Chelsea’s season is alive, this Cole Palmer inspired victory secured them a trip to the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley Stadium despite how hard they tried to trip them up.
There was a comedy of errors for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, from Raheem Sterling’s poor penalty after taking the ball from Palmer, to Axel Disasi scoring an extraordinary own goal, to Sterling producing one of the worst free kicks witnessed in the game. oldest cup competition in the world. .
However, in Palmer’s fantastic style, Chelsea won despite their self-sabotage, two substitutes, Carney Chukwuemeka and Noni Madueke, scoring in injury time to ensure this tie did not go to extra time.
Championship leaders Leicester were frustrated after seeing Callum Doyle sent off in the 73rd minute, but relief could be felt in Mauricio Pochettino.
He couldn’t contain himself after they went ahead in stoppage time, coming out of his technical area to celebrate in front of Chelsea fans who had booed one of their own players, Sterling.
There was a comedy of errors for Chelsea as they narrowly escaped an embarrassing FA Cup upset.
Raheem Sterling missed a terrible penalty in the first half when Chelsea led 1-0 in the match.
Noni Madueke put the finishing touch to the Blues’ victory in added time and made it 4-2
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Chelsea hope to secure European football through the FA Cup. They did a hard job, but Pochettino only cared about finishing the job at the end of a crazy match.
It was in the 13th minute when Chelsea took the lead on the scoreboard, a play that began with Moisés Caicedo winning the ball in his own area. Palmer’s forward pass invited Nicolas Jackson to attack Jannik Vestergaard, left alone by Callum Doyle.
Jackson controlled Vestergaard in that one-on-one, beating him before rolling the ball across the six-yard box for Marc Cucurella to make it 1-0. The preparation for that touch was very well done and Jackson, the 22-year-old Senegalese, showed more signs of his promise.
There were the odd scare for Chelsea – their persistence in playing out from the back frustrated fans while Robert Sanchez looked nervous – but they were largely in control.
Mykhailo Mudryk was having fun in what represented an unusual start and as Jackson broke through, his square pass found the 23-year-old Ukrainian. Unfortunately, Raheem Sterling got in the way of his shot as he blocked the Leicester defenders.
In the 24th minute, a pass from Palmer sent Malo Gusto running down the right side. His cross found Sterling, who was removed from behind by Abdul Fatawu. Referee Andrew Madley did not hesitate to point out the penalty spot in front of the visiting fans.
Palmer picked up the ball. He had taken five penalties for Chelsea this season and scored them all. However, Sterling wanted a word. He asked me if he could accept this.
Palmer accepted (a little reluctantly it seemed) and Sterling’s attempt was disastrous. Near the center and slightly to the left, Jakub Stolarczyuk didn’t need much to make the save.
Marc Cucurella opened the scoring in the 13th minute when the hosts threatened to devastate the championship team.
Sterling sent his tame effort straight through the middle for Jakub Stolarczyk to dive in and keep it out.
Cole Palmer continued his good form with another goal at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon.
Sterling should have also scored in the 44th minute, when Caicedo’s ball from behind left him one on one with Stolarczyuk. The 29-year-old, left out of Gareth Southgate’s final England squad, used his pace to escape Wout Faes but shot wide as Leicester fans mocked him as a “waste of money”.
Sterling recovered slightly before the break as he took the lead before passing to Palmer, the 21-year-old Englishman scoring to make it 2-0.
Chelsea seemed to be in a comfortable position and yet, despite the magnitude of their errors, Sterling was upstaged by Axel Disasi in the 51st minute. Patson Daka was breathing down his neck when he tried to return the pass to Sánchez, only to that the 26-year-old Frenchman put the ball into his own goal. For Leicester, it was comical. For Chelsea, tragic.
Now 2-1, Sánchez gave Disasi an apologetic kiss. Some goalkeepers may not have been so understanding after such an extraordinary mistake had given Leicester a way back into this game.
In the 62nd minute, the visitors made it 2-2 when Stephy Mavididi finished off Malo Gusto. After a series of steps, he unleashed a right-handed curler that flew past Sanchez.
Chelsea thought they had won another penalty when Jackson wonderfully flicked the ball around Vestergaard to leave him edging closer to the Leicester goal. Doyle tripped him up when Madley conceded a penalty and showed a yellow card.
VAR Darren England looked into the incident and told his friend that the foul occurred outside the area. Madley awarded the free kick, but increased the penalty for Doyle from yellow to red.
Chelsea went in search of a late winner, with Noni Madueke and Jackson seeing missed opportunities. However, when eight minutes of stoppage time were announced, they achieved their goal of avoiding extra time.
Axel Disasi scored an extraordinary second-half own goal from 30 yards to give Leicester hope
Stephy Mavididi scored a brilliant solo shot to level the score in the 62nd minute of the match.
Callum Doyle was sent off for a foul on Nicolas Jackson on the edge of the area (73 minutes)
Carney Chukwuemeka won the game for the Blues in the 92nd minute with a composed finish inside the box.
Madueke then scored the fourth goal in added time to seal the victory after Chukwuemeka’s third.
Chukwuemeka exchanged a one-two with Palmer, whose backheel was pure brilliance. The substitute scored between Stolarczyk’s legs to make it 3-2.
Things got even better when, with the last kick of the match, another substitute, Madueke, scored a stunning goal to complete the scoreline at 4-2 and Chelsea secured their trip to Wembley.