LONDON: Chelsea moved into the FA Cup semifinals as Ross Barkley sealed a 1-0 win at Leicester City on Sunday.
It was a relieved Frank Lampard who spoke in the aftermath of the narrow quarterfinal victory, with Barkley having come off the bench to fire in the only goal of the game at the King Power Stadium.
Lampard made three changes at half-time after a below-par performance from his side, though he admitted the number and nature of his substitutions could easily have differed.
“We spoke at half-time and the first half was not what we are used to in terms of performance,” Lampard told the club’s website. “”We lacked intensity. I could have made more, or even different subs for more urgency. It was a lethargic performance.”
The Blues could easily have been behind before the break, but Lampard rang the changes at half-time and Barkley — one of the players introduced — grabbed the winner with a cool finish.
“The second half, there were glimpses of it [our good play] and I am delighted that we came through the tie. If we turn up to other games like we did today though, then no chance. We were lucky today,” added Lampard.
Barkley scored his third FA Cup goal of the season and continued his positive form either side of the lockdown.
“He’s a great lad, he wants to be the best he can be. Before lockdown he put in some great performances and was really good for us. He’s been brilliant in training and his attitude has been spot-on since the minute we came back,” said Chelsea manager of Barkley.
Chelsea’s quarterfinal success could be a good omen for the Blues, who beat Leicester at the same stage en route to winning the competition for the eighth and most recent time in 2018.
“I don’t want to sound too down after this. You have to show the grit to get a win when you don’t play well. We won the game and must learn from some of the mistakes,” Lampard added.
