As late double sinks 10-man Leicester in chaotic battle

Chelsea were strolling at half-time before Axel Disasi’s remarkable own goal let Leicester back in

FA Cup quarter-final: Chelsea 4 Leicester City 2

Jacob Steinberg reports for the Irish Times that Chelsea’s capacity for chaos should never be underestimated. Only they could go 2-0 up against Championship opposition in an FA Cup quarter-final and end up needing stoppage-time goals to go through after a second half that will be remembered for Axel Disasi’s incredible own goal, more dissent from the crowd and Cole Palmer expunging the toxic atmosphere with a superb assist for Carney Chukwuemeka.

This was Chelsea at their most mystifying. The celebrations at the end were relieved. There had been boos for Mauricio Pochettino and Raheem Sterling when Leicester City fought back to level the tie just after the hour. Chelsea, two wins from collecting their first trophy under Pochettino, were sweating before the substitute Chukwuemeka combined with Palmer and broke Enzo Maresca’s side in the second of two added minutes.

Leicester, who had Callum Doyle sent off at 2-2, had to take heart from one of their closest rivals for promotion, Leeds United, coming close to causing an upset against Chelsea in the fifth round. They have wobbled of late, their lead at the top of the Championship whittled down to one point after a run of one win in five games, but they refused to be overawed.

It meant that Chelsea would have to be on their game if they were to make the most of hosting second-tier opposition for the third time in this year’s competition. Leicester were committed to their style, Harry Winks often dropping back to start moves from deep, and they caused problems during the first half. Patson Daka and Wout Faes both headed wide from inviting positions, the latter after the suspect Robert Sánchez flew off his line to claim a corner and got nowhere the ball.

Leicester needed more conviction in the key areas. For all their bravery, it was worth noting that many of their players had been below the required standard in the top flight. Winks has fallen long since starting for Pochettino’s Tottenham in the Champions League final five years ago.

There was a remnant of the past in the Nigerian midfielder Wilfried Ndidi, the only player in either starting line-up who played when Leicester beat Chelsea in the 2021 final. There was unease at Maresca, having to trust in a center-back pairing between Faes and Jannik Vestergaard.

Pochettino had picked an attacking team, Enzo Fernández’s suspension in midfield necessitating a switch from the favored 4-3-3 system to something bolder. Mykahilo Mudryk was rewarded for his stunning goal against Newcastle with a start on the left. Sterling stuck close to Nicolas Jackson in the middle, and Chelsea stayed ahead after 13 minutes.

The goal came from a transition sparked by Moisés Caicedo tackling Abdul Fatawu on the edge of Chelsea’s area. Possession was recycled, and Palmer sent Jackson down the right. One-on-one with Vestergaard, he beat the Dane for strength and speed, went outside, and rolled a pass across for Marc Cucurella to tap into an empty net.

Leicester’s right side had evaporated, and Hamza Choudhury’s positioning was exposed. Chelsea kept pushing, and Mudryk and Sterling threatened.

Chelsea’s main issue was carelessness. There was a weird moment when Fatawu conceded a penalty with a lunge on Sterling. Palmer has converted five spot-kicks this season, so it was a surprise to see Sterling grab the ball. His kick was too central, and Jakub Stolarczyk kept the score 1-0.

Perhaps Sterling wanted to make a point after being overlooked by England again. Nobody can ever accuse him of hiding. He missed another chance, chipping wide after being released by Caicedo, but he had an assist when he drove down the left and set up Palmer just before half-time.

It was too simple. Chelsea prefers it bewildering. Six minutes into the second half, Disasi obliged. Racing back to deal with a loose ball on the right, the defender felt some pressure from Daka and panicked, even though he was 40 yards from goal. Sánchez, equally unconvincing in possession, was too far to his left, and the goalkeeper was powerless to stop Disasi’s slice from spinning into the net.

Chelsea’s structure disappeared. Disasi, whose distribution rarely convinces, heard the Leicester fans urging him to shoot whenever the ball came to him. Leicester began to dominate. It was no surprise when Stephy Mavididi cut inside from the left, beat Malo Gusto, and bent a magnificent shot beyond Sánchez.

Leicester were encouraged to chase a third. Too excited, they committed too many players forward. They were exposed when Jackson ran clear after a brilliant piece of skill and drew a trip from Doyle just outside the area. Andrew Madley, the referee, awarded a penalty, downgraded to a free-kick after checking the pitchside monitor and sent Doyle off for denying a goalscoring opportunity.

Chelsea’s hope turned to anger. The home fans vented their fury at Sterling when he blasted the free-kick high and wide. They wanted him substituted, but they booed when Mudryk went off for Chukwuemeka instead and aimed chants of “You don’t know what you’re doing” at Pochettino.

The mood was ugly. Sterling was jeered when he finally went off for Noni Madueke, who was sent on to find a late winner. Leicester, who had put Conor Coady and James Justin on, was sitting deep. Stolarczyk made a stunning stop from Caicedo, and Jackson missed a sitter.

Eight added minutes gave Chelsea a shot at redemption. Chukwuemeka took responsibility, playing a one-two with Palmer. It was too quick for Leicester. Palmer’s flick was glorious, and Chukwuemeka ran through to slide a shot in.

Friends again, Chelsea secured victory when Madueke curled in a lovely shot from 20 yards. By then, it was hard to look past everything that had gone before. – Guardian.

Maresca: Vardy, Ricardo, McAteer Out For Chelsea

Gradually returning to fitness, Wilfred Ndidi could get some playing time at Chelsea on Sunday, having featured in City’s last two outings. Manager Enzo Maresca says the Club will continue to play the Nigerian cautiously as he looks to provide added impetus to Leicester’s goals this term.

“We are trying to manage the situation a little bit, to progress a little bit with him,” Maresca told LCFC.com on Friday. “He played 20-25 minutes against Sunderland and 45 in the last game. We’ll see for Sunday’s game.

“With him, with all the injured players, when they are coming back, you have to be a little bit careful, especially now. We have, I think, just 40 days to go to finish the season.

“Any injury at this moment can be crucial, so you have to be careful, but it’s football. We cannot control any injuries.”

Maresca says that Jamie Vardy, Ricardo Pereira, and Kasey McAteer will miss Leicester City’s trip to Stamford Bridge for Sunday’s Emirates FA Cup tie at Chelsea.

The Foxes, who beat the Blues in the 2021 final, face the same foe on the road in the quarter-finals of this term’s fixture. The tie pits the 11th in the Premier League host against first in the Sky Bet Championship.

Ahead of the meeting in west London, Maresca offered an update on his squad’s fitness. Vardy, Ricardo, and McAteer are all out, and while the Foxes hope to welcome them back after the international break, Maresca cannot be specific.

“Kasey’s injured, Ricky’s injured, and Jamie’s injured,” the Italian told the media in Seagrave on Friday.

“As I said at the last press conference, when we played Sunderland away, [Vardy] didn’t train. He just did something before the game. Then he played the previous game. Fortunately for us, he scored twice but got injured again.

“It’s a small problem. I said many times that we all love Jamie Vardy, but at the same time, he’s 37, and we cannot forget that. It’s not a big issue. We also have the international break, so hopefully, we can have all our players back after that.”

“Kasey is probably the worst one. We’re unsure if he’ll return after the international break, but probably yes. We’ll see.”

Bernardo Silva scores twice in first-half with deflected efforts as Pep Guardiola’s Treble-chasers ease into FA Cup semi-finals

After Anfield’s turmoil and chaos last weekend, this was the return of the Manchester City we know, Ian Ladyman reports for Mail Online.

Ordered, purposeful, reliable, and utterly in control, Pep Guardiola’s team is in yet another domestic cup semi-final, and nobody will be surprised.

Admittedly, the opposition is battered, bruised, and going backward. So soon after last season’s highs, Newcastle is heading in the wrong direction at an alarmingly and increasingly predictable rate.

Eddie Howe’s team put in a lot of effort, but the truth is they were never in this game. The city was impressively relentless throughout, and they have now progressed to six FA Cup semi-finals in a row says everything about them. No team has ever done that before.

The two goals that decided it both came in the first half from City’s Portuguese wonder Bernardo Silva. The 29-year-old is in his seventh season at the Etihad Stadium now, and during that time, his levels have rarely dropped for long. He is the embodiment of this remorseless team in so many ways.

Both goals were deflected. The first is off the back of Dan Burn’s thigh, and the second is from Sven Botman’s forehead.

The first contact was entirely understandable. Burn was trying to get in the way as any conscientious defender should.

The second was a little different. Botman didn’t need to head Silva’s shot, as his goalkeeper would have saved it. But for some reason, he did, so Martin Dubravka didn’t.

But this was not about individual blame for Newcastle, just as City’s victory was not one determined by one brilliant player. This was about the collective on both sides of the equation.

It’s easy to feel sorry for Newcastle. They are honest people who have been around the block too often.

The worry for them and their manager is that it’s only mid-March, and there is still a lot of football to play in the Premier League.

They are tenth, and the team below them, Chelsea, has a game in hand.

At least it didn’t get ugly for them, though. It looked as it may do at one stage. But City threatened only sporadically as the game wore on in the rain.

City’s domestic cup record under Guardiola is exemplary. For all that some of the Premier League’s big clubs purport to disregard the competition, it has never been the way on Guardiola’s watch here.

It was no surprise to see the strength of the team the City manager chose and the purpose and intent of their football. They could play through the Newcastle midfield a little easier than they imagined. Once they found themselves with green grass ahead of them, Silva, Phil Foden, and Jeremy Doku were dangerous throughout.

Newcastle were perhaps as we expected them, particularly in the first half.

You never detect a lack of effort in Howe’s players, but equally, they have recently been a team functioning at quite some level beneath capacity.

Newcastle, still carrying injuries and fielding players who are not fully fit, were game but limited, and that isn’t what we expected of them this season after what they managed to achieve last time round.

Both first-half goals were deflected, so there was some misfortune attached to a deficit that stood at two goals at halftime. At the same time, possession and territory statistics rarely lie, and they aren’t here. City was superior in every department, including the ones that really mattered.

Newcastle were competitive for the first ten minutes but were already forced to do too much running without the ball. And when the City midfield shifted the ball left to right across the pitch and into Silva’s possession, the home team was in business. Burn endeavored to hold his ground but looked anxious about making a tackle inside the penalty area. So when Silva eventually released his shot, the ball struck the back of Burn’s extended thigh and looped painfully over goalkeeper Martin Dubravka and into the far corner.

The celebrations at the Etihad were enthusiastic enough but hardly wild. They expected this. Still, the home team didn’t cut loose. Doku was more of a threat than he had been for a while, and Erling Haaland almost blundered through, only for Dubravka to come out and smother. And then, in the 31st minute, Newcastle committed a second act of self-harm in just over a quarter of an hour.

Once again, Silva shot from the far side of the penalty area. Dubravka would have saved it this time, but Botman’s decision to head the ball toward his own goal was instinctive but still inexplicable. Once the ball had been diverted back toward the center of the goal, Dubravka didn’t have a chance.

Suddenly, it all looked a bit dicey for Newcastle. Another goal between now and half-time would have been damage limitation time.

The city threatened again. Doku and Phil Foden were close, while Ruben Dias saw a header saved. However, there was one flicker from the Newcastle attack: Alexander Isak delivered a powerful low volley from 12 yards that City’s reserve goalkeeper Stefan Ortega did very well to repel with a low left hand.

Newcastle’s prospects didn’t significantly improve in the second half. Howe introduced four substitutes with 25 minutes left—one of them Miguel Almiron—which gave them a little more forward thrust in what became quite a stretched game of football. Within a few minutes, one pass from Almiron played Isak in, only for the Swede to stand on the ball. That summed up Newcastle’s day.

At the other end, City remained hungry and eager, and nobody was more hungry than Haaland, who was starting to look like a likely scorer. The Norwegian had been shackled by Virgil van Dijk at Anfield last Sunday, but here he was, beginning to find pockets of space. One shot flew wide, while another cannoned into a defender. Doku, meanwhile, worked Dubravka with a shot across the goal that the ‘keeper was forced to touch past the post.