Chelsea, Manchester City, and Liverpool have made it into the 5th round of the FA Cup. Whilst it was expected for the Premier League giants to progress without struggle, this was far from the case for some.
Manchester City eased 4 goals past Fulham, winning 4-1. Liverpool fielded a strong team and retained 80% of possession against Cardiff City. We’re normally not used to Jurgen Klopp fielding strong lineups in the early stages of a domestic cup, but I guess he had other plans. The Reds beat Cardiff 3-1, showing just how serious they are about winning the FA Cup.
Seeing Liverpool and Man City comfortably beat their opponents, it makes me wonder about Chelsea’s progression. However, before we get into it, let’s deep dive into how Manchester United bowed out with special thanks to Middlesbrough.
Manchester United and Cristiano Ronaldo are out of the FA Cup. What a shock.
They have not looked to be their strongest for the last couple of months, however, neither have Chelsea. Both teams have suffered in their form and both of their star signings have not been up to scratch.
Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty. Bruno Fernandes missed an open goal. Youngster Antonio Elanga skyrocketed his penalty in the shootout, ultimately sending the Red Devils home. The poor 19-year-old had the weight of the loss on his shoulders when really, the entire team had themselves to blame.
The weirdest part of this loss was that Manchester United didn’t necessarily play badly. Middlesbrough held their ground and United struggled to break it down. Luck was just not on their side.
Jadon Sancho put on his best performance of the season so far in an attempt to keep United in the competition. Suffering a late injury in extra time, Sancho was subbed off and it seemed like Ralf Rangnick’s team ran out of answers.
Similarly, Chelsea struggled in front of goal against their FA Cup opponents, Plymouth. The first 10 minutes saw Chelsea dominate, but Plymouth gets the first goal. It was quite confusing as to how the Pilgrams’ first shot resulted in a goal.
A lapse of concentration in the box gave Plymouth the lead and Chelsea struggled to get back in the game. The reactionary fan in me thought about the spirit of the FA Cup and how it could possibly haunt the Blues the same way it did for Manchester United.
Chelsea’s star signing, Romelu Lukaku did not play a part in the victory, however, the Blues had an extra edge over their opponents. A goalkeeper who can save penalties. 27 minutes into extra time, Malang Sarr put Chelsea’s 2-1 lead in jeopardy. Tripping up Ryan Hardie, Sarr gave the referee no option but to give Plymouth the penalty.
Kepa Arrizabalaga, Chelsea’s trusted goalkeeper anticipated Hardie’s penalty kick. The Spaniard dived the right way, sparing Chelsea the same fate that Manchester United suffered.
Chelsea may not have Cristiano Ronaldo, Raphael Varane or Paul Pogba. But they still maintain that edge over Manchester United. Now it’s time to find that edge over Manchester City and Liverpool.
Make sure you have subscribed to CareFree Chelsea on YouTube! The Fan Brands team along with plenty of your football.london favourites will be producing daily Chelsea content for you to enjoy including match reactions, podcasts, football fun and interviews. You can follow Anita Abayomi from the CareFreeChelsea team to keep up to date with her work. If you enjoyed reading this then give her other articles a read below.
