Chelsea are through to the final of the 2025/26 season Emirates FA Cup following a narrow 1-0 win over Leeds United in their semifinal tie at the Wembley Stadium on Sunday. 

The Blues will face Manchester City in the final of the competition on May 16. City reached the final after a 2-1 comeback win over Southampton at the same venue on Saturday.

A header by Enzo Fernandez in the 23rd minute of the game was enough to secure the victory for Chelsea in what was interim head coach Calum McFarlane’s first game in charge of the Blues. 

McFarlane was named coach until the end of the season four days ago following the dismissal of former gaffer Liam Rosenior due to a series of poor runs that put UEFA Champions League qualification at risk. 

The victory against Leeds United was Chelsea’s first taste of a win since April 4 after three consecutive defeats against Manchester City, Manchester United and Brighton. 

Additionally, it was the Blues’ third win in their past 10 matches across all competitions, with the remaining games ending in losses.

Speaking after the match, McFarlane maintained the win was crucial to break the cycle of negative results under  Rosenior.

“It was important to get the win. It was important to break the momentum and the form we were in. We were confident we would do that today and that changes the feel in the group.

“We want to win every game for the fans. It’s not worked out in other competitions. We want to win every game, like in any season, but it’s not extra motivation,” McFarlane said. 

Speaking on the importance of Fernandez to the squad, the 40-year-old stated, “I said that to him at the end, he likes scoring at the back post for me and he just laughed. He’s done that all season. He’s a winner, he’s got so much talent, so much fight, he’s massive for the group. 

“He can do a bit of everything but when it gets tough, you can see him driving the group on. It’s something we rely on a lot. He’s changed position a lot over the last few years. He’s such a threat in the box, the higher up you play him, he can cause problems for the opposition.”

In his comments after the match, Leeds United manager Daniel Farke admitted that Chelsea deserved to win. 

“Credit to the opponent. I think you could feel that they wanted to concentrate on the basics, on defending, giving everything to defend their own goal, and they’ve also done it in a really good way. For that, they probably deserve to win this game,” Farke stated.