Chelsea Football Club are through to the semi-finals of the FA Cup. The Blues played very respectably against favourites Middlesbrough and never left any doubt at any point.
Will the next heavyweight get wobbly knees? That was the question many had been asking after Middlesbrough FC had knocked ManUnited (8:7 i.E.) and Spurs (1:0 n.V.) out of the FA Cup in the previous rounds.
This time, reigning Champions League winners Chelsea London awaited coach Chris Wilder’s team. The Blues, who have been on course for the last few weeks and have been successful five times in a row, rotated a lot after reaching the CL quarter-finals. Thomas Tuchel, for example, dispensed with Kanté, Werner and Havertz (all on the bench), Lukaku was allowed to try his hand up front.
In front of an outstanding crowd at the Riverside Stadium, the hosts started brashly but were quickly put in their place. Chelsea didn’t do much for the game, but pulled off two moves like a dream and completed them through Lukaku (15th) and birthday boy Ziyech (29th; 31st) for a safe 2-0 lead. In between, Boro flashed his skills from time to time, but the Blues’ defence stood firm and brought the lead safely into the dressing room.
Low-event second half – Werner is blocked
By the hour mark, Wilder had made a total of four changes, by which time the hosts had not fired a single shot on Mendy’s box. Even with the fresh forces, little changed and the game dribbled along. Tuchel was already slowly resting his players, among them Werner, who was allowed to play in the final phase.
The German international also had a chance, but his shot was blocked (81st). In the entire second half, there was not a single opportunity worth mentioning on either side, so the score remained 2-0, which was absolutely fine.
Despite difficult times for the club, the Blues continue to swim on the road to success from a purely sporting point of view. Even if the championship title is already a distant memory, the triple is still theoretically possible this season. Now there is an international break before the Bees from Brentford FC visit Stamford Bridge on 2 April (4 pm). Just four days later, the Blues will host Real Madrid.
