Chelsea were the victors in the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday, with Leeds United crashing out of the competition. The atmosphere at Wembley was set to deliver a great game, but it had very few moments outside the first half.
Unlike the three goals Manchester City and Southampton produced on Saturday, Sunday’s game saw just one goal. Chelsea exploited the Leeds press high up the half, and capitalized on a slip by Pascal Struijk. Enzo Fernandez finished off wonderful cross to give his side the lead in the first half. Daniel Farke made urgent changes at half time, but to no avail – the Blues held on to win the game.
Steven Gerrard singles out Leeds star after Wembley defeat
The result could have taken a much different turn if Brenden Aaronson had finished off his chance in the first half. He was played through on goal, and was facing Robert Sanchez, but he hit it straight at the keeper. And unfortunately for the Whites, Chelsea scored their big chance of the half.
Steven Gerrard was speaking on TNT Sports after the game, saying that Aaronson will be regretting missing that chance, which could have seen his side get something out of the game.
“I can just see Aaronson now walking down below me and you can tell he is thinking about that opportunity he missed in the first half.
“He’s going to regret that miss for a bit of time. You know in a big game like this that those chances are rare.
“If you have been there, in his position now, you know that will be on his mind for a while because that was the big moment.”
Ally McCoist added: “For me I think he got it all wrong. When you get through like that you need to be confident and he just didn’t pick out a corner.
“It was a bit of a head down, close your eyes, and just hit it and hope. He needed to show composure and finish that with confidence.”
READ MORE: Steven Gerrard blasts two Leeds players who were ‘outclassed’ in Chelsea defeat
Daniel Farke needed his players to be clinical on Sunday
What Leeds lacked on Sunday was goals; and they had a lot of chances to score. Aaronson picked the wrong corner in the first half, but in the second period, the Whites had six shots. Anton Stach went close with a long range effort, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin was brilliantly denied in the second half. And because of the lack of attacking options on the bench, Chelsea were able to see out the game comfortably. If Leeds are to learn anything from Sunday, it is that they need to be active this summer.
