Credit: Imago

Daniel Lewis

Mon 27 April 2026 18:10, UK

Pascal Struijk needed consoling from his teammates at the end of Leeds United‘s FA Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea.

The Whites fell 1-0 at Wembley in Sunday’s contest to see their dreams of reaching a first final in the showpiece competition since 1973 came to a cruel end.

Struijk was most at fault for Chelsea’s winner, scored by Enzo Fernandez, as he lost possession in the build-up.

Leeds had chances of their own but could not find a way past Robert Sanchez either side of that goal, meaning heartbreak for Daniel Farke and his players.

And Struijk seemingly felt the weight of defeat more than any of his Leeds colleagues at Wembley.

Pascal Struijk feels weight of Chelsea error

There is no denying that Struijk should have been doing far better as he gifted possession to Chelsea, allowing the ball to then come in for the right and Fernandez to head home.

What makes the error all the tougher to take is that it led to the decisive moment of the contest, as Chelsea managed to find a way.

In an off-camera moments article for the Yorkshire Evening Post, Graham Smyth pointed out that a “visibly distraught” Struijk was seen being “consoled by various teammates” at full-time.

That one moment perfectly encapsulates the team spirit within the Leeds camp, with the players all very much together.

While Leeds’ hopes of silverware may be over for another year, Premier League survival was ultimately the only thing that mattered this season.

How does Leeds’ FA Cup final wait compare to other Premier League sides?

Leeds’ most recent FA Cup final was in 1973 when they suffered defeat to Sunderland, unable to add to their triumph from the previous year.

Out of all the current Premier League teams, only Burnley (1962) and Wolves (1960) have had a longer wait between final participations.

It is a pretty shocking wait from Leeds’ perspective when you think about some of the other teams to have competed in the showpiece in the years since.

Chelsea and Manchester City are both regulars at Wembley and will now compete in the 2026 FA Cup final next month.

The loss to Chelsea was one to forget for Leeds fans, but hopefully the clash with Burnley on Friday presents a perfect opportunity to swiftly bounce back.