Leeds United came up short against their rivals Chelsea at Wembley, with the Whites losing 1-0 courtesy of an Enzo Fernandez header.
Whilst Leeds were not at their best during the game, they still had multiple major chances throughout, with Brenden Aaronson being one of those players to squander a major opportunity.
Daniel Farke made some tactical changes at half-time, and Leeds came out looking far better in the second half, building some serious momentum until Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez went down with an apparent ‘injury’ that he was miraculously able to recover from in just a few minutes.
Following the game, Farke was asked what he thought of Chelsea effectively taking a tactical timeout during the semi-final at Wembley, which put a halt to his side whilst they were in the ascendancy.
Daniel Farke refuses to comment on underhanded Chelsea tactics
Leeds have been the victims of this new tactic of keepers going down in order for their manager to relay instructions to their teams on multiple occasions this season, with the games against Manchester City and Brentford springing to mind, in which we saw a similar exploitation of the rules.
And at Wembley, there were no exceptions, with Farke being asked what he thought about the controversial incident at full-time.
Speaking in his post-game press conference, Farke said, “After a loss, I want to show some class and give no comments from my side (about Chelsea’s tactical timeout) because it would be judged as excuses or a distraction. I just want to show some class.”
Although the German gave a classy response when asked to share his thoughts, many pundits, such as Andy Townsend, have slammed Chelsea for essentially cheating and giving themselves an unfair advantage while Leeds were hunting for an equaliser.
Whilst there is no guarantee that Leeds would have scored, the disappointed supporters travelling back to West Yorkshire yesterday won’t be able to stop themselves from asking what would have happened if Sanchez stayed on his feet like he should have done.
READ MORE: Micah Richards slams Leeds for ‘freezing’ at Wembley – The Leeds Press
Data suggests Leeds were unfortunate not to score against Chelsea
As has become a recurring theme for United at Wembley, they were not at their best, but Leeds still had multiple opportunities they should certainly have taken.
- Whilst Leeds’ xG of 0.68 is considered low, they managed to limit Chelsea to an even lower xG of 0.4
- Both sides had two big chances during the game
- Lucas Perri only had to make one save during the game, whilst Sanchez made three for Chelsea (Sofascore)
Ultimately, whilst Farke’s side have done the fans incredibly proud with this incredible run in the FA Cup, they will be kicking themselves that they started so slowly and didn’t capitalise against a Chelsea side that were there for the taking and progress into the final.
READ MORE: Daniel Farke confirms major Leeds injury blow following Chelsea defeat – The Leeds Press
