Chelsea vs Leeds LIVE: FA Cup fifth round result and reaction as Conor Gallagher nets dramatic winner
Chelsea 3-2 Leeds: Gallagher’s goal sends the Blues into the quarter-finals after a tight contest against the Whites
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Your support makes all the difference.Chelsea responded to their defeat in the Carabao Cup final with a determined and steadfast performance at Stamford Bridge to defeat Leeds.
The visitors started the more aggressive team and took advantage of an Axel Disasi mistake to notch up the first goal as Mateo Joseph slotted home past the restored Robert Sanchez inside the opening 10 minutes. However, it wasn’t long before Nicolas Jackson found the equaliser with a smooth finish from the right side of the box.
Chelsea then took the lead through Mykhailo Mudryk who excelled in the No. 10 role throughout the night. After the break, Chelsea started slowly once more and again they were punished. Joseph leaping behind Trevoh Chalobah to nod home an equaliser.
Things were level for almost 20 minutes until Conor Gallagher, freshly brought on from the bench, spun away from Junior Firpo to lift a shot over Illan Meslier and send Chelsea into the quarter-finals.
Relive the action below plus get the latest odds and tips right here:
Chelsea vs Leeds line-ups
Chelsea XI: Sanchez, Gilchrist, Disasi, Chalobah, Gusto, Madueke, Caicedo, Fernandez, Mudryk, Sterling, Jackson
Leeds XI: Meslier, Roberts, Rodon, Cooper, Firpo, Ampadu, Gray, Anthony, James, Piroe, Joseph
Chelsea’s route to the fifth round
Chelsea started their FA Cup campaign with a resounding 4-0 home win over Championship club Preston North End before being drawn against Aston Villa in the fourth round.
The first fixture with their Premier League opponents ended in a draw but the Blues ran out 3-1 winners at Villa Park thanks to goals from Conor Gallagher, Nicolas Jackson and Enzo Fernandez.
Leeds’ route to the fifth round
Leeds entered the FA cup in the third round and took on League One side Peterborough.
An Ethan Ampadu brace and Patrick Bamford’s wondergoal saw the Whites breeze into the next round before they were held to a home draw against Plymouth.
In the replay strikes from Wilfried Gnonto, Crysencio Summerville, Georginio Rutter and a Ryan Hardie own goal helped Daniel Farke’s side to a 4-1 victory after extra-time.
Gary Neville brands Chelsea ‘blue billion pound bottle jobs’ after late Carabao Cup heartbreak
Gary Neville wrote the headlines when he made a decisive statement in the aftermath of Virgil van Dijk’s winning goal for Liverpool against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final.
The game looked like it might go to penalties without a goal, just like the 2022 final had done between the two sides, but Liverpool’s captain and most experienced player timed his run perfectly to head home a Kostas Tsimikas corner with just three minutes of extra time remaining.
When the final whistle blew, Neville, proclaimed as co-commentator on Sky Sports: “(Jurgen) Klopp’s kids against the blue billion-pound bottlejobs”.
Gary Neville brands Chelsea ‘blue billion pound bottle jobs’ after Carabao Cup loss
Gary Neville was very criticial of Chelsea’s squad and performance in the aftermath of the final
Farke on balancing team selection for cup games
“Obviously once you’re in the crunch time period for promotion back to the Premier League then you have to keep this also a bit in mind.
“You have to make sure that in your decision-making you won’t do anything stupid and we won’t risk any players, especially because we head into such a busy period.
“But, nevertheless, we know that we will have an amazing travelling support again.
“It’s a spotlight game and everyone is focused on this game and we want to present ourselves in the best possible way, and also to get the best possible result.”
The match officials
Here’s the team who will be in charge of tonight’s match in London:
Officials:
Referee - David Coote
Assistant Referees - Timothy Wood, Craig Taylor
Fourth Official - Dean Whitestone
Video Assistant Referees - Graham Scott, Peter Bankes
Additional Video Assistant Referee - Edward Smart
Farke giving same priority to FA Cup as Championship promotion push
Leeds United travel to Stamford Bridge looking to continue their fine form against Premier League opponents this evening as they face Chelsea.
Ahead of the match, Leeds boss Daniel Farke gave his thoughts to the media and claimed that he is giving the FA Cup as much priority as the Championship.
“I’m a big believer and I’ve mentioned it several times,” he said, “Cup competitions and especially the FA Cup, it’s probably the cup competition with the biggest history in whole western Europe.
“I think it’s always important for us that it has more or less really the same value and the same priority like the league.
“We want to represent our club in the best possible way and also in the FA Cup.”
Mauricio Pochettino reveals message from Chelsea owners after Carabao Cup final defeat
Mauricio Pochettino is confident he retains the backing of Chelsea’s owners but conceded his future was out of his hands after defeat in the Carabao Cup final increased scrutiny of his position.
The under-fire Argentinian said he had supportive conversations with the club’s co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali following Sunday’s 1-0 extra-time loss to Liverpool.
Defeat at Wembley sparked further criticism of Pochettino and his expensively-assembled squad – including scathing comments from Gary Neville – as they failed to overcome inexperienced rivals who were missing a host of star names.
Mauricio Pochettino reveals message from Chelsea owners after Carabao Cup defeat
The under-fire Argentinian said he had supportive conversations with the club’s co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali after the cup final defeat
Chelsea vs Leeds prediction
This game certainly has all the makings of a cup upset but perhaps league matters mean Leeds aren’t quite at the top of their game, which might mean a home win.
Chelsea 2-0 Leeds.
Leeds' early team news
Full-back Sam Bryam and centre-back Pascal Struijk are injured along with keeper Karl Darlow.
Right-back Connor Roberts is eligible to start this game despite being named on the bench for his previous club Burnley against Tottenham Hotspur in the third round.
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