Leeds United fans were disappointed on their day at Wembley on Sunday. The Whites fell to Chelsea in the crucial semi-final.
Leeds began the game on the front foot, and threatened in the first few minutes of the game. Brenden Aaronson had a glorious chance to put his side in the lead, but fluffed his lines. Enzo Fernandez found himself unmarked in the Leeds box and punished them, putting the ball past Lucas Perri. That goal was enough as the Blues held on for the rest of the game to get the result. Daniel Farke will be disappointed as his side barely threatened their opponents on the night. The Whites will now set their focus on the Premier League.
Leeds escape punishment in FA Cup semi-final
Around the 26th minute in the first half, there was a bit of controversy. In an aerial duel with Marc Cucurella, Dominic Calvert-Lewin tugged on the defender’s hair for a split second before letting go. The referee waved play on, but after the ball went out of play, there was a VAR check. Calvert-Lewin was not penalized for the incident and play continued, with referee Jarred Gillett explaining the decision.
Sky Sports’ Peter Smith, who was at Wembley, suggested that the striker was going for a shirt pull and accidentally pulled the Chelsea defender’s hair.
“Calvert-Lewin immediately held up his hands to protest his innocence.
“Was he going for a shirt pull and accidently had a little tug of Cucurella’s hair? Or did he know what he’s doing?
“Would be interested to hear Lisandro Martinez’s thoughts…!”
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Manchester United fans will be furious
This incident will be one Manchester United will definitely be keeping their eye on. In their defeat to Leeds United at Old Trafford a few weeks ago, Lisandro Martinez was sent off for pulling on Calvert-Lewin’s hair. On that night, the referee initially booked the defender, before he was called to the monitor and changed the card.
The decision dominated the headlines that week, with Manchester United boss Michael Carrick fuming in the post-match press conference. After the game, the Red Devils appealed the decision, which was rejected by the FA. Martinez will serve the rest of his three-match ban as a result. Manchester United felt really hard done by the decision, and there is no doubt that this incident at Wembley will bring back the discussion.
