FRANK YOUR LUCKY STARS

Barkley is Chelsea’s FA Cup magic charm but only got his match-winning chance after ruthless Lampard pulled a tactical masterstroke

ROSS BARKLEY was Chelsea’s FA Cup lucky charm again after Frank Lampard showed his ruthless streak.

Barkley came off the bench to score his third goal in this FA Cup run and guide Chelsea into the semifinals.

He was one of three substitutes brought on to start the second half by Lampard in a clear display by the Chelsea boss of his frustration at his team’s poor performance before the break.

It proved Lampard is not afraid to make the tough decisions and, even though managers now have five

Barkley 63 replacements to choose from, it is still a major call to hook three players after 45 minutes.

His move to bring on Barkley, Cesar Azpilicueta and Mateo Kovacic in place of youngsters Mason Mount, Billy Gilmour and Reece James reaped rich rewards.

It also demonstrated that sometimes experience in a team is vital, the older heads calming nerves and changing the course of the game.

Ultimately, it was Barkley who proved to be the matchwinner.

Barkley has had a strange season, flitting in and out of the team, yet has so much raw power, ability and clearly an eye for goal in this competition having already scored against Nottingham Forest and Liverpool.

Now there will be another chance of silverware for Chelsea. A trophy plus a place in the Champions League would represent a hugely impressive first season for Lampard at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea have come back well after the restart, winning at Aston Villa, seeing off Manchester City and now clinching a place in the FA Cup semi-finals after a very tricky tie at Leicester.

For the Foxes it was the third