1. ENZO FERNÁNDEZ (8.2)Captain’s armband. Semifinal goal. Point to the badge in celebration.
Liam Rosenior described that whole situation as “complex”.
But here’s what’s not complex. He’s got that dog in him. We often pine for the days, the attitudes, the mentality of the Old Guard. Enzo’s one of the few among the current bunch who could fit into that mold.
“He can definitely do what you want from a tactical perspective. But I think today the most impressive thing about him was when the tactics went out the window and Leeds got on top, he’s just a fighter. We don’t have to have the perfect gameplan in those moments, because he’ll run, he’ll compete, he’ll tackle, he’ll drive the players on. That was probably the deciding factor in the game.”
This may be only the third Man of the Match for Enzo this season, but his 14 podium appearances are only behind João Pedro (19) and Moisés Caicedo (18) on the team.
This is also Bob’s 14th player ratings podium of the season, and without his save on the 1-v-1 against Brenden Aaronson early on, we’re probably talking about a very different outcome in this one.
Our goal also came from an instance of Sánchez going long with the ball rather than having to play it short, which was a deliberate common sense allowance from the interim head coach.
“We wanted to give Rob the option to go direct and not always have to play through; even the first goal kick. We knew we were in a bit of a vulnerable place (mentally) and we wanted to take that pressure away from them.”
JP wasn’t quite able to finish his big chance, which would’ve capped off a brilliant team move, but otherwise he played excellently as the lone striker. It was a quintessential performance in what you might call a “complete striker” role (to borrow a phrase from the Football Manager games): linking play or holding the ball up, dropping deep or going long, occupying multiple defenders at all times; it was great.
“The bigger the game, the tougher the opponent and the circumstances, the more they seem to raise their level.” 🤝Chelsea interim boss Calum McFarlane on the run-in and the upcoming FA Cup final against Manchester City.📺 Watch live on TNT Sports and HBO Max pic.twitter.com/yDYPBWg4m1
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 26, 2026
GOOD (6.5-7.4): João Pedro (7.5), Neto (7.3), Caicedo (7.1), Chalobah (6.8), Cucurella (6.8), Tosin (6.7), Lavia (6.5)
AVERAGE (5.5-6.4): Santos (6.4, sub), Gusto (6.4), Palmer (5.6, sub)