Late goals from Carney Chukwuemeka and Noni Madueke spared Chelsea’s blushes as they battled to a 4-2 victory against Leicester, booking their spot in the FA Cup semi-finals.
It was an action-packed, entertaining cup encounter at Stamford Bridge – the first time the two sides had met in the competition since Leicester’s win in the 2021 final at Wembley.
But as has been the case far too often this season, Chelsea let a first-half lead slip through their fingers. Marc Cucurella (13) and Cole Palmer (45+1) had found the net, and Raheem Sterling missed a penalty to further add to the tally.
It left Chelsea in a precarious position, and Leicester were offered a lifeline as Axel Disasi (51) spooned the ball into his net. Soon after, a superb curling effort from Stephy Mavididi (62) deservedly levelled for the Foxes.
But they ended up with 10 players after a VAR check on what had initially been a penalty to Chelsea and a yellow card to Callum Doyle. However, the foul on Nicolas Jackson occurred just outside the box, changing the application of the laws, and therefore was upgraded to a red card for the Man City loanee.
It was then the two substitutes Chukwuemeka (90+2) and Madueke (90+8) – the latter’s a stunning effort – that prevented the game from heading into extra-time and put Chelsea’s name into the hat for the semi-final draw later on Sunday.