Leeds United suffered more heartbreak at Wembley after they fell to an agonising 1-0 defeat at the hands of their rivals, Chelsea, at Wembley.
Whilst it was the West London outfit that controlled the bulk of the possession, neither side had an abundance of chances in a game that lacked real quality in the final third.
Leeds were unable to get back into the game after Enzo Fernandez gave Chelsea the lead in the 23rd minute, despite chances falling to the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Anton Stach.
The Whites should have been in the lead in the first place, however Brenden Aaronson was unable to convert from close range, but that was not the biggest talking point at full-time.
Danny Murphy has his say on Robert Sanchez’s antics vs Leeds United
Although Leeds were sluggish in the first half, they came out after the break looking much better, with Daniel Farke making some changes at half-time and reverting to four at the back as opposed to his now trademark back five.
Midway through the second half, Sanchez decided to go down feigning an injury to act as a tactical timeout for Chelsea, which ultimately halted United’s momentum.
It is not the first time Farke’s side have been on the wrong end of a goalkeeper pretending to be injured this season, with former Liverpool and Fulham midfielder Murphy having his say on the incident.
Whilst on punditry duties for the BBC, Murphy said, “I actually thought it did (break up Leeds’ momentum). I can’t blame the Chelsea staff and the players for doing it; there isn’t a law there that stops it. I don’t like it; it needs clamping down. Something needs to be done because it was an obvious tactical stoppage, so he (Calum McFarlane) could get information on to the players.
“I don’t blame the goalkeeper; other teams have done it, other teams will do it between now and the end of the season, but one of the outfield players has to come off; that’s all you can do. You can’t not stop the game because it might be a genuine injury.”
The fact that Murphy said you can’t blame the staff or the players for partaking in blatant cheating, however, will enrage Leeds fans as well as neutrals, with such blatant gamesmanship being allowed in a showcase game like an FA Cup semi-final being a damming indictement on the current state of football.
READ MORE: Micah Richards slams Leeds for ‘freezing’ at Wembley – The Leeds Press
Data suggests Pascal Struijk was poor against Chelsea
Although the game against Chelsea was tightly contested, Leeds put in a performance that was below the level they had previously set for themselves in recent weeks.
Struijk was particularly poor during the game against Chelsea, with the Dutchman not covering himself in glory in the build-up to Chelsea’s goal, with the data reflecting the fact that he struggled at Wembley.
- Against Chelsea, Struijk won one of the five ground duels he contested
- He also committed three fouls during the game and was judged to have made an error leading to a goal
- Struijk also failed to make a single tackle or interception throughout the entire game (Sofascore)
Hopefully, for Struijk and the rest of his teammates, they can dust themselves off from the Wembley disappointment and pick up a result against Burnley on Friday night, which will effectively secure their Premier League status for next season.
