Mauricio Pochettino’s standing as Chelsea manager was boosted significantly after his side defeated ten-man Leicester City to go to the FA Cup semi-finals.
Marc Cucurella scored early, relieving some of the pressure. Nicolas Jackson found his defensive partner with a cross and was able to convert the ball into an empty net.
Raheem Sterling missed a penalty and a one-on-one opportunity before partially redeeming himself. A wonderful move in behind was seen before he found a short slashed cross for Cole Palmer to tap onto, giving the home side control before the interval.
However, Leicester City would find a way to tie the game within twenty minutes of the resumption, beginning with a bizarre own goal by Axel Disasi, who fired an effective shot past his own keeper with his left foot. That was before Stephy Mavididi curled a stunning attempt past Sanchez and into the side netting.
Callum Doyle was then sent off for taking out Nicolas Jackon, giving the home team motivation. This allowed the man advantage to pay off, as Carney Chukwuemeka scored in extra time to win the game.
Chelsea advance to their second match at Wembley Stadium this season. The players delivered a variety of performances, as Tom Canton delivers his player evaluations from a positive afternoon in West London.
Robert Sanchez – Certainly the performance of a custodian out of the frame at the moment; his distribution was poor and nervy at times, and he came dangerously close to losing possession after taking too long on the ball in the first half – he cannot be blamed for the shot from his own defender that beat him.
Malo Gusto – Moved quickly down Chelsea’s right flank and made some good passes when in possession. However, he remained fragile throughout, leaving the Blues exposed down their right, which is where Leicester’s second goal came from. 6
Axel Disasi – A horrific own goal on the day, and despite being under pressure from Patson Daka, little can deter critics from wondering why the Frenchman used so much force in the shot. 4
Trevoh Chalobah faced very few challenges throughout the game. He made several decent passes to his midfielders but was unable to have much of an impact on the game from the back. 5
