Chelsea scored twice in stoppage time to survive a major scare against Leicester City and reach the FA Cup semi-finals.
Substitutes Carney Chukwuemeka and Noni Madueke snatched victory for the Blues at the end of a dramatic second half in which the home fans threatened to turn on manager Mauricio Pochettino.
The hosts led comfortably at 2-0 until Axel Disasi scored a comedy own goal from 35 yards out to breathe life into the tie in the 51st minute.
Stephy Mavididi curled in a superb equaliser 11 minutes later after which a fractious Stamford Bridge voiced its unrest with loud boos and chants of “you don’t know what you’re doing”.
But a red card with 17 minutes to go for Leicester defender Callum Doyle proved crucial.
He fouled Nicolas Jackson and, having been initially been shown a yellow card and a penalty given, the video assistant referee (VAR) ruled the foul was outside of the box but upgraded his yellow to red.
Chelsea applied constant pressure from there and Chukwuemeka slotted in after a clever flick from Cole Palmer, who scored along with Marc Cucurella for Chelsea in the first half, in the 92nd minute.
Madueke’s long-range strike sealed the win which maintains Chelsea’s hopes of ending a difficult season on a high by winning the FA Cup for the first time since 2018.
Leicester’s attention turns back to the Championship where the Foxes’ lead has been cut to one point as they attempt to earn promotion back to the Premier League.
More to follow
Line-ups
Chelsea
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Sánchez
- 27Gusto
- 2Disasi
- 14Chalobah
- 3CucurellaSubstituted forChilwellat 90′minutes
- 25Caicedo
- 23Gallagher
- 20Palmer
- 10MudrykSubstituted forChukwuemekaat 78′minutes
- 7SterlingSubstituted forMaduekeat 86′minutes
- 15Jackson
Substitutes
- 5Badiashile
- 6Thiago Silva
- 11Madueke
- 17Chukwuemeka
- 21Chilwell
- 28Petrovic
- 36de Souza Eugênio
- 63Acheampong
- 79Harrison
Leicester
Formation 4-3-3
- 41Stolarczyk
- 17Choudhury
- 3Faes
- 23Vestergaard
- 5DoyleBooked at 73mins
- 25NdidiSubstituted forCoadyat 78′minutesBooked at 90mins
- 8Winks
- 22Dewsbury-Hall
- 18FatawuSubstituted forAkgünat 63′minutes
- 20Daka
- 10MavididiBooked at 67minsSubstituted forJustinat 75′minutes
Substitutes
- 1Ward
- 2Justin
- 4Coady
- 11Albrighton
- 14Iheanacho
- 28Cannon
- 29Akgün
- 40Marçal-Madivadua
- 45Nelson
Live Text
-
Match ends, Chelsea 4, Leicester City 2.
-
Second Half ends, Chelsea 4, Leicester City 2.
-
Goal! Chelsea 4, Leicester City 2. Noni Madueke (Chelsea) left footed shot from outside the box to the top left corner. Assisted by Malo Gusto.
-
Corner, Chelsea. Conceded by Hamza Choudhury.
-
Attempt blocked. Cole Palmer (Chelsea) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
-
Conor Coady (Leicester City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
-
Cole Palmer (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
-
Foul by Conor Coady (Leicester City).
-
Attempt blocked. Cole Palmer (Chelsea) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Nicolas Jackson.
-
Goal! Chelsea 3, Leicester City 2. Carney Chukwuemeka (Chelsea) right footed shot from the left side of the six yard box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Cole Palmer with a through ball.
-
Substitution, Chelsea. Ben Chilwell replaces Marc Cucurella.
-
Attempt missed. Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea) right footed shot from the centre of the box is high and wide to the right.
-
Corner, Chelsea. Conceded by Hamza Choudhury.
-
Attempt saved. Noni Madueke (Chelsea) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Malo Gusto with a cross.
-
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
-
Substitution, Chelsea. Noni Madueke replaces Raheem Sterling.
-
Delay in match because of an injury Wout Faes (Leicester City).
-
Attempt blocked. Cole Palmer (Chelsea) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
-
Attempt missed. Carney Chukwuemeka (Chelsea) right footed shot from the left side of the box is too high. Assisted by Raheem Sterling.
-
Attempt blocked. Cole Palmer (Chelsea) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Carney Chukwuemeka.
Source Agencies
