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Important update on 1476AMSinging the Blues: Chelsea set up crack at FA Cup glory
Steve Douglas •  April 27th, 2026 8:14 am
Chelsea | Photo: AP
Chelsea's season might be unravelling -- but it will still include an appearance in the FA Cup final.
Enzo Fernandez's 23rd-minute header secured the Blues a 1-0 win over Leeds in the semi-finals on Monday (NZ time), setting up a meeting with Manchester City in the May 16 showdown, also at Wembley.
Chelsea's run in the FA Cup is salvaging a campaign that has veered off the rails after a humiliating exit from the Champions League — 8-2 on aggregate to Paris Saint-Germain in the last-16 — and five straight losses in the Premier League.
That's the team's worst run of league results in 114 years and led to the midweek dismissal of manager Liam Rosenior.
But Calum McFarlane, Rosenior's unheralded assistant, has taken control of Chelsea until the end of the season and will now be leading the team back out at Wembley next month, in search of a ninth FA Cup triumph and a first since 2018.
"It was important to break the momentum and the form we were in," McFarlane said.
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"We were confident we would do that today and I think this completely changes the feel within the group."
Fernandez met a right-wing cross from Pedro Neto with a firm header low into the net for the only goal.
The Argentina midfielder recently courted controversy by speaking publicly about wanting to live in Madrid, earning him a two-match suspension by the team.
But McFarlane was happy to give Fernandez the captain's armband against Leeds, saying: "He's a winner — he's got so much talent, so much fight, he's massive for this group."
Leeds, seeking to reach a first FA Cup final since 1973, piled on the pressure in the second half and Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez notably produced a stunning, one-handed save to stop a piledriver from Anton Stach.
City had rallied to beat second-tier Southampton 2-1 on Saturday to advance to the final and stay on course for a domestic treble.
Pep Guardiola's team already has won the League Cup and they're battling with Arsenal for the Premier League.
Chelsea were most recently in the final in 2022, when they lost to Liverpool on penalties.
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