Jacob Steinberg was at Stamford Bridge tonight. His report has landed, and here it is. Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night!
A cheery Mauricio Pochettino talks to ITV. “It is a big relief, no? … the team was amazing … it is difficult because of expectation … it is difficult to explain … it is difficult to translate … always the same ideas, talking about the new team … we need time to find the right balance … players need time to perform under your philosophy … the team has started to behave … the changes we made because we needed to give rest … if you are talking about my friend Gary [Neville] I think he was frustrated because Liverpool won another title! … it is not fair to accuse in this way a team that is very young … we cannot match the history of Chelsea at the moment … we need to build the confidence and character … it is not a magic thing you can touch and create tomorrow.”
The match-winner Conor Gallagher speaks to ITV. “It was a great game … a really tough game … Leeds are a really good side … to win in that way was fantastic … [the League Cup final] was a big disappointment and we wanted to bounce back and give the fans something to celebrate … we done that today … everyone has been down the last few days … we had to make sure we were right today … thankfully we got the win … we’re really excited for the next round … we want to win as many games as we can … obviously we need to improve as a team a lot … hopefully we can get far in this competition and get up the table in the Prem.”
That was a marvellous cup tie, and Chelsea celebrate more with relief than joy. A last-minute winner is a fine way to clear the pipes after the misery of Wembley. A sixth FA Cup final appearance in eight seasons is still a live prospect! Mauricio Pochettino hugs Daniel Farke and congratulates the Leeds boss on a game well played. Farke’s team are heading in the right direction, possibly back to the Premier League, while Poch can sigh with relief that Chelsea’s season is still alive. The FA Cup, ladies and gentlemen!
FULL TIME: Chelsea 3-2 Leeds United
The corner clears everyone in the box and the full-time whistle goes! Chelsea will host Leicester City in the quarter finals, a rerun of the 2021 final. Leeds played well and ran them close, but it wasn’t quite enough. They’ll concentrate on winning promotion back to the Premier League. On this evidence, they’d grace the top division.
90 min +6: Joseph battles down the right and wins a corner. One last throw of the dice. Up comes Meslier!
90 min +4: Despite the impending result, ITV co-commentator Lee Dixon names the super-promising Archie Gray as his player of the match.
90 min +3: Mudryk makes way for the debutant Jimi Tauriainen, a 19-year-old attacking midfielder from Finland.
90 min +2: Jackson hares after a long pass down the left and eats up some precious clock.
90 min +1: That’s almost certainly won the cup tie for Chelsea. Leeds have only four added minutes to save themselves!
GOAL! Chelsea 3-2 Leeds United (Gallagher 90)
Chelsea had been going nowhere, but now look! Fernandez drives down the inside-left channel and finds Gallagher, just inside the box with his back to goal. He spins to lose Cooper and Firpo, lifting a shot across Meslier and into the top left! What drama here!
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89 min: Summerville twinkle-toes down the middle of the park, an elegant dribble that sadly for Leeds runs out of steam on the edge of the D. Unsure whether to shimmy into the box, pass or shoot, he simply loses control. Chelsea had been backtracking in a panic, too.
88 min: … Rodon heads clear. The ball’s returned into the mixer, and nearly drops for Colwill, six yards out, but the defender can’t control and Meslier gathers.
87 min: Fernandez bustles down the inside-left channel and earns a corner. Chilwell takes. The ball soon ends up back at his feet, and he earns another corner. Take two, from which …
86 min: Chelsea enjoy some possession, but only in the middle third. Leeds seem more than happy to sit back with extra time looming.
84 min: Caicedo strips Summerville and barrels down the middle of the park, but his pass forward, meant to release Jackson, doesn’t reach its target. Caicedo’s run got the crowd going, though; the Chelsea fans had fallen a little quiet with their season in the balance.
82 min: A cross looped into the Chelsea box from the right by Gray. It doesn’t quite drop for Joseph, six yards out. Chelsea hack clear, their hearts still in their mouths.
81 min: Anthony cuts in from the left and aims a curler towards the top right that’s always high and wide.
80 min: Let the record state that Anna Poppa had earlier sent in this email: “Leeds are looking good at the moment but I reckon Bamford, Summerville and Gnonto on for Fernandez, Anthony and James in minute 80.” Two out of three ain’t bad. That’s some good predicting.
79 min: Leeds make their first changes of the evening, replacing Piroe and the ineffectual James with Summerville and Gnonto. Consider the dice rolled.
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78 min: Mudryk does better this time, digging out a cross from a tight position on the left. Jackson attempts to guide a header home at the far post, but can only eyebrow the ball straight up into the air and back down into the arms of Meslier. Firpo had knocked him in the back as the pair jostled in mid-air, and there’s a half-hearted claim for a penalty, but neither referee nor VAR show any interest. It would have been super-soft.
77 min: Mudryk cuts in from the left and passes to nobody in particular. Quite a few groans from the frustrated Chelsea faithful.
75 min: Anthony sends a bobbler of a shot through a crowded box and into the arms of Sanchez. This tie is in the balance all right!
74 min: Another double change for Chelsea, who replace Sterling and Gilchrist with Palmer and Colwill. “Leeds look good,” begins Kári Tulinius. “Leeds seem like they’ll do well in the Premier League, attacking the goal from all sorts of angles and pressing smartly. Mind you, I thought similarly about Burnley a year ago and that’s been a car-crash of despair.”
73 min: Gray crosses from the right. Chalobah misses it altogether. The ball pings off the chest of a startled and surprised Joseph. Chalobah clears at the second opportunity. If Joseph was more switched on there, Chelsea were in all sorts.
72 min: Leeds are well up for this. Gray fights Chilwell down the right and wins a corner he should never have been allowed to claim. Nothing comes of it, but that demonstrates Leeds’ confidence at the minute, and Stamford Bridge is housing quite a few anxious punters right now.
70 min: Mudryk should tear clear down the left, a long ball taking Roberts out of the game. But he takes a preposterously heavy touch upon striding towards the box, and Meslier is able to smother. Mudryk really should have been belting a shot goalwards there.
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69 min: Firpo is booked for a late slide and clip on an in-flight Sterling.
68 min: Leeds are enjoying plenty of possession. The away section is certainly making the majority of the noise.
66 min: Anthony and Firpo combine crisply down the left, nearly opening Chelsea up. Disasi makes sure nothing develops, but Leeds are beginning to knock it around again with the confidence they showed early doors.
64 min: Gallagher battles in the centre circle and sends Jackson skittering off down the left. Jackson lays off to Mudryk, and the impetus is lost. Leeds force Chelsea to turn tail. “Can’t believe Madueke has been taken off again,” writes Lloyd Mills. “He’s a positive force: gimme the ball and I will run at the buggers and take ‘em on.”
62 min: Nothing comes of the corner, but dear me, do we have a cup tie here now. A reminder that there’s no replay in the fifth round, and should the score be level after 90 minutes, it’s extra time and penalties if necessary.
61 min: Chelsea respond by replacing Madueke and Gusto with Gallagher and Chilwell. But from the kick-off, Leeds come immediately at Chelsea again. Joseph slips a cute pass down the inside-right channel to release Piroe, whose shot balloons off Chalobah and out for a corner. The hosts suddenly in a pickle.
GOAL! Chelsea 2-2 Leeds United (Joseph 59)
Much better from Leeds! Much, much better! A high diagonal towards Anthony on the left. He checks back to see off Gusto, then loops a cross towards Joseph at the far post. Joseph has the run on Chalobah, getting there first to head down, across Sanchez, and in! Game on!
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58 min: Gray and Firpo buzz around the Chelsea defence and nearly open the hosts up down the left. The ball’s half cleared. Anthony comes again, down the left, but isn’t able to dribble the ball around a prone Gusto, who stands his ground with great determination. Better from Leeds.
56 min: Sterling steals the ball off Ampadu on the left touchline and breezes infield. He rides a couple of challenges before finding Mudryk, who quickly ships possession. A shame the move breaks down, as Sterling’s run was electric. Mudryk had the opportunity to immediately turn the ball around the corner to release Jackson, but couldn’t execute.
54 min: Jackson bursts into acres of space down the left, but after dribbling and dribbling and dribbling and dribbling his way into the box, he can’t decide between shooting and passing and clanks into Rodon instead. For a split second, things looked likely to open up for Chelsea there. But no.
53 min: Anthony has a wee look down the left but is forced to turn tail. He still looks Leeds’ most likely.
51 min: Both teams are aware of the importance of the next goal, which will decide whether we’ve got ourselves a cup tie or a procession. As a result, the game slips into a holding pattern, the passing and probing by both teams careful and considered.
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49 min: Caicedo clanks into the back of Joseph and goes into the book. He could easily have been sent off in his last two outings, against Manchester City and Liverpool, and the Chelsea midfielder now teeters on the edge again.
48 min: Jackson backs himself in a footrace with Rodon, knocking the ball past the Leeds defender along the right flank. But Rodon reads the danger and stays a yard ahead. Both teams have come flying out of the blocks.
47 min: Gray dribbles elegantly down the left wing – it’s in the blood – then Firpo is released on the overlap. He crosses fiercely. Sanchez claims with safe hands.
Leeds get the second half underway. No changes.
Half-time entertainment.
HALF TIME: Chelsea 2-1 Leeds United
Nothing comes of the corner, and the teams trudge off for their half-time refreshment. Chelsea have turned things around, just like they did in the 1970 final replay.
45 min +2: Gusto plays a loose pass in midfield, allowing Piroe to tear off with the loose ball. He makes it as far as the Chelsea box, winning a corner. Anthony to take from the left.
45 min +1: The first of three additional first-half minutes goes by without incident.
45 min: Anthony dribbles again down the left, rattling a few Chelsea nerves. Disasi eventually gets the ball off him and clears. Anthony looks like Leeds’ best chance of getting back into this.
44 min: Anthony skips past a couple of challenges down the left – Gusto’s effort to block was token at best – and aims a curler towards the top right. He gets the ball past Sanchez but also the right-hand post, and by some distance.
42 min: Turns out Fernandez wasn’t happy with Chalobah’s booking, and has earned one himself for dissent. He’ll miss the quarter final should Chelsea make it through.
41 min: Some pinball from the resulting free kick. It drops to James, six yards out. A huge chance, and one he snatches at, slicing hysterically over the bar. The flag goes up for offside, but does it really spare his blushes? Nope.
40 min: Chalobah goes into the book for catching Piroe on the top of his boot with his studs.
39 min: Chelsea were a bag of nerves for the first quarter of an hour. Now they look dangerous every time they go forward. For the first time this evening, Leeds look a level below.
GOAL! Chelsea 2-1 Leeds (Mudryk 37)
Madueke dribbles left to right and finds Fernandez on the wing. Fernandez slips Sterling into the box. Sterling cuts back for Mudryk, who rushes into the box and sweeps gloriously into the net. Chelsea have turned it around!
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36 min: Leeds come straight back at Chelsea, though, and Roberts takes a speculative shot that slams straight into Chalobah’s startled coupon. Leeds claim a handball, but only in the half-arsed style.
35 min: Anthony forces the ball down the left flank. If Gray gets to it, Leeds are in a promising place. But he can’t trap it dead on the byline. Goal kick.
33 min: … the corner’s played left to right, and there’s space for Gusto to run into. He takes a heavy touch and the chance to shoot is gone. A corner is the consolation prize, and it nearly ends in a goal. Leeds fail to clear, then Madueke, never quite in control, somehow flukes his way free down the inside-left channel. He reaches the left-hand corner of the six-yard box and lashes into the side netting. He had Jackson waiting to tap in a cutback.
32 min: Mudryk drops deep and quarterbacks a pass down the inside-left channel for Sterling, who can’t connect with the dropping ball but does win a corner off Rodon. From which …
30 min: A bit of space for James down the right. He whips a decent cross into the box, under pressure from Gilchrist, but the flag goes up for offside. Incorrectly as it turns out, but there was nobody in pink in the middle, so the point is moot.
28 min: A corner for Chelsea on the right. It’s worked back to Madueke, who leans back and sends a shot off towards Wandsworth Bridge.
27 min: That equaliser has robbed Leeds of their early front-foot momentum. They’re sitting back now and inviting trouble. Mudryk drives into the box from the left and looks for the bottom corner. Meslier kicks away from his near post.
26 min: Anyway, that quarter-final draw. The winners of this one will host Leicester. Here report here.
24 min: Chelsea slow it down a little bit and establish some control.
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22 min: Roberts clears, but weakly. The ball falls to Fernandez, who zaps a low drive straight at Meslier from 25 yards. Meslier saves but fumbles, and is fortunate there’s nobody in blue around to slot the rebound home. This game hasn’t been of the highest quality, but there’s no doubting it’s been fun.
21 min: The simple jobs are looking so hard right now. This time Roberts provides the slapstick fun, as he manages to pass the ball against his own leg and out of play for a throw. Some entertainment for the home fans this time.
20 min: Ampadu is going nowhere down the right. Fernandez clumsily clatters him near the corner flag and it’s a cheap free kick. Fernandez makes up for his error by heading the set piece clear.
18 min: Chelsea still aren’t quite on top of their game. Jackson rolls a simple pass wide right to Gusto, or rather behind him. Gusto spins and should take up possession nonetheless, but miscontrols out for a throw. The away fans enjoyed watching a simple task turning into a five-course meal.
17 min: That’s a fine finish, even if the goalkeeping was slightly questionable. The mood is very different now. It only takes a goal.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-1 Leeds United (Jackson 15)
Caicedo cuts Leeds open with a pass down the inside-right channel. Meslier guards his near post, but Jackson whistles the ball between his legs. Chelsea level in short order!
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14 min: Mudryk probes down the left, at speed but to little effect. The away fans en fête, the home fans in a funk. But then, out of nothing …
12 min: Fernandez has a dig from the edge of the box but pulls the shot harmlessly wide right. Chelsea are doing their best to respond.
10 min: Disasi’s distribution was awful at Wembley last weekend. More of the same tonight. Time to get back to basics, perhaps. Chelsea try to respond immediately to the body blow, but Sterling’s cross from the left floats harmlessly out for a goal kick. The Leeds fans are marching on together at significant volume right now.
GOAL! Chelsea 0-1 Leeds United (Joseph 8)
A simple long ball nearly undoes Chelsea. Gilchrist dithers under it. Sanchez stands in no man’s land on the edge of the box. James nips in between, only to hook his lob wide left of the unguarded net. No matter, though, because from the restart, Disasi slaps a dismal pass out from the back. Leeds snaffle and the ball pings to Joseph, who slots. Easy as that. What a fiasco!
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7 min: Madueke probes down the right and tries to find an opening. Leeds close ranks. Mudryk then shovels a clever pass down the left in the hope of springing Sterling clear. Sterling goes for a first-time volley but swishes fresh air instead. Goal kick.
6 min: Chelsea haven’t really got going yet, and Leeds are carrying themselves with the confidence of a team unbeaten in 2024, a 12-match run.
4 min: Stamford Bridge sounds good tonight. Everyone doing their bit to make this feel like an event. Which of course the FA Cup fifth round is. Traditionalists will demur, but there’s something in these cup ties under the lights.
2 min: … and now Disasi nearly has his pocket picked by Anthony. Chelsea started slowly at Wembley on Sunday, and are in danger of doing so again.
1 min: Gilchrist plays a weak backpass to Sanchez, nearly letting James in. Luckily there’s just enough juice on the ball and the keeper clears just in time.
A big old friendly hug between Poch and Farke, then the whistle goes to start the match. Chelsea get the ball rolling. They’re kicking towards the Shed in this first half.
The teams are out! A fine old-school atmosphere at Stamford Bridge, if you factor out the light show and flamethrowers. Both sets of supporters raise the noise to 11 on the old pre-match-pints-o-meter™, and of course the Harry J All Stars blast out of the speakers. Chelsea are in royal blue, Leeds pristine white pink, and we’ll be off in a minute!
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Daniel Farke talks to ITV. “We are in a good rhythm … but we have the toughest opponent we face in recent weeks … our focus is on the league but if there is a chance to go into the next round we want to grab it with both hands … we play four games in ten days … a few players were just not available … we have a tight group and I trust all of my players … we are ambitious and want to be as successful as possible today, but we must bear in mind the bigger picture … we want to win the game.”
Mauricio Pochettino speaks to ITV. “After the defeat it is important to have a very good performance … of course it is tough … we expended big energy … really tough to recover … it’s a good opportunity to win a game … players who have recovered better are on the pitch … players like Palmer, Gallagher or Chilwell we needed to rest because they were not 100 percent recovered … it is not to take a risk … they can be important during the game … we need to win in 90 minutes … there has been a short time for recovery and we have to manage it in a good way.”
Plenty of potential in that draw. A big midlands brouhaha between Wolves and Coventry? A path to the semis for Brighton, the only team left standing who have never won the cup? A repeat of the 1979 League Cup final between Forest and Saints? A repeat of the 2021 FA Cup final between Chelsea and Leicester? Manchester United and Liverpool have some history also, we hear. And in the only tie we know for sure, it’s two repeats for the price of one, as the 1955 FA Cup and 1976 League Cup finals are run again. We can revisit all of this again when tonight’s work is complete.
The quarter-final draw.
Wolverhampton Wanderers or Brighton & Hove Albion v Coventry City
Nottingham Forest or Manchester United v Liverpool or Southampton
Chelsea or Leeds United v Leicester City
Manchester City v Newcastle United
All ties will be played on the weekend of 16 March.
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Clockwatch alert! It’s a busy evening in the FA Cup, with three other fifth-round ties to be decided tonight. There’s also the small matter of the draw for the fifth round, which will take place imminently. Niall McVeigh, like the proverbial pint of plain, is your only man.
Chelsea make five changes to the starting XI named for the League Cup final last Sunday. Mykhailo Mudryk, Noni Madueke, Trevoh Chalobah, Alfie Gilchrist and Robert Sánchez replace Conor Gallagher, Cole Palmer, Levi Colwill, Ben Chilwell and Đorđe Petrović, all of whom drop to the bench.
Leeds also make five changes to their starting line-up, in the wake of their late 3-1 win over Leicester City last Friday. Liam Cooper, Connor Roberts, Jaidon Anthony, Dan James and Mateo Joseph are in; Glen Kamara, Crysencio Summerville and Wilfried Gnonto drop to the bench, while Georginio Rutter and Ilia Gruev miss out altogether.
The teams
Chelsea: Sanchez, Gilchrist, Disasi, Chalobah, Gusto, Caicedo, Fernandez, Madueke, Sterling, Mudryk, Jackson.
Subs: Palmer, Chilwell, Gallagher, Colwill, Petrovic, Tauriainen, Samuels-Smith, Harrison, Murray-Campbell.
Leeds United: Meslier, Roberts, Rodon, Cooper, Firpo, Ampadu, Gray, Anthony, Piroe, James, Fernandez.
Subs: Cresswell, Kamara, Bamford, Summerville, Klaesson, Shackleton, Byram, Gnonto, van den Heuvel.
Referee: David Coote (Nottinghamshire).
Tonight's Chelsea team, featuring five changes from Sunday… 📋#CFC | #EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/zxTOCmBJsJ
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) February 28, 2024
📋 Your #LUFC Starting XI... pic.twitter.com/2XKAxoydir
— Leeds United (@LUFC) February 28, 2024
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Preamble
Now then, Chelsea and Leeds United in the FA Cup. There really is only one place to go.
Marvellous stuff, albeit with the usual think-of-the-kids vapour-infused caveats. Times have changed, so a repeat performance of such skyscraping hoodlummery is unlikely, but then Chelsea and Leeds still don’t like each other very much, and the heat and pressure is on Mauricio Pochettino and his players in the wake of last weekend’s League Cup final extra-time no-show, so nothing’s off the table. This has the potential to be a rollocking great FA Cup tie in the old tradition. Kick off is at 7.30pm GMT and we’ll have extra time and penalties if necessary. It’s on!
