Underdogs Chelsea have shot at glory at end of season of disruption

Enzo Fernández scores Chelsea’s winning goal against Leeds in the FA Cup semi-final. Photograph: Jacques Feeney/Offside/Getty Images

That shocker of a performance made it almost impossible to feel any admiration for Chelsea when they decided to turn up at Anfield last weekend and played the better football in a 1-1 draw with Liverpool. Then again, that knack of lifting it against tougher opposition is why it would be folly to give them no chance of upsetting City. It would be very Chelsea, even though they were thumped by City at Stamford Bridge last month and have not beaten Guardiola’s side since the 2021 Champions League final, a year before the Roman Abramovich era came to an enforced end.

McFarlane, who drew with City during his initial caretaker stint in January, could be the unlikely hero. Ending a run of six straight defeats in Wembley finals by winning the FA Cup for the first time since 2018 would salvage a modicum of respect at the end of a needlessly embarrassing season. But it would also show how Chelsea’s players have let themselves down. Some miss Maresca and many did not take to Rosenior, but the way they have tuned out since the turn of the year cannot continue if anything substantial is to be achieved in the long run.

“It’s tough to hear because you know the work that you put in every single day,” the Belgian midfielder Roméo Lavia said this week, but sometimes the truth hurts. Fixing the culture in the dressing room will be a key aim for whoever becomes Chelsea’s next manager. Xabi Alonso, the standout candidate, seems ideally placed to push the squad into line. Alonso, who had a glittering playing career, would have the support of the players and it is understood that talks over the former Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid manager are moving in the right direction.

The situation is expected to accelerate after the final. Chelsea have other names on the list and also like Andoni Iraola, who is wanted by Crystal Palace, but they have been tracking Alonso since 2023. Convincing the 44-year-old to move to Stamford Bridge would be a big boost for the project. Chelsea, after all, are not as far off as it may seem to their many critics. Reece James and Moisés Caicedo have signed new deals. Levi Colwill is back from injury and Cole Palmer is one of the league’s stars. Chelsea are in a period of “self-reflection”. They know they need to help the array of young talent at their disposal by bringing in some experience, and they will be listening to the new manager’s recommendations.

“The day I lose belief, I will probably be the first one to leave this place,” Lavia said. “If you want to succeed, you have to be 100% into it. When you’re in the building, never at any point do you see there’s a loss of belief. I believe that we will turn it around and get back to the Chelsea everyone knows.”

The Chelsea everyone knows were a winning machine. The odd cup here and there was never enough for Abramovich. Yet the Chelsea of today have turned into something different. Beating City would be cause for celebration but the concern is it would be a flash in the pan. Chelsea must not lose sight of the bigger picture if they want to put the past six months behind them.