Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez silences doubters with FA Cup semi-final winner against Leeds – latest:

For an FA Cup semi-final that didn’t offer much to talk about beyond Enzo Fernández scoring the winner, Chelsea’s 1-0 win could provoke a lot of other discussion. Some of it served to quieten even this raucous Leeds United crowd by the end.

By that point, you wouldn’t have thought an FA Cup final appearance was at stake, given how quickly Wembley emptied. Another debate could, of course, be had about staging semi-finals here. Still, there’s something rather sorry about even the Leeds players saluting scores of empty seats.

More from Chief Football Writer Miguel Delaney at Wembley:

“There’s lots of pressure on my players, and they’re also not used to playing always on on such a big stage. You could feel it during the weekend.

“I think the boys were better in the last games, a bit more composed on the ball. Sometimes in the build up they were a bit too clumsy or not brave, not playing with too many long balls. We were not played out of park, but it was certainly not our very best day. And for that, yeah, it’s disappointing, but for the players, it’s a good experience.

“Going into a big game now, we will have learned from it, and we can then go with a bit more confidence and less nervousness into the game. And I think this is more than what we take out of it. We had nothing to lose today, just a lot to win. Upset we didn’t win today, but that’s what we have to accept.”

Chelsea have reached their 17th FA Cup final, and first since 2022, while only Manchester United (22) and Arsenal (21) have advanced to the final on more occasions than the Blues in the competition.

On the victory: “It was important to get the win and break the momentum and form we were in, that completely changes the feel within the group.

“We want to win every game for the fans in every competition. It’s just not extra motivation, we want to win the final Premier League games.”

Leeds United have become the first ever club side to lose four successive matches without scoring at Wembley.

A tough one to stomach for the 35,000 or so Leeds fans…

On Chelsea: “Impressed with second half even when Leeds looked like they were getting into it, the structure, shape, I thought Calum MacFarlane managed it really well.

“A lot of positives.”

“‘Relief’ is the correct word. We were confident going into the game – we had a really good three days leading into it – but you never know.

“I did the job for a week in January so I knew what I was stepping into. It’s actually been easier this time because I have a relationship with the players, I’ve worked with them for three or four months now, and I had a feel for what they needed psychologically.”

Asked about McFarlane’s impact, Sanchez says: “Like I said, keep it positive, focusing on the next games, we keep saying we’re going to win, keeping it positive, and it’s on us to try to get the Champions League and win the final. It would mean something great [to win the FA Cup] after a tough season, we’re going to go there, fight, put everything on the pitch.”

Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez tells TNT Sports: “I think it’s amazing, the boys reacted the way they should have. We tried to keep it really positive in training. It’s another chance to win another final, the boys performed, it was amazing.”

Asked about his contribution, he says: “I’m happy, I always try to do my job. we go through ups and downs, I’m very happy with the season I’ve had, but now it’s very important to finish on a high.

“The fans deserve moments like this. It’s good to give a bit back after a tough period.”