Player ratings v Man City: Wasteful Jackson denies Chelsea FA Cup final place
Chelsea lose at Wembley for a second time this season after several missed chances prove costly against Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-finals.
By Jon Turner | April 20, 2024
Another trip to Wembley, another opportunity wasted.
Two months after Chelsea’s previous visit to the national stadium ended in a deflating extra-time defeat to a depleted Liverpool side in the League Cup final, recent history repeated itself.
Facing a Manchester City team well below their best following a gruelling Champions League quarter-final exit to Real Madrid just three days earlier, the Blues had ample opportunities to put this FA Cup semi-final to bed.
Mauricio Pochettino’s team were superior for large parts of the game and unquestionably fashioned the better goalscoring chances. Unfortunately for us, they all fell to Nicolas Jackson.
The Senegalese striker has rightly earned praise in recent months, and his overall stats of 18 goal involvements (13 goals, five assists) in all competitions are a decent return for a debut season. But this was Jackson back to his most frustrating.
Four clear chances fell to Chelsea’s lead centre-forward, including two in just eight seconds. Each time, he fluffed his lines. Badly.
That profligacy was badly punished as City scored with their only big chance of the match, Bernardo Silva slamming home with six minutes remaining to all but send the holders through to the final.
The Blues can also be aggrieved at not being awarded a blatant penalty when Cole Palmer’s free-kick clearly hit Jack Grealish’s outstretch arm in the area. That aside, though, it was the team’s wastefulness that cost them most dearly.
Chelsea now have to regroup, and quickly, for another massive Premier League game on Tuesday evening away to Arsenal. Sixth or seventh – and with it, entry into European competition next season – are still very much in play.
Here are the player ratings from Wembley.
Djordje Petrovic – 7/10
A solid and reliable display from the Serbian stopper. Petrovic produced two good saves, including a low reflex parry from a Phil Foden. Commanded his area well and came out confidently for crosses. His positioning much better than in recent weeks.
Little he could do about Silva’s goal. He passed the ball well, too, including finding his target with 8/13 long balls.
Malo Gusto – 7/10
The Frenchman lived up to his billing as one of the most talented full-backs in world football by dominating Jack Grealish in their duel on the right flank. Offered support in attack with several surging forward runs and always looked to play the ball quickly.
Found it tougher against the lively Jeremy Doku but that was in part down to collecting an injury. Finished the game with 86% pass completion before being replaced in the 79th minute.
Trevoh Chalobah – 7/10
Another good display from Chalobah, who comfortably handled City’s attack and helped maintain Chelsea’s defensive structure. The centre-back produced four blocks and four clearances, and was comfortable with the ball at his feet, completing 88% of his passes.
Produced a brilliant sliding challenge on Kevin De Bruyne in the first half. Looks to have cemented his place in the starting XI for the remainder of the season.
Thiago Silva – 8/10
Silva was his usual calm and composed self, providing leadership and experience to Chelsea’s backline while keeping City’s forwards in check. He won five of his six duels including 3/3 on the ground and made five clearances.
Silva moved the ball with purpose, too, making five passes into the final third. He was distraught at the final whistle after seeing his last chance of silverware in Europe slip away. The Brazilian legend deserved so much more.
Marc Cucurella – 7/10
Everything good and bad about the Spanish full-back wrapped up into 90 minutes of football. Horrible defensive positioning played Foden miles onside but then recovered to make a headed clearance off the line.
Most of the rest of his defensive contribution was good, winning 2/2 duels, making four clearances and four recoveries. But was then too slow to close down for the goal. Cucurella was good going forward, highlighted by a brilliant run down the left flank while playing several 1-2s with his teammates. Overall a good, but flawed, performance.
Moises Caicedo – 6/10
After his dominant display last time out against Everton, this was not at the same level, albeit against much tougher opposition. Caicedo did win 2/3 tackles, completed four recoveries and made two clearances.
But he was not quite as convincing in his individual battles, winning just 3/9 ground duels and 2/3 in the air while committing four fouls. His attacking contribution was decent, making five passes into the final third. The Ecuadorian certainly wasn’t outplayed but wasn’t quite at his commanding best.
Enzo Fernandez – 6/10
Passed a late fitness test to take his place in midfield, Fernandez was slow getting into the game but by the end of the first half he was starting to boss it, spraying sniper-like long balls all over the pitch to stretch the play.
After the break, though, the Argentine’s influence quickly faded. While he was accurate with 80% of his long balls (4/5) and made 10 passes into the final third, his overall pass completion of 73% was well below his season average (87%). Got stuck in defensively, winning half of his ground duels (3/6). Once again, glimpses of his brilliance but not over a full game.
Noni Madueke – 5/10
Many Chelsea fans were enraged after images showed Madueke laughing and joking with Grealish at full-time. That comes after his immature behaviour against Everton when he tried to snatch the ball from Cole Palmer for the penalty.
Had he contributed more at Wembley, some of it might have been forgiven, but the winger offered little. Madueke had three shots, two of which were blocked and one off target. He failed to complete any successful dribbles and his one cross was inaccurate. Should have been replaced much sooner than the 79th minute.
Cole Palmer – 8/10
All the pre-match focus was on Palmer and his latest reunion with City amid his sensational run of form. Far from overawed by the pressure or occasion, Palmer was once again Chelsea’s most effective attacking player. He had two shots on target and really should have done better with the first, but his tame finish was straight at Stefan Ortega.
That aside, Palmer created two chances, had 2/2 successful dribbles, made eight passes into the final third, and was accurate with 4/6 long balls. He did his part defensively, too, winning six duels and two tackles, and completing five recoveries. Even without scoring or assisting, Palmer was the best player on the pitch.
Conor Gallagher – 7/10
Pushed out to the left wing to accommodate the returning Fernandez, Gallagher was his usual committed self. His passing accuracy (75%) was well below his season average of 91%, but the captain did create a chance, completed 2/4 dribbles and was accurate with 2/3 long balls.
Defensively, Gallagher won 2/2 tackles, made three interceptions and completed seven recoveries. A solid contribution but he could have been so much more effective had he been deployed centrally for the entire match.
Nicolas Jackson – 3/10
In the headlines for all the wrong reasons. It can often be oversimplified to blame one individual performance for the outcome of a game, but on this occasion it was painstakingly obvious: had Jackson taken any of his glaring chances, Chelsea would be in the FA Cup final.
He started lively and looked like he could be a major influence, but when his first chance came and he sprinted clear of the City backline, the striker made all the wrong decisions. He then had two chances in the space of eight seconds in the second half, the second being a tame header straight at Ortega from five yards out.
The Senegalese is always a handful with his pace and runs in behind, but unless he’s scoring goals, his role as a centre-forward is redundant.
SUBS: Axel Disasi (Gusto 79’) – 4/10
Brought on for the injured Gusto, Disasi was given the unenviable duty of trying to contain the dangerous Doku. The defender was not up to the task and got routinely turned by the winger. The manager can take the blame for this as it would have been a much better idea to deploy Disasi in the middle and move the more mobile Chalobah to the right.
Mykhaylo Mudryk (Madueke 79’) – 5/10
The Ukrainian’s pace and directness looked like it could cause City some problems, but he wasn’t on the pitch long enough to make a telling contribution. Mudryk’s awful cross with the last play of the game was unforgivable.
Ben Chilwell (Cucurella 88’) – 4/10
Perhaps harsh to give a player a rating for only being on the pitch for a few minutes, but Chilwell’s decision not to cross to a wide open Raheem Sterling left us pulling our hair out.
Raheem Sterling (Fernandez 88’) – N/A
Given the way the match played out and the ineffectiveness of Madueke, Sterling should have been introduced much, much sooner.
Manager: Mauricio Pochettino – 6/10
Deserves credit for setting up the team with a strong structure and ensured his young team was not overawed by the occasion following the last disappointing trip to Wembley. Jackson’s terrible finishing was also not Pochettino’s fault.
And yet, once again his substitutions came too late to change the game. Madueke and Fernandez should have been replaced much earlier, and his decision to send on Disasi and play him right-back up against the Doku was criminal.
After the sensational display against Everton, this was a deflating realisation of the work ahead, and Pochettino will now be judged on how well he gets his squad to regroup. There is still plenty to play for in the Premier League and our final league position could dictate his future.
