FA Cup | After a crazy match, Chelsea qualified for the last four against Leicester

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Chelsea continues its adventure in this 2023-2024 English Cup. At Stamford Bridge, the Blues won their quarter-final against Leicester City after a match full of twists and turns (4-2). Finalists in the Carabao Cup this season, Mauricio Pochettino’s men led by two goals before being caught by the Foxes determined to rob the London club on their lawn. But in added time, newcomers Carney Chukwuemeka and Noni Madueke made the difference to qualify for the final four of the competition. Thanks to this success, Chelsea joins Coventry and Manchester City among the qualified, and awaits the clash between Manchester United and Liverpool to know all their potential opponents.

Failing to qualify for a European competition via the championship, Chelsea continues to seduce in the cup. Eleventh in the Premier League, the London club was keen to get closer to Wembley for a second national final to be played after the cruel defeat against Liverpool in the League Cup last month. This resulted in an enjoyable encounter against Leicester City. In the first half, the current Championship leader suffered to stay in the wake of the home team. Dominant, Chelsea were opportunistic to score two goals: Nicolas Jackson first served his teammate Marc Cucurella on a plate for the opener (13th, 1-0), then Cole Palmer took advantage of Raheem’s cross Sterling to double the lead just before the break (45th, 2-0).

Disasi, a gigantic own goal

Aside from this assist, Sterling didn’t really show his advantage. The England international lost two duels against Jakub Stolarczyk, one from the penalty spot (26th) and the other from a lightning counter-attack (44th). If the winger had shown a little more realism, Leicester would probably not have found a way to come back with a bang at the start of the second period. Following good pressing, Patson Daka forced Axel Disasi to use force in his pass towards Robert Sanchez, and the French international lobbed his goalkeeper clumsily (51st, 2-1).

With this reduction in the gap, the team led by Enzo Maresca believed in its chances of coming back. Stephy Mavididi’s equalizing goal with a double leg pass and curled shot perfectly confirmed this wind of revolt (62nd, 2-2). Touched but not sunk, Chelsea brought out the warm-up blue to take care of the end of the match. Nicolas Jackson led to the exclusion of Callum Doyle (72nd), then Cole Palmer used his technique with a clever backheel to allow Chukwuemeka to score a third capital goal (92nd, 3-2). In the final seconds, Madueke added a masterpiece to the London qualification (90th + 2, 4-2). With panache, Chelsea can still dream of Europe.

Cole Palmer of Chelsea celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final between Chelsea FC and Leicester City FC.