In soccer, five days can last a lifetime.
Minutes after the final whistle at Brighton, after a limp display from Chelsea that was Liam Rosenior’s final act, Enzo Fernandes stood in front of the away team staring into the abyss. He was the last player to leave the pitch at the Amex, even after Brighton’s victory. At the time, it seemed like a power play and a message that something had to change.
Fernandes was definitely part of the problem in that loss.
The game passed him by as Brighton ran across the pitch and all over Chelsea.
Five days later at Wembley, with a place in the FA Cup final on the line, Fernandes set an example by seizing the situation with a ferocious performance in midfield, seizing the game by the scruff of the neck and scoring the winning goal. He created an atmosphere of tenacious and defensively disciplined performances, which proved to be too much for Leeds.
Enzo Fernandes steals the show at Chelsea
This was chalk and cheese on a Tuesday night.
Chelsea left everything behind at Wembley. Against Brighton, he didn’t make a tackle in the first 30 minutes.
It was a performance that Rosenior labeled “unacceptable” and “something I never want to see again.”
Well, this time he was watching from afar, but his wish came true.
Enzo Fernandes’ stats against Leeds
A fly on Rosenia’s living room wall would have been an interesting mission. Penny, give your opinion on Fernandez’s performance.
Of course, Callum MacFarlane is a huge part of this story. An interim member tasked with intervening in this crisis.
Enzo Fernandes helped transform Chelsea at Wembley
Asked what the biggest difference was between Wembley and the 3-0 defeat against South Coast, he sidestepped the question like a manager with 1,000 games under his belt.
He said: “We didn’t even look at the performance at Brighton. We were focused on Leeds.”
But he was happy to praise the performance of Fernandes, who scored Chelsea’s 94th-minute equalizer against Man City in January in Macfarlane’s first game as caretaker manager.
The midfielder once again came up with the goods for MacFarlane.
“I said to him, ‘You like to score at the back post for me,’ and he just laughed,” MacFarlane said.
“He does it really well. He’s been doing it all year. One of his biggest attributes when attacking down the right side, the timing of his runs, his ability to get really good distance and height on his jumps, and his heading technique is really good. He’s a winner.”
“He’s very talented and has a lot of fight. He’s a big asset to this group.
“And the best thing about Enzo is that he can do a little bit of everything. But when the going gets tough, you see him fight, push the group forward, make the tackles, struggle on every loose ball. So today he was exceptional and deserved Man of the Match.”
Fernandes’ goal seals the FA Cup final against Man City
McFarlane: FA Cup win will end momentum
MacFarlane now has the chance to defeat Josep Guardiola in the major final on May 16th.
What a way to save Chelsea’s season. Chelsea’s five-game losing streak in the Premier League has left them goalless, with Rosseniol costing him, but he took just 23 minutes to find the back of the net against Leeds.
“I think it was important to break up the momentum and form we had up until now,” MacFarlane said.
“I think we were confident today that we could do it and I think that completely changed the atmosphere within the group. I think that’s probably more important and gives us confidence going into the next five games.”
“Unfortunately this year it didn’t work out that way, but like every season we want to win every game from now until the end of the season. But that’s not extra motivation. We want to do it for ourselves, we want to do it for the fans, the club and everyone.”
