BLUES TUCH
No doubting Thomas as Lukaku and Ziyech see team into semis
THEY were singing and dancing in the streets around the Kings Road as Chelsea again made a mockery of the club’s problems to ease into the last eight of the FA Cup.
With just over 600 visiting fans inside the Riverside, having bought their tickets before sanctions shut down business, this was TV heaven for the vast majority of Chelsea followers.
With Romelu Lukaku and birthday boy Hakim Ziyech firing them into a two-goal lead inside half an hour, the stay-at-homes were celebrating yet another semi-final appearance before they’d even ordered their Saturday night takeaways.
And while Chelsea’s attempt to have this tie played behind closed doors was deservedly mocked, there will have been one or two Boro supporters who wished this was a fans-free zone.
Some taunted Roman Abramovich’s former club with chants of “We’re going to have a party when Chelsea die”, but the truth is that on the pitch they’re very much alive.
Chris Wilder’s promotionchasing team had turned their home into a fortress with nine successive wins on Teesside. But it was breached with ease by a Chelsea side whose only defeat in the past two months has been against Liverpool in the League Cup Final at Wembley.
Thomas Tuchel deserves enormous credit for steering his ship so calmly through choppy waters and this latest test was navigated with surprising ease.
It may have been a free hit for the hosts, but Chelsea had too much quality and professionalism to allow them to feed off the electric atmosphere inside the packed ground at kick-off.
Wilder has admitted that, had Manchester United converted a
fraction of the countless chances they created against his side in the fourth round, there would have been no Cup adventure for Boro.
Chelsea, too, started like an express train and should have been ahead inside 10 minutes.
Both Lukaku and Christian Pulisic were unable to get on the end of a dangerous Mason Mount cross which defender Dael Fry failed to cut out at his near post.
And, after Ruben Loftus-cheek had glided past two opponents to feed Pulisic, the American’s cross-shot was hacked clear.
When Matt Crooks overhit a cross with Folarin Balogun unmarked, it fuelled suspicions that Boro were suffering stagefright. And the manner in which they allowed Lukaku to bag his third FA Cup goal this season did nothing to banish them.
Ziyech sent the elusive Mount scampering down the right flank, his low ball in eluded Fry again and this time, the Belgian had read his team-mate’s intentions perfectly to stab home from close range. But, roared on by the raucous crowd, Boro gradually gained a foothold.
Balogun might have done better on 27 minutes when Marcus Tavernier’s corner dropped, but his header flew harmlessly wide.
Skipper Jonny Howson, so dominant in the win over Spurs, then tried his luck from distance but his radar was well askew.
Unlike that of Ziyech, who, moments later, put the game beyond the Championship playoff hopefuls, celebrating his 29th birthday with his side’s second.
Taking Mount’s pass in his stride he cut inside Neil Taylor before unleashing a shot, which, despite its swerve, should have been kept out by Joe Lumley.
That knocked the stuffing out of Boro and sub Timo Werner had chances to stretch the lead only for Lumley to keep out his header in the 72nd minute and Sol Bamba to block his effort minutes later.
Tuchel (left) said: “We showed quality in decisive moments and scored two early goals, which gave us a comfortable lead. I’m very happy, it was a deserved win.”