toptop
Ross
Barkley's second-half goal was enough to send Chelsea into the FA Cup
semi-finals, beating Leicester 1-0 at the King Power Stadium.
The result will come as a relief for Frank Lampard after a sloppy first half in
which Leicester took advantage of Chelsea's errors but could not find the back
of the net, although Christian Pulisic had the best chance of the opening period
but was thwarted by an acrobatic Kasper Schmeichel save.
The Chelsea head coach made three half-time changes and they paid off, with the
visitors looking sharper in the second half and one of those substitutes,
Barkley, slotted home in the 63rd minute to send the Blues into the Wembley
semi-finals on July 18 and 19.
The semi-final draw will take place at half-time during Newcastle vs Manchester
City later on Sunday (kick-off 6.30pm), with Manchester United and Arsenal
already in the pot.
Leicester began strongly and could have gone ahead inside three minutes. Within
30 seconds, Harvey Barnes had stolen possession before driving towards the area,
but he was unable to make the most of a neat interchange with Jamie Vardy.
Wilfred Ndidi took advantage of some more poor Chelsea midfield play, nipping in
before laying the ball off to Barnes on the left. However, his cross - intended
for Vardy - was pushed away by the outstretched hand of Willy Caballero.
Player ratings
Leicester: Schmeichel (7), Justin (6), Evans (7), Soyuncu (7),
Chilwell (6), Ndidi (7), Praet (6), Tielemans (7), Perez (6), Barnes (7), Vardy
(6).
Subs used: Albrighton (6), Choudhury (6), Gray (5).
Chelsea: Caballero (6), James (6), Rudiger (7), Zouma (7),
Emerson (6), Kante (6), Gilmour (6), Willian (7), Mount (7), Pulisic (8),
Abraham (7).
Subs used: Barkley (8), Kovacic (8), Azpilicueta (7),
Loftus-Cheek (6), Pedro (6).
Man of the match: Ross Barkley.
Leicester went close again inside a few minutes as Ndidi again stole the ball
back in midfield - this time from N'Golo Kante - to spark a counter-attack, but
Dennis Praet's cross evaded Perez, Barnes and Vardy inside the area. Caballero
was in action again shortly after to deny Youri Tielemans with a low stop.
Just before the half-an-hour mark, Jonny Evans should have scored with his head.
Ben Chilwell - a reported summer transfer target for Chelsea - floated a
wonderful free-kick into the area, but Evans could only direct his header wide
of the post.
Team news
Leicester made four changes with Nampalys Mendy, Demarai Gray, Kelechi Iheanacho
and James Maddison dropping out. Dennis Praet, Youri Tielemans, Ayoze Perez and
Harvey Barnes came into the XI.
Chelsea rung the changes with only five players keeping their places. Antonio
Rudiger, N’Golo Kante, Mason Mount, Willian and Christian Pulisic remained in
the XI, with the likes of Reece James and Billy Gilmour coming in.
But the best chance of the half came in a rare sight of goal for Chelsea. A
sensational pass from Mason Mount found Pulisic in the area, slipping the ball
through a tight pocket of space. The USA international then took a few strides
before powering the ball goalwards, forcing an incredible fingertip save from
Schmeichel.
Lampard's feeling about a slack first half from Chelsea was clear when he made
three half-time substitutions, bringing on Barkley, Mateo Kovacic and Cesar
Azpilicueta. The visitors were much improved in the second period and Tammy
Abraham the ball in the back of the net after 10 minutes - but it was flagged
for offside.
Chelsea kept pushing, though, and got their reward in the 63rd minute. After
popping the ball between himself and Azpilicueta on the right, Willian floated a
cross into the area with Barkley making a run in between Ndidi and Evans to tap
the ball home from just outside the six-yard box.
Both sides had the chance for another goal as the game entered the final five
minutes. Leicester almost grabbed a late equaliser to send the game into extra
time, but Caglar Soyuncu could not direct his header on target. Barkley nearly
scored his and Chelsea's second not long after but his strike hammered into the
body of Schmeichel before looping behind for a corner.
Chelsea have now reached their 24th FA Cup semi-final and have won their last
five games in all competitions, while Leicester's wait for their first ever
title win in the competition goes on.
Man of the match - Ross Barkley
What a difference all three substitutes made when they came on at half-time, but
none more so than Barkley. He kept making runs inside the area and after a
couple of goes at it, it paid off when he slotted home in the 63rd minute in
what proved to be the winner.
He continued to be the catalyst up front for Chelsea and almost rounded things
off late on, but could only find the body of Schmeichel. Credit must also go to
Kovacic and Pulisic - who was by far Chelsea's best player in a poor first half
- but for his goal, it's Barkley who takes it.
Opta stats
Leicester have now lost each of their last five quarter-final matches in the FA
Cup - with each of the last three all being against Chelsea (also 2012 and
2018).
Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers remains winless in all 15 of his meetings
with Chelsea as a manager (D8 L7), the most he's faced a single opponent without
winning in his managerial career.
Since his competition debut in January 2014, Willian has been directly involved
in 17 FA Cup goals (11 goals, six assists); this is at least six more than any
other Chelsea player in this time.
What's next?
Leicester are next in action on Wednesday when they travel to Everton, live on
Sky Sports (kick-off 6pm). Chelsea will also be playing on July 1 when they take
on West Ham in a London derby, also shown live on Sky Sports (kick-off 8.15pm).
Teams
Leicester City Schmeichel (c), Justin, Soyuncu, Evans,
Chilwell, Tielemans, Ndidi, Perez (Albrighton 57), Praet (Choudhury 57), Barnes
(Gray 76), Vardy
Subs Not Used Ward, Morgan, Fchs, Bennett, Mendy, Iheanacho
Booked Soyuncu
Goals
Chelsea Caballero, James (Azpilicueta 46), Zouma, Rudiger,
Emerson, Kante, Gilmour (Kovacic 46), Willian (c) (Pedro 78), Mount (Barkley
46), Pulisic (Loftus-Cheek 72), Abraham
Subs Not Used Kepa, Alonso, Jorginho, Batshuayi
Booked
Goals Barkley 63
Attendance 0
Referee Mike Dean
VAR Martin Atkinson