Chelsea punched their ticket to Wembley for the second time this season thanks to a riveting 4-2 win over Leicester City in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
Reuniting in the tournament nearly three years on from Leicester's triumph in the 2020-21 final, the Blues' revenge mission got off to the perfect start, as Marc Cucurella and Cole Palmer sent the hosts into the break with a two-goal advantage.
However, a freak Axel Disasi own goal and Stephy Mavididi stunner brought the Championship leaders level, but after the visitors went down to 10 thanks to Callum Doyle's red card, Mauricio Pochettino's side found their way through again in added time through Carney Chukwuemeka and Noni Madueke to appease the hitherto disgruntled Stamford Bridge faithful.
With Enzo Fernandez sitting out the quarter-final through suspension, Mykhaylo Mudryk was promoted to the hosts' starting lineup, while Patson Daka led the Leicester line in place of the injured Jamie Vardy.
Jakub Stolarczyk also took the place of Mads Hermansen in the Foxes goal and had his heart in his mouth with just six minutes gone, as Palmer's cheeky flick from a corner looped above his head and hit the base of the far post.
Raheem Sterling's penalty is saved! 😮#BBCFootball #CHELEI pic.twitter.com/7XsJ3ZE7Nd
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) March 17, 2024
Straight from the off, Enzo Maresca's side pressed Chelsea high, with Hamza Choudhury operating as their inverted right-back, but such a tactic backfired as the Foxes fell behind in the 13th minute.
Nicolas Jackson vs. Jannik Vestergaard was a complete mismatch, as the Senegalese attacker burst past the Dane into the penalty area and squared the ball to the back post, where Cucurella arrived totally untracked and tapped in from a couple of yards out.
Leicester initially responded well to Cucurella's merited opener, and the visitors carved out a promising chance in the 25th minute, but Daka's close-range header from Abdul Fatawu's inswinging delivery sailed over the top.
However, just one moment later, Fatawu conceded possibly the most clear-cut penalty that referee Andy Madley will ever award, scything down Sterling from behind just as the Englishman was about to pull the trigger.
Sterling dusted himself down and took on the 12-yard responsibility over Palmer, but the winger's penalty was an abysmal one, as Stolarczyk dived slightly to his right and saved with his legs before Jackson failed to get a decent connection the follow-up.
A nightmare for Axel Disasi 😬#FACup #CHELEI pic.twitter.com/hd5RN0gmsQ
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) March 17, 2024
The visiting crowd celebrated Stolarczyk's save as if their side had scored themselves, which they very well could have done in the 32nd minute as the unconvincing Robert Sanchez came for a corner and missed, but Wout Faes's header was off the mark.
The Blues quickly surged down the other end of the field through Mudryk - enjoying the freedom of the number 10 role - and the Ukrainian was invited to shoot by the backtracking Leicester defence in the 35th minute, but his strike was too central to trouble Stolarczyk.
A chance for Sterling to redeem himself arrived in the 44th minute, as a slick passing sequence out from the back saw Moises Caicedo slip the Englishman through one-on-one with Stolarczyk, but his nightmare continued as he curled wide in front of the amused Leicester faithful.
However, Sterling had the last laugh just one moment later, nodding the ball past the Leicester high line with his head before squaring for the arriving Palmer, who calmly finished at Stolarczyk's near post to double Chelsea's lead.
The hosts' two-goal advantage was a merited one, but their lead was halved in ludicrous circumstances six minutes into the second half, where Disasi tried to play the ball back to Sanchez under pressure from Daka but instead looped the ball into his own net for a comical own goal.
© Reuters
The aghast French defender at least received a kiss of sympathy on his cheek from Sanchez, whose goal soon came under siege from a re-invigorated Leicester, and the Foxes' unforeseen comeback was complete just after the hour mark.
Taking the ball down on the left from Dewsbury-Hall's pass, Mavididi - faced by Malo Gusto - sauntered into the box, cut inside to open up the angle for the strike and curled a sumptuous finish into the far corner past Sanchez's futile reach.
As positive as Leicester had been since Disasi's unfortunate moment, Pochettino's side were a shadow of their first-half selves, but Mavididi's goal belatedly woke Chelsea up, and they were firmly on top in the wake of the equaliser.
With 71 minutes gone, Madley pointed to the penalty spot again after Doyle tripped Jackson from behind; the Leicester man was booked for his troubles, but upon a VAR review, Madley cancelled his penalty call, as the offence had taken place just outside the box.
However, the referee also overturned Doyle's yellow card and brandished the red for Doyle for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity, forcing the Foxes to see out the final 20 minutes of normal time with 10 men, but they survived the free kick as the wasteful Sterling ballooned the set piece into row Z.
What a goal to secure Chelsea's place in the FA Cup semi-finals!#BBCFootball #CHELEI pic.twitter.com/vbPH0CUk5D
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) March 17, 2024
The vexed Stamford Bridge faithful had soon seen enough of the 29-year-old, going so far as to boo him after his latest missed chance and then directing their anger on Pochettino for taking the lively Mudryk off instead of the Englishman.
Sterling was soon substituted to a reasonable reception, though, and he reciprocated the applause that he received, but Chelsea's profligacy remained alive and well; Jackson leant back inside the box and sent a side-footed effort well over in the 90th minute.
However, in the second of two additional minutes, Chelsea finally broke 10-man Leicester's resistance thanks to a sublime one-two between Palmer and Chukwuemeka, the former of whom slipped his compatriot through with an exquisite backheel before Chukwuemeka calmly finished through Stolarczyk's legs.
Another substitute would put the final nail in the Leicester coffin in the eighth additional minute, as Sterling's replacement Madueke did what his senior could not, jinking past a couple of challenges and outdoing Mavididi's curler with an exceptional swerving effort into the top corner from range.
Following the international break, Pochettino's men - who join Manchester City, Coventry City and either Liverpool or Manchester United in the last four - pit their wits against Burnley in the Premier League on March 30, while Leicester's Championship title pursuit continues away to Bristol City the day before.
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