Enzo Fernandez is enough of an unprepossessing individual that, at the start of this month, he was banned for two matches by his own club but he is still capable of being a very fine footballer for Chelsea when the mood takes him.
On Sunday afternoon at Wembley, the mood took him. The histrionics of some of his team-mates – Moises Caicedo and Pedro Neto deserve special mention – might have made the unflinching heroes of Chelsea’s FA Cup winning team of 1970 weep in despair.
But Fernandez played with the kind of unrelenting steel and unremitting excellence that would have allowed him to hold his own amid the blood and thunder of earlier eras and it was fitting that it was his first half header that took Chelsea to the FA Cup final, where they will meet Manchester City on May 16.
Questions should be asked about quite how a team that capitulated so shamefully to Brighton & Hove Albion in midweek that the performance cost previous head coach Liam Rosenior his job, could dominate Leeds United so comfortably in this semi-final. Some credit for that, of course, should go to interim coach Calum McFarlane.
Stocked with anti-heroes, Chelsea have become English football’s version of the Dirty Dozen but they deserved the plaudits on Sunday. Leeds improved after the interval but they were a disappointment in front of the tens of thousands of supporters who made their way down from Yorkshire. They did at least win the battle of the noise.
There were swathes of empty seats in the Chelsea end, which was a sign of quite how disaffected the fans have become with a side that has lost its last five league games and an ownership regime that they despise. Their co-owner, Todd Boehly, knows a thing or two about companies selling tickets at inflated prices. This game was obviously one sell-on too many.
Enzo Fernandez (centre) was Chelsea’s hero as they reached next month’s FA Cup final
He scored the only goal of the game with his header as Chelsea beat Leeds 1-0 at Wembley
The Chelsea midfielder was mobbed by his team-mates after scoring in the 23rd minute
It was hardly a classic and City will be heavy favourites to lift the trophy but the result did at least breathe a little life into what was fast becoming a moribund campaign for Chelsea. They now face a battle to try to climb back into the top five and claim a place in next season’s Champions League.
They will also have time to focus their attentions on finding a new head coach. McFarlane performed creditably enough the first time he took the caretaker role when Enzo Maresca left the club in January and this result was a tribute to him, too.
But however well he does in the next few weeks, it is a sign of his inexperience that he does not possess the requisite coaching badges to allow him to take control of Chelsea for more than 12 weeks.
It may be quite a task to persuade an elite manager to join a club that has become known as a basket-case. Chelsea are now looking for their sixth permanent head coach under the BlueCo rule and it was a reminder of their fickleness that their co-owner Behdad Eghbali was sitting a few seats away from England manager Thomas Tuchel at Wembley, the first boss they fired.
Before the match, Chelsea’s players attempted to set a new world record for the length of their pre-match huddle and forced Leeds to wait as they delivered pep talks to each other in the centre circle.
It did not seem to do an awful lot for their concentration. Almost straight from the kick-off, Leeds burst forward and Caicedo brought Noah Okafor down on the edge of the box. Ao Tanaka lifted the free-kick over the bar.
Chelsea had a glimpse of a first opening when Caicedo floated a delicate pass over the top of the Leeds defence into the path of Alejandro Garnacho. It was a fine run by Garnacho but a dreadful first touch. It bounced off his shin and straight out of play.
A minute later, Leeds should have scored. Trevoh Chalobah gave the ball away in midfield and when it was played in to Dominic Calvert-Lewin, he turned it smartly into the path of Brenden Aaronson.
Calum McFarlane can look forward to leading Chelsea out against Manchester City on May 16
Brenden Aaronson was denied the opener for Leeds United thanks to this Robert Sanchez save
Joao Pedro (centre) nearly broke the deadlock early on when this left-footed shot hit the post
Dominic Calvert-Lewin (left) escaped punishment for this hair pull on Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella
Two Chelsea defenders collided with each other and Aaronson was clean through on Robert Sanchez. Aaronson took his shot early but hit it just too close to the goalkeeper, who made a fine save with his right boot.
Chelsea were the better team, though. Leeds looked vulnerable and porous and it was not a surprise when Chelsea sliced them open with ominous ease twice in quick succession midway through the half.
First, Joao Pedro lashed a left-foot shot against the base of the post and watched it spin across the goal-line and out for a goal kick. Then, Pascal Struijk gave the ball away, Pedro Neto escaped down the right and crossed perfectly for Fernandez who ran in unmarked and headed it firmly past Lucas Perri.
It was Chelsea’s first goal for nearly 300 minutes – their previous effort came against Port Vale in the FA Cup quarter-final. It was also Chelsea’s first goal against Premier League opposition for over 500 minutes. Fernandez may be a largely unsympathetic individual but he is a fine footballer.
Leeds made two substitutions at half-time and one of the new arrivals, Anton Stach, made an immediate impact. His first touch was to lash a sweetly-struck rising drive from the edge of the area towards the roof of the net. It took a brilliant save from Sanchez to push it over.
When Chelsea went up to the other end, they nearly scored the goal of the season. Neto played a ball down the line to Malo Gusto, Gusto sat a Leeds defender down on his backside with a clever turn and played the ball inside to Fernandez. Fernandez flicked it on first time to Joao Pedro, who should have shot straight away but delayed too long and was denied by a tackle.
It was end-to-end now. Okafor curled a cross to the back post and when Calvert-Lewin leapt well to meet it, the hopes of the legions of Leeds fans behind that goal rose up in their chests. The Leeds striker’s contact was good but he directed his effort just too close to Sanchez and he saved it without any drama.
Cole Palmer came on midway through the half and was promptly booked for throwing the ball away in protest against a decision that went against him. That’s how Chelsea roll these days but somewhere under that exterior, there is a decent football team trying to emerge.
