Chelsea moved on to the FA Cup semifinals while Ross Barkley scored a 1-0 win at Leicester, while Arsenal joined London rivals in the past four after a dramatic 2-1 win against Sheffield United on Sunday .
Trying to win the first trophy of Frank Lampard’s reign, Chelsea recovered from a painful start at King Power Stadium. The Blues could easily have been late before half-time, but Lampard made the half-time changes and Barkley – one of the players introduced – grabbed the winner with a nice finish.
Chelsea’s success in the quarterfinals could bode well for the Blues, who beat Leicester on the same leg en route to win the competition for the eighth and final time in 2018. Lampard made six changes to the team he awarded the Premier League title in Liverpool with a win over Manchester City on Thursday.
As a result, Chelsea was initially out of place and Leicester’s Harvey Barnes saw the door within 30 seconds, with the heavy touch of the wing allowing the ball to pop out as it prepared to shoot. It was a slow start from Chelsea and Blues defender Antonio Rudiger angrily cautioned his teammates after expelling a Youri Tielemans raid.
When Wilfred Ndidi was given acres of space to head straight for Willy Caballero, Lampard was heard screaming “reviving” his sloppy stars.
There was no immediate improvement from Chelsea and Billy Gilmour in possession of the gift to Tielemans, which forced Caballero to turn for a corner. Leicester defender Jonny Evans led Ben Chilwell’s free kick by wasting at close range.
Christian Pulisic had scored in each of Chelsea’s first two games since the restart and the United States winger drove their response with a fierce blow that Kasper Schmeichel overturned. Lampard was still not satisfied and sent Barkley, Mateo Kovacic and Cesar Azpilicueta halfway. Chelsea looked more vibrant after the changes, with Kovacic dominating in midfield. By pushing harder and breaking on purpose, Chelsea took the lead in the 63rd minute.
Willian fusses over a cross teased from the right and Barkley confronts Evans to lead a clinical milestone after Schmeichel. It was the England midfielder’s fourth goal of the season of the season, with three of those making it to the FA Cup. Lampard was worried when the fit Pulisic was forced to come off and needed an ice pack on his leg when he hit the bench. Azpilicueta blocked a header from Caglar Soyuncu and Ndidi curled up while Chelsea resisted.
Late Ceballos winner
On Bramall Lane, Dani Ceballos has fired Arsenal in the past four alongside Chelsea and Manchester United. Mikel Arteta’s team rode their luck after surviving a flurry of the second half from the Blades. Nicolas Pepe gave Arsenal the lead in the first half after Chris Basham fouled Alexandre Lacazette.
David McGoldrick drew three minutes to go, but Real Madrid loan midfielder Ceballos resolved the problem in the closing moments. Arteta was the captain of Arsenal when they won the English Cup final against Hull in 2014. And the Gunners’ boss remains on track to get his hands on the silverware while Arsenal tries to win the competition for the fourteenth record time.
“This is a difficult place to win. We went back to Wembley. I’m really happy with the attitude and performance of the players, “said Arteta.” It’s a great opportunity to try and win a title and play in Europe. ”
Sunday FA English results (aet indicates after extra time):
Sheffield United 1 (McGoldrick 87) Arsenal 2 (Pepe 25-pen, Ceballos 90 + 1)
He played on Saturday
Norwich 1 (Cantwell 75) Manchester United 2 (Ighalo 51, Maguire 118) aet
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