energy, pressing and physicality never really looked like equalising after Robert Sanchez had made a fine save to deny substitute Stach shortly after the break.

Even in the closing stages, with Chelsea fans biting their nails, Leeds didn’t have the quality to break through a Blues defence that, in contrast to the woeful performance at Brighton, never lost concentration for a second.

Sanchez, who also made a fine first half save to deny Brenden Aaronson, certainly deserves credit. He was brutally targeted by fans of his former club during that 3-0 defeat and looked a nervous wreck for most of the 94 minutes at the Amex as he shanked his kicks left and right.

At Wembley, it was a different story and with a more focused defence in front of him he stood firm, with Leeds front man Calvert-Lewin largely kept quiet.

Sanchez said: “The boys reacted in the way they should have. The manager said keep it positive and focus on the next games. It’s on us now to try and win the final. It would mean something great after a tough season.” Sanchez is right of course, but let’s put this game into context because the scrutiny on Chelsea is intense and there is far more at stake than a second trip to Wembley in May.

The club, by all accounts, is in a mess. On the field, off the field and on the balance sheet.

Rosenior’s departure after only three months in post means it is two managers sacked already this season and two jettisoned in 2023-24 (not including Frank Lampard following his disastrous spell as caretaker boss).

They are so far down the Premier League that there is a real danger of missing out on Europe altogether, let alone the Champions League, which is normally a bare minimum for a club that has won it twice.

Add in that Chelsea made the biggest pre-tax loss in Premier League history in 2024-25, an incredible €303m, and you see why the pressure on owners BlueCo is intensifying, having spent over €1.15bn on players since taking over in 2022.

A season without European football next year is therefore a nightmare scenario; and now there’s an opportunity against City in the FA Cup Final to prevent it. So, the relief is palpable.

It may also stave off, in the short term, growing unrest which has seen marches and protests before matches at Stamford Bridge recently, with increasing numbers of fans calling for change at the top -and for the return of Roman Abramovich.

Neither of those things is going to happen but the ‘we want our Chelsea back’ chants could be quietened by this result, now that supporters know there is at least something to look forward to.

“It’s tough when you are on a losing run but I told the players one result, one performance, can change things and I reinforced that at the end,” said McFarlane. “City are a great team with a great manager and probably the form team in the league. But we wouldn’t be going into the game thinking we’re not going to win. We’re going to go be confident and attack the game.”

That's admirable but let’s not get carried away. This was one performance in one game – and much of the talk between fans afterwards (and certainly those online rather than in the stadium) was that the performance proved how much players had been holding back in the last five miserable fixtures, and especially in that nadir at the Amex.

Reaching an FA Cup Final can block out some of the noise; lifting trophies is a powerful drug. But a feeling that Chelsea players are choosing when to play and when not to is still an uncomfortable one.

Next up is a home game against resurgent Nottingham Forest, followed by a trip to Anfield to face a Liverpool team that is also now finding its feet during the run-in. That’s two big games ahead of a cup final on 16 May that will perhaps tell a more accurate story of where there are.

If this is the start of a Chelsea revival then it will welcomed by their frustrated fans - but one Wembley celebration doesn't necessarily make a party season.

Chelsea: Sanchez 8; Gusto 7, Adarabioyo 8, Chalobah 8, Cucurella 7; Caicedo 7, Lavia 6 (Santos 66; 6); Neto 7, Fernandez 8, Garnacho 6 (Palmer 72; 6); Joao Pedro 7(Delap 90+8). Unused subs: Acheampong, Essugo, Derry, Fofana, Hato, Sharman-Lowe.

Leeds: Perri 7; Justin 6 (Rodon 46; 6), Bijol 6 (Stach 46; 7), Struijk 7; Bogle 6, Ampadu 6, Tanaka 6 (Nmecha74; 6), Gudmundsson 6; Aaronson 7 (Longstaff 86; 6), Okafor 6 (Gnonto 74; 6|); Calvert-Lewin 6 Unused subs: Bornauw, Darlow, James, Longstaff, Piroe.

Referee: Jarred Gillett