Credit: Imago

Richie Mills

Mon 27 April 2026 15:10, UK

Daniel Farke threw the kitchen sink at Chelsea but it wasn’t enough as his Leeds United players struggled with the weight of expectation at Wembley.

Heading into their FA Cup semi-final on Sunday, many Leeds fans just wanted a solitary goal – something they had not achieved in their past three visits to Wembley.

Brenden Aaronson had their best chance in the first half, only for Robert Sanchez to stretch out a telescopic leg to deny the American.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin later headed the ball straight at Sanchez, before the Chelsea stopper made a strong reflex save to keep out Anton Stach’s piledriver.

Try as they might, Leeds didn’t show enough quality against a comfortable Chelsea side. However, Farke cannot be accused of standing idle as Enzo Fernandez’s first-half header sent the Blues into the final with a 1-0 win.

Proactive Daniel Farke comes up short

When the second FA Cup semi-final got underway, Farke trusted James Justin, Jaka Bijol, and Pascal Struijk to make up his three-line defence, while Jayden Bogle and Gabriel Gudmundsson were his trusty wing-backs.

The switch to a 5-4-1 formation in late November has arguably saved Leeds’ season, with Farke finally dispensing with his favoured 4-3-3 setup.

However, the former simply did not work in the first half against Chelsea.

Chelsea’s midfield too easily bypassed Ao Tanaka and Ethan Ampadu, so at half time, Joe Rodon and Stach were introduced for Justin and Bijol as Farke reverted to a back four, along with an extra midfield body.

Many Leeds fans have criticised the almost pre-programmed 70-minute substitutions Farke made in the Championship, but against Chelsea, he rolled the dice much earlier.

As the Blues withstood Leeds’ second-half surge, Farke turned again to his bench, this time with Wilfried Gnonto and Lukas Nmecha with 16 minutes to go. Sean Longstaff followed 12 minutes later.

And by the time Gudmundsson pulled up with what looked like a hamstring injury, Farke couldn’t take him off as he had no more substitutions available.

Tactically, Leeds did look vulnerable when long balls were pumped forward as Chelsea – who engaged in their fair share of gamesmanship – neutralised the Yorkshire team with regularity in the first half.

But Farke was proactive rather than reactive. He tweaked his formation, made early changes, moved his players around and ultimately gave it his all, but it wasn’t to be.

However, it seems that Farke is improving as a coach as the season progresses, which is an encouraging sign.

Leeds’ lack of quality

According to Sofascore, Leeds had two big chances, and so did Chelsea. The difference? The Blues took theirs.

Having a billion pounds’ worth of players does help with that, but Leeds didn’t test Chelsea’s defence enough.

There weren’t enough good balls into the box, Leeds were too laboured in their passing, other than Noah Okafor, the Whites didn’t offer enough of a threat, and Calvert-Lewin was often isolated and outnumbered.

Chelsea had a game plan; they executed it and did a number on Leeds as their travelling fans had another Wembley day to forget.

Their attention will now turn back to the Premier League, where they are not quite assured of safety.

Wins for Tottenham and West Ham on Saturday have heightened the need to claim all three points at home to Burnley on Friday. If they stay up, this is still a good season for Leeds.

But what might have been…