Daniel Farke singles out Chelsea star for praise after Leeds’ FA Cup semi-final defeat

Daniel Farke congratulated Chelsea and singled out Robert Sanchez for special praise his Leeds side missed out on a place in this year’s final with a 1-0 defeat at Wembley.

Enzo Fernandez headed Pedro Neto’s cross beyond Lucas Perri to open the scoring in the 23rd minute and the Argentine’s early breakthrough proved decisive, with Leeds coming up short in search of an equaliser in the capital.

Anton Stach and Dominic Calvert-Lewin both squandered golden opportunities to make it all square as Sanchez stood strong after what has been a difficult season for the error-prone Chelsea goalkeeper.

And while Leeds threatened to take the tie to extra-time in the closing stages, the Blues held firm to advance through to the FA Cup final for the 17th time in 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 year’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.

‘First of all, congratulations to Chelsea for making their way through to the final,’ Leeds head coach Farke told TNT Sports shortly after the final whistle.

‘I think it’s fair to say it was a very tight game. If you have a look at the statistics, we had more expected goals, more shots, more shots on target, more big chances missed.

‘It could go in both directions but it’s also fair to say that we were not at our free-flowing best today, especially in the first half.

‘It’s not that we were played off the park but we made one or two unnecessary mistakes in the build-up, a bit clumsy, and gave more or less the only situation where Chelsea had a chance.’

Farke highlighted Sanchez’s assured display between the sticks for Chelsea, with the Spaniard proving a thorn in Leeds’ side in the second period.

‘We had the first chance to score, a big chance, and it was a good save from their goalkeeper as well,’ the German added.

‘Second half, we tried everything, we changed our base formation and brought more offensive-thinking players in. We went a bit more men-against-men, also from the start were dominant.

‘The goalkeeper again, there were good saves against Anton Stach and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

‘Our set-piece deliveries and crosses were not that precise, like in the last few weeks, and were not that free-flowing in and around the opposition box so we didn’t create enough clear-cut chances. This is what we can criticise.’

According to Farke, Leeds’ players had displayed signs of ‘nervousness’ across the 90 minutes.

‘Perhaps you could feel a bit that the lads were a bit nervous. So much was made out of this game and we were not at our very best today,’ he explained.

‘But yeah, it’s football. In tight games, the team defends a bit more concentrated wins the game and this was today Chelsea and for that, congratulations to them.’

Asked if the occasion had perhaps affected his players, Farke replied: ‘Yes, of course.

‘The players are not used to play always on a Champions League-level. So much of made of it being the first game in four decades.

‘Yes, of course it’s difficult. The commitment was there, the effort was there.

‘We were competitive and also had our chances, but it was perhaps that we were a bit nervous in possession to create more and dominate the game.’

McFarlane will no doubt have been pleased for Sanchez on an impressive all-round showing, with Chelsea registering a clean sheet for the first time since their 7-0 thumping of Port Vale in the previous round.

But in his post-match interview, the Blues interim manager credited ‘fighter’ and ‘warrior’ Fernandez being the ‘deciding factor’ in the tie.

‘He can definitely do what you want from a tactical perspective but I think today the most impressive thing about him was when the tactics went out the window and Leeds were on top, he’s just a fighter and a warrior,’ McFarlane told TNT Sports.

‘We don’t have to have the perfect game-plan in those moments because he’ll run, compete, tackle and drive players on.

‘So that’s what I thought was probably the deciding factor in the game.’

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