Chelsea cleansheet against dirty, dirty Leeds keeps Wembley dream alive.

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Take out a notepad and write down every minute detail that Chelsea executed over the 90, and perhaps none would tell a better story than what happened after the final whistle.

Not many Chelsea supporters cared that the club mustered a measly 0.34 xG against Leeds’ frugal 0.89, or that they’d taken just 7 shots to their opponent’s 10. Most eyes were on interim manager Calum McFarlane as he shared warm words with the recently banned Enzo Fernandez, before being nudged by Reece James towards the celebrating fans.

For the first time in months, Chelsea began a game looking like they wanted to win it. Whatever storm-clouds that gathered over during Rosenior’s reign were suddenly gone, lifting some divine weight from the shoulders draped in blue.

Tactics don’t require too much attention when your team hits the ground running, but Calum McFarlane did the wisest thing a man thrown head-first into his position would do. Even against a side in the lower-half of the table, he ensured his nerve-wracked defence wouldn’t have to building out from the back. Within the first 20-odd minutes, Robert Sanchez attempted 6 passes, 5 of them were long balls hit into Leeds’ defensive third, mostly to isolate one of the two Pedros up front.

Sanchez finished the game with 35 passes attempted, 24 of them long balls. The Spaniard was left to do the parts of goalkeeping he does best, and he repaid the favour by making 2 excellent saves to keep Chelsea’s first cleansheet vs PL opposition in 14 attempts, the last coming against Brentford on the 17th of January.

It may not have been the Puerta del Sol but Enzo Fernandez found some happiness in London’s waning sunlight. The Argentinian had a solitary goal in his last 13 in all competitions for the club after being used in a deeper capacity by Rosenior, but McFarlane restored him to his favoured role and let the rest unfold.

No one on the pitch created more than his 3 chances. He also competed in a game high 13 ground duels and won a joint-high 8. This was Chelsea’s vice-captain restored to his tenacious best, fangs at the ready and smelling blood when Pedro Neto was released by Joao Pedro, timing his arrival perfectly for a cross that did not even require a leap.

The 2nd half, in typical Chelsea fashion, saw the foot taken off the pedal. Only two shots came in the second 45, the 2nd a Cole Palmer clearance in the 99th minute that curled 40 yards wide of goal from his own half. But a beleaguered defence dug in, with an under-fire Tosin starring with a display that saw him win 7 of his 8 aerial duels against an aerially strong unit and the dangerous Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

And just like that, what felt like a dead and buried season has been exhumed, a faint heartbeat lingering somewhere deep as the glorious arches of Wembley beckon in a final against a possible treble-chasing Manchester City. Is it audacious yet to dream of a road where Villa win the Europa League and 6th place propels the club into the undeserved halls of the elite?

Five games remain, and just like their FA Cup final opponents, Chelsea have to hope there’s a little miracle there for the taking.

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