Leeds United’s first FA Cup semi-final appearance in 39 years ended in narrow 1-0 defeat to Chelsea at Wembley Stadium.
Despite a bright start and a few promising moments, Daniel Farke’s side were undone by a clinical first-half goal from Enzo Fernandez and ultimately fell short against a resilient Blues outfit.
The Whites threatened inside the opening 30 seconds when Noah Okafor burst forward, before Brenden Aaronson spurned a golden one-on-one opportunity on the counter, only to be denied by a smart save from Robert Sanchez. That miss proved costly.
Chelsea took the lead on 23 minutes after Pascal Struijk was dispossessed by Joao Pedro in his own half. The Brazilian worked the ball wide to Pedro Neto, whose precise cross was headed home by Fernandez for the only goal of the game. Joao Pedro later struck the post with a fierce effort, but Leeds improved after the break, with substitute Anton Stach going close.
However, they couldn’t find a way past Sanchez, and Chelsea held on to reach the final against Manchester City.
Lucas Perri – 7
Nothing the summer signing could ultimately do about the goal.
Perri had relatively little to do otherwise but his kicking was generally solid and he kept the scoreline respectable.
Jayden Bogle – 5
A struggle for Justin throughout the afternoon where his touch and composure deserted him at times.
He managed to get past Cucurella once but struggled to create meaningful danger from the right flank.
James Justin – 5
The former Leicester City man found Joao Pedro a handful, especially when the Brazilian got on his blindside and hit the post.
Unable to make any significant impact and was substituted at half-time.
Jaka Bijol – 6
The 27-year-old couldn’t recover the situation after Struijk’s error for the opener.
Looked a little hesitant at times but caused a few problems aerially in the Chelsea box.
Pascal Struijk – 5
The 6’3 Dutchman made the decisive error that led to the only goal from the game.
However, he recovered reasonably well afterwards but had some uncomfortable moments when dealing with Joao Pedro aerially.
Gabi Gudmundsson – 7.5
Gudmundsson defended solidly on the left and got forward well to deliver dangerous crosses.
One of Leeds’ more positive performers on the day, in a display where chances weren’t galore.
Ethan Ampadu – 7
The former Chelsea man had a tough opening period with some mistimed tackles, but he grew into the game and took control of the midfield.
However, he always looked likely to pick up a booking as the game wore on.
Ao Tanaka – 6
Tanaka humped a poor free-kick well over from a promising position early on.
The 27-year-old had a difficult task in midfield and never really stamped his authority, though there were some decent phases.
Brenden Aaronson – 5
The American squandered a glorious one-on-one chance in the first half, firing his shot low at the feet of Robert Sanchez.
He harried Chelsea throughout and showed some nice touches, but ultimately had little influence on the game.
Noah Okafor – 7
The main live-wire for Leeds, despite not causing much damage – Okafor tried to make things happen even when they didn’t quite come off and was constantly hunting for opportunities.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 5.5
On a day where many expected the Englishman to thrive aerially against Chelsea’s defence, Calvert-Lewin had a display to forget.
The 29-year-old headed straight at Sanchez in the second half, his only chance from the game.
Joe Rodon – 6
Brought added composure and physicality to the backline after coming on at half-time.
Sean Longstaff – N/A
Introduced too late to make a meaningful impact.
Anton Stach – 6
Forced Sanchez into a good save within two minutes of entering the pitch.
The German added more central drive going forward, though his set-pieces were rusty after a spell on the sidelines.
Wilfried Gnonto – 5
Tried to find space between the lines but was largely crowded out by Chelsea’s compact shape.
Lukas Nmecha – 5
Took a heavy challenge to the shoulder from Andrey Santos early after coming on. Showed some nice footwork but picked up a yellow card for a late tackle.