Double London FA Cup delight

MOVING ON: CHELSEA, ARSENAL ADVANCE TO LAST FOUR

Chelsea moved into the FA Cup semifinals as Ross Barkley sealed a 1-0 win at Leicester, while Arsenal joined their London rivals in the last four after a dramatic 2-1 victory against Sheffield United yesterday.

Looking to win the first trophy of Frank Lampard’s reign, Chelsea recovered from a woeful start at the King Power Stadium.

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.

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.

Lampard made six changes to the team that handed the Premier League title to Liverpool with a victory over Manchester City on Thursday.

It was a sluggish start from Chelsea and Blues defender Antonio Rudiger angrily admonished his team-mates after snuffing out a Yori Tielemans effort.

Lampard could be heard bellowing “liven up” at his sloppy stars as Leicester defender Jonny Evans headed Ben Chilwell’s freekick wastefully wide from close range.

Christian Pulisic had scored in each of Chelsea’s first two games since the restart and the United States winger led their response with a fierce strike that Kasper Schmeichel tipped over.

Lampard still wasn’t satisfied and sent on Barkley, Mateo Kovacic and Cesar Azpilicueta at half-time.

Chelsea looked more vibrant after the changes, with Kovacic dominating in midfield.

Pressing harder and breaking with purpose, Chelsea took the lead in the 63rd minute.

Willian swung in a teasing cross from the right and Barkley got in front of Evans to guide a clinical finish past Schmeichel.

At Bramall Lane, Dani Ceballos fired Arsenal into last four alongside Chelsea and Manchester United.

Mikel Arteta’s side rode their luck after surviving a second-half barrage from the Blades. Nicolas Pepe put Arsenal ahead with a first-half penalty after Chris Basham fouled Alexandre Lacazette.

David McGoldrick equalised with three minutes left, but onloan Real Madrid midfielder Ceballos settled it in the final moments.

Arteta was Arsenal’s captain when they won the FA Cup final against Hull in 2014.

The Gunners boss remains on course to claim silverware as Arsenal look to win the FA Cup for a record 14th time. –

Picture: AFP WINNER. Chelsea’s Ross Barkley, right, celebrates with team-mate Tammy Abraham after scoring the only goal in their FA Cup quarterfinal against Leicester City at King Power Stadium yesterday.