Chelsea booked their third successive FA Cup semi-final appearance on Saturday with a confident 2-0 victory against Middlesbrough. Romelu Lukaku got the Blues off to the perfect start at the Riverside with a close range finish.
In-form Hakim Ziyech then added his name to the scoresheet with another stunning long-range effort as Thomas Tuchel’s men cruised into the last four - a remarkable achievement considering the immense external noise surrounding Stamford Bridge at the current time. They will now face any of Liverpool, Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace, Everton, Southampton and Man City as they aim to book another final date come the end of the season.
With that being said, football.london takes a look at how the national media reacted to Chelsea’s victory against Middlesbrough.
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THE GUARDIAN
Uncertainty and confusion have made an unwelcome intrusion into Chelsea ’s world but, for the moment at least, they show no signs of encroaching on to the pitch.
As a bewildering raft of prospective buyers waited to learn if they might be handed the keys to Stamford Bridge an amalgam of occasionally ruthless control and measured efficiency propelled Thomas Tuchel’s side into the semi-finals courtesy of goals from Romelu Lukaku and the excellent Hakim Ziyech.
Middlesbrough are pushing hard for promotion from the Championship and eliminated Manchester United and Tottenham in earlier rounds but despite some decent passages of intelligent play, Chris Wilder’s side rarely succeeded in unhinging a visiting defence well marshalled by Thiago Silva and Antonio Rüdiger.
THE INDEPENDENT
Romelu Lukaku’s 12th goal of the season set Chelsea on their way to the FA Cup semi-finals in serene fashion as the club’s off-field problems were once again put to one side.
A comfortable 2-0 sixth-round victory at Championship Middlesbrough provided a more than satisfactory conclusion to a difficult week, where the Blues’ future ownership and current operational difficulties attracted far more attention than their efforts on the pitch.
Lukaku’s 15th-minute strike and delicious second from Hakim Ziyech had the tie wrapped up long before half-time as Thomas Tuchel’s men progressed with the minimum of fuss in pursuit of their ninth taste of glory in club football’s oldest competition.
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Those associated with Chelsea have long since known that their club exists on the footballing equivalent of a fault line. There has been nothing as seismic as events of recent weeks, of course, but amid the aftershocks of change silverware has invariably fallen into their cabinet.
Chaos off the field usually precipitates consistency on it, and this was a fourth straight win since government sanctions were imposed on their soon-to-be former owner Roman Abramovich just 10 days ago.
Much like their midweek Champions League victory in Lille, it moves Thomas Tuchel’s side one round closer to a trophy that is beginning to feel like something of an inevitability if history is to be repeated.
THE TELEGRAPH
The Roman Abramovich era at Chelsea is over but they are making the most of his legacy as the team he built and paid for made simple work of Middlesbrough to move into the semi finals of the FA Cup.
Whatever comes next for Chelsea, whether they are ever the same trophy winning machine again, they remain an excellent side for now.
Since the club was sanctioned as part of the government crack down on allies of Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, and Abramovich was forced to put it up for sale, Chelsea have won four on the spin.
Since the start of the year, they have only lost twice, a narrow 1-0 defeat at Premier League leaders Manchester City and on penalties to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup. They have also moved into the quarter finals of the Champions League.
