Chelsea Player Ratings vs Leicester: Jackson, Palmer, Mudryk, others shine, Sterling struggles

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It was a day to forget for Raheem Sterling despite his Chelsea side advancing to the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

Chelsea had a 2-0 lead at the break after goals from Marc Cucurella and Cole Palmer, despite Sterling missing from the penalty spot.

But some awful defensive mistakes, and more poor finishing from Sterling, allowed Leicester back into the game.

Carney Chukwuemeka and Noni Madueke went on to give the Blues a 4-2 victory over ten-man Foxes who saw Callum Doyle sent off in the 77th minute.

Robert Sanchez – 5

Would have made Chelsea fans feel a little unnerved with the risks he was taking in the first-half on the ball. Axel Disasi was at fault for Leicester’s first goal but questions could be asked about why Sanchez was so far off his line.

Malo Gusto – 6

Was given the BBC’s Man of the Match after a solid display. He is marked down however, as he would have needed to get a ticket back into the stadium after he was done by Stephy Mavididi’s fancy footwork for Leicester’s equaliser.

Axel Disasi – 5

What was he doing for Leicester’s first goal? Yes, he was under a bit of pressure but he just needed to play a simple back-pass to Sanchez and his error brought Leicester back into the game.

Trevoh Chalobah – 6

Lost the ball on several occasions while trying to play out from the back. His partnership with Disasi looked weak at times.

Marc Cucurella – 7

Showed great tenacity to get forward and tap home the opener. Not always been great defensively for Chelsea but he was the best of the four for Mauricio Pochettino’s side today.

Moises Caicedo – 6

A solid but unremarkable performance which sums up his performances this season.

Cole Palmer – 7

Scored his 16h goal of the season in all competitions to double Chelsea’s lead in the first-half. Not his fault, but it could have been an easier afternoon if Raheem Sterling didn’t take the ball off him for the penalty.

Conor Gallagher – 6

Calm and composed on the ball in a solid performance before he joins up with Gareth Southgate’s squad.

Raheem Sterling – 3

Was energetic and got an assist but in truth, it was an absolute nightmare of a day for the winger.

He missed a penalty, then should have scored a one-on-one opportunity and was booed by the Chelsea crowd after sending a free-kick into Row Z in the second-half. The boos for Mudryk being substituted was telling too. A day he will want to forget about and quickly.

Mykhailo Mudryk – 7

Is showing signs of improvement and his energy was appreciated by the Chelsea fans who were not happy that he was taken off with over ten minutes to go at 2-2.

Nicolas Jackson – 8

Chelsea’s best player and Leicester could not deal with his pace. Showed a great burst of speed to set up Cucurella’s opener before catching out Callum Doyle who was sent off for a challenge on the striker mid-way through the second-half.

Manager

Mauricio Pochettino – 7

Decision to bring Mudryk off instead of Sterling didn’t go down well but his substitutes killed the game off in the second-half.

Substitutes

Carney Chukwuemeka – 7

Proved the match winner sliding in his finish under Stolarczyk after coming off the bench.

Noni Madueke – 7

The England Under-21 winger scored a stunning solo goal with the last kick of the game.

Ben Chilwell – N/A

Unused subs Petrovic; Badiashile, Thiago Silva, Acheampong; Harrison; Washington.

(Video) Madueke scores stunning goal! Chelsea 4-2 Leicester

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Another lovely goal, this time by Noni Madueke, who showed slick footwork as he ran at the heart of the Leicester defence and then bent a brilliant shot over Stolarczyk into the top corner.

That actually gets better with every viewing. Top finish.

Photo Credit: EmiratesFACup/ X

(Video) Mavididi equalizes! 62’… Chelsea 2-2 Leicester

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WHAT A GOAL!!! Mavididi, take a bow. The winger dribbles calmly towards the Chelsea goal, with Gusto giving him way too much time on the ball.

Fancy footwork by Mavididi as he advanced towards a Chelsea defence who just backed off and backed off.

Inside the box, he stepped to his right and curled a brilliant shot into the far corner. Perfectly-placed.

What a superb fightback by the Championship side.

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(Watch Goal on Video) Chukwuemeka scores! Chelsea 3-2 Leicester

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That’s surely the winner for Chelsea and it’s a beautifully worked goal.

Carney Chukwuemeka, breaking into Leicester’s box, the one-two with Cole Palmer with the neat backheel to set Chukwuemeka through. Nice finish though the keeper’s legs into the far corner.

And it looks now like Chelsea are heading for Wembley.

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(Video) Disasi scores own goal! 51’… Chelsea 2-1 Leicester

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An absolute gift from Disasi to bring Leicester very much back into the game!

Gusto throws the ball back to Disasi, who is under pressure from Daka and attempts a pass back to his keeper.

He completely mishits the ball back to Sanchez, who is nowhere near the goal and it goes in for an own goal. 2-1 and game on!

(Video) Cole Palmer scores! Chelsea 2-0 Leicester

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Sterling atones with the assist, using his pace to breeze past two Leicester defenders before rolling the ball across to Palmer, six yards out, to side-foot home Chelsea’s second.

They’ve made heavy work of this game but have now doubled their lead.

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(Video) Cucurella scores! Chelsea 1-0 Leicester

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And Leicester are torn apart as Chelsea take the early lead.

Terrific work by Jackson, who is able to glide past Jannik Vestergaard with his pace, break into the box and then have the presence of mind to pick out the totally unmarked Cucurella to tap in at the back post.

Wout Faes had drifted across to try and cut out Jackson’s cross but that didn’t work and his man was left free to score.

That’ll settle Chelsea nerves.

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REVEALED: Why Barcelona may sell Chelsea, Man United target

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Barcelona are set for a turbulent summer, as they look to balance their accounts and move in the right direction for their salary limit. However the impact of that is that very few players will have their future assured for next summer.

It emerged today that Barcelona could be open to selling Ronald Araujo this summer, but it is Jules Kounde who is attracting attention from Manchester United and Chelsea, as per MD.

Both need to rebuild their defence this summer, and Kounde will be allowed to leave for a satisfactory offer.

The Blaugrana are pleased with his professionalism this season, after again being asked to play at right-back rather than centre-back due to injuries. He arrived for €50m plus €10m in variables from Sevilla, and turned down Chelsea to move to Barcelona in the process.

Kounde has barely had a chance to play in his more natural role since arriving, but with Ronald Araujo, Inigo Martinez, Pau Cubarsi and Andreas Christensen for competition, will not find it easy to assert himself in his preferred position.

That said, a new manager could mean a fresh start for Kounde, and other exits, for example Araujo, may well allow him a second wind at Barcelona.

Photo Credit: FCBarcelona/ X

(Watch Video) Inter’s Thuram grabs Savic’s ball during Atletico Madrid UCL clash

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Atletico Madrid might be famous for the ‘dark arts’ of football, but Inter forward Marcus Thuram decided to show Stefan Savic he’s learned a few tricks too.

The Frenchman had been previously elbowed in the back of the head by Savic, so decided to get his revenge by reaching back and giving a not so gentle squeeze to a delicate area.

VAR looked at the footage, but decided not to take action against Thuram, who was substituted moments later by Simone Inzaghi to avoid further trouble.

However, the two players resolved the issue between themselves with a laugh and a joke on the field, helped by the fact Savic knows full well he’s done worse in his career.

LaLiga club manager snubs Chelsea amid interest from Premier League rivals

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Chelsea have reportedly been turned down after making an approach for Girona boss Michel Sanchez, with the Spaniard eyeing a switch to a Premier League rival.

Michel, 48, has worked wonders this season after leading newly-promoted Girona to second place in LaLiga.

Chelsea are considering their options after a disappointing campaign with Mauricio Pochettino.

And AS claims Michel held talks with Stamford Bridge chiefs over a deal starting this summer.

Chelsea flew several big wigs to Spain for the meeting.

They apparently revealed their admiration for Michel’s miracle job at Girona.

And they also laid out their vision for Todd Boehly’s stumbling project.

However, Michel is said to have rejected Chelsea’s proposal.

He has no plans to quit Girona after just a year in the top flight.

And it’s also reckoned Michel has his sights set on bigger prizes.

Girona are owned by City Group, who are also in charge of Treble winners and current Premier League champions Manchester City.

Pep Guardiola’s Etihad deal expires in 2025, with questions raised over his long-term future.

And Michel is reportedly holding out for the City job when Guardiola eventually decides to step down.

Those at the helm of City Group also currently favour Michel as Pep’s replacement.

Photo Credit: GironaFC/ X