Carney Chukwuemeka and Noni Madueke struck injury-time goals as Chelsea beat Leicester 4-2 at Stamford Bridge to reach semi-finals of 2023-24 FA Cup.
Chukwuemeka pounced upon Cole Palmer’s pass in the second minute of injury time to fire Chelsea into the semi-finals, which was capped by Noni Madueke’s 98th minute strike to wrap up a tense victory.
Marc Cucurella netted his first goal for Chelsea in the 13th minute from a pullback pass by Nicolas Jackson, which found the Spanish left-back unmarked inside the box.
Cole Palmer doubled Chelsea’s lead on the stroke of half time before Axel Disasi handed Leicester a 51st minute lifeline, as the French defender played a back-pass into his own goal.
Mavididi eventually pulled Enzo Maresca’s Foxes level with a 62nd minute strike but the visitors were reduced to ten men 11 minutes later, after Callum Doyle was red carded following a Video-Assistant Referee (VAR) review for a foul on Jackson.
Chelsea now join Coventry and Manchester City in the semi-final draw which will take place upon conclusion of Manchester United’s Quarter-Final against Liverpool, live on ITV1 in the UK.
Amidst ongoing speculation over Mauricio Pochettino’s future as manager, Chelsea enjoyed a strong start against Leicester – who had beat them in the 2021 FA Cup Final – as Cole Palmer flicked wide across goal from a fourth minute corner.
Jakub Stolarczyk then saved Moises Caicedo’s overhead pass towards Jackson in the ninth minute but couldn’t deny the Blues four minutes later, as a counter-attack fell for Jackson to tee up an unmarked Cucurella near the left-post to roll into an empty net.
Cucurella’s goal was his first for Chelsea in 46 appearances following his move from Brighton in August 2022.
Despite Leicester’s efforts to make an end-to-end contest through the first half, Chelsea continued to enjoy the best opportunities as Mykhailo Mudryk saw a shot blocked in the 18th minute.
Drama unfolded at both ends in the 24th minute as Patson Daka first nodded over for Leicester, from which Chelsea broke forward and Malo Gusto teed up Raheem Sterling on the cutback pass – only for the England forward to mis-hit his shot which drew a foul from Abdul Fatawu.
Referee, Andrew Madley pointed straight to the spot but Sterling tamely hit his shot towards the left corner, which enabled Stolarczyk to make a crucial block as he dived wisely to his right, and Jackson subsequently fumbled the rebound shot.
Leicester continued to press but lacked much end product whilst Stolarczyk survived a huge scare as Sterling broke forward in the 44th minute, but the 29 year-old fired wide of an empty net.
Stolarczyk however couldn’t prevent Palmer from doubling Chelsea’s lead in the first minute of first-half injury-time, after the in-form 21 year-old met Sterling’s cutback pass from the left flank and calmly slotted into the left corner to put Pochettino’s Blues ahead at the break.
The see-saw intensity continued into the second-half until Disasi unexpectedly played a 51st minute back-pass into his own net with Sanchez nowhere near the goal, which sparked life back into Leicester.
Moises Caicedo and Daka saw chances denied at both ends but Leicester fought their way back level as Mavididi picked up Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s pass, which saw him cut in from the left and calmly curl into the far-right corner.
Leicester however were dealt a tough setback as a 71st minute corner was cleared to Jackson, who broke forward only to be clipped by Doyle as he sprinted forward into the box.
Madley initially awarded Doyle a yellow card but he reversed his decision after a VAR review and instead sent the 20 year-old off for having denied Jackson a goalscoring opportunity, whilst Sterling blasted the free-kick over the bar.
Leicester meanwhile sacrificed Wilfried Ndidi and Mavididi for Conor Coady and James Justin following Doyle’s dismissal.
Both teams continued to trade chances including which Jackson fired over the bar in the 90th minute, as Chelsea began to pile the pressure on ten-men Leicester.
Leicester’s resistance eventually was broken by substitute, Chukwuemeka who pounced upon Palmer’s pass into the box and fired into the bottom right corner to seal a dramatic winner in the second minute of injury-time.
Chelsea further consolidated their win as fellow substitute, Madueke broke forward in the 98th minute and curled into the top-left corner, as the Blues booked a second trip to Wembley Stadium this season.
What’s Next?
Chelsea now head off on the international break before returning to Premier League action with a home clash against Burnley on Easter Saturday 30 March at 3pm GMT.
Leicester likewise will now have the international break off but will return to Championship action at Bristol City on Good Friday 29 March, in a 12:30pm kick-off at Ashton Gate.
Teams
Chelsea: Robert Sanchez, Malo Gusto, Axel Disasi, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Cucurella (Chilwell 90+1′), Moises Caicedo, Conor Gallagher, Cole Palmer, Mykhailo Mudryk (Chukwuemeka 78′), Raheem Sterling (Madueke 86′), Nicolas Jackson
Substitutes: Djorde Petrovic, Benoit Badiashile, Thiago Silva, Joshua Acheampong, Ben Chilwell, Ollie Harrison, Carney Chukwuemeka, Noni Madueke, Deivid Washington
Leicester: Jakub Stolarczyk, Hamza Choudhury, Wout Faes, Jannik Vestergaard, Callum Doyle, Wilfried Ndidi (Coady 78′), Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Harry Winks, Abdul Fatawu (Akgun 64′), Stephy Mavididi (Justin 75′)
Substitutes: Danny Ward, Conor Coady, Ben Nelson, James Justin, Yunus Akgun, Marc Albrighton, Wanya Marcal, Kelechi Iheanacho, Tom Cannon
Referee: Andrew Madley