Sánchez plays long game for McFarlane, Southampton can take heart, Arteta tries to gain edge and Isak will come good
One moment from their FA Cup semi-final to Chelsea will haunt Leeds. When Tosin Adarabioyo stretched for a through ball and couldn’t quite get there, quarter of an hour in, everything seemed to slow down. There was Brenden Aaronson with just Robert Sánchez to beat, with the chance to put Leeds ahead against a side that hadn’t scored in five Premier League games and had seemingly lost all confidence. Even at the time it felt a huge moment. The US international didn’t do much wrong, but Sánchez made a fine save with his foot. That, it turned out, was the game. There were other opportunities – most notably Anton Stach’s drive that Sánchez saved spectacularly and the Dominic Calvert-Lewin header just after that, aimed straight at the keeper. They came after Chelsea had taken the lead and the emotional tone was set, though. Sometimes one chance can define a game. Jonathan Wilson
FA Cup semi-final report: Chelsea 1-0 Leeds
Robert Sánchez has struggled at times this season, particularly when playing out from the back, but a change in the dugout brought a change in approach at Wembley. Calum McFarlane talked of wanting to instil fear in the Leeds backline by going direct and the winning goal came about after a long ball by Sánchez. João Pedro outmuscled Pascal Struijk and fed Pedro Neto, whose cross was headed home by Enzo Fernández. Where was this fight last Tuesday when Chelsea slumped to defeat at Brighton costing Liam Rosenior his job? João Pedro did not play in that one but Fernández, dropped for two games earlier this month after casting doubt on his future at the club, played his best game in weeks against Leeds in a team performance several levels above what has been offered in recent matches. Chelsea, though, still had their goalkeeper to thank for two big saves. The first at 0-0 from Brenden Aaronson and a much better one from Anton Stach just after half-time. If Chelsea are to win the FA Cup then they will probably need their No 1 to have another good day on 16 May. Stephen Flynn
