Daniel Farke congratulated Chelsea and singled out Robert Sanchez for special praise his Leeds side missed out on a spot on this yr’s final with a 1-0 defeat at Wembley.
Enzo Fernandez headed Pedro Neto’s cross beyond Lucas Perri to open the scoring within the twenty third minute and the Argentine’s early breakthrough proved decisive, with Leeds coming up short seeking an equaliser.
Anton Stach and Dominic Calvert-Lewin each squandered golden opportunities to make all of it square as Sanchez stood strong after what has been a tricky difficult for the error-prone Chelsea goalkeeper.
And while Leeds threatened to take the tie to extra-time within the closing stages, the Blues held firm to advance through to the FA Cup final for the seventeenth time within the competition’s history.
Calum McFarlane, who took over the reins on an interim basis after Liam Rosenior’s sacking at Chelsea, will steer the club into this yr’s showpiece against Manchester City on May 16.
The west London giants are aiming to lift the trophy for a ninth time, having last triumphed under Antonio Conte back in 2018.
‘To begin with, congratulations to Chelsea for making their way through to the ultimate,’ Leeds head coach Farke told TNT Sports shortly after the ultimate whistle.
‘I feel it’s fair to say it was a really tight game. If you could have a take a look at the statistics, we had more expected goals, more shots, more shots on track, more big probabilities missed.
‘It could go in each directions however it’s also fair to say that we weren’t at our free-flowing best today, especially in the primary half.
‘It’s not that we were played off the park but we made one or two unnecessary mistakes within the build-up, a bit clumsy, and gave kind of the one situation where Chelsea had a likelihood.’
Farke highlighted Sanchez’s assured display between the sticks for Chelsea, with the Spaniard proving a thorn in Leeds’ side within the second period.
‘We had the primary likelihood to attain, an enormous likelihood, and it was an excellent save from their goalkeeper as well,’ the German added.
‘Second half, we tried all the pieces, we modified out base formation and brought more offensive-thinking players in. We went a bit more men-against-men, also from the beginning were dominant.
‘The goalkeeper again, there have been good saves against Anton Stach and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
‘Our set-piece deliveries and crosses weren’t that precise, like in the previous few weeks, and weren’t that free-flowing in and across the opposition box so we didn’t create enough clear-cut probabilities. That is what we will criticise.’
In accordance with Farke, Leeds’ players had displayed signs of ‘nervousness’ across the 90 minutes.
‘Perhaps you would feel a bit that the lads were a bit nervous. A lot was made out of this game and we weren’t at our absolute best today,’ he explained.
‘But yeah, it’s football. In tight games, the team defends a bit more concentrated wins the sport and this was today Chelsea and for that, congratulations to them.’
Asked if the occasion had perhaps affected his players, Farke replied: ‘Yes, after all.
‘The players usually are not used to play at all times on a Champions League-level. A lot of product of it being the primary game in 4 a long time.
‘Yes, after all it’s difficult. The commitment was there, the trouble was there.
‘We were competitive and likewise had our probabilities, however it was perhaps that we were a bit nervous in possession to create more and dominate the sport.’
More to follow.
MORE: Steven Gerrard makes daring claim over £60 million Chelsea star – ‘they give the impression of being a special team’
MORE: Joe Cole showers Chelsea ‘warrior’ with praise after FA Cup semi-final win over Leeds
MORE: Who’s Calum McFarlane? Chelsea interim manager in charge for the remainder of the season