By Paul Green at Wembley
CALUM McFarlane was gushing with his praise for Enzo Fernandez after the Argentina star booked Chelsea an FA Cup final date with Manchester City with the only goal in the semi-final against Leeds United at Wembley.
Fernandez headed Pedro Neto’s cross past goalkeeper Lucas Perri midway through the first half on Sunday to sink the Whites and end the Blues’ five-game losing streak which cost Liam Rosenior his job.
McFarlane has been named as caretaker boss until the end of the campaign, a role he filled earlier in the season when Fernandez struck to earn a 1-1 draw with City at the Etihad in January.
And the 25-year-old repeated the trick again at the national stadium, much to the delight of the Blues chief.
McFarlane explained: “I said that to him at the end. I said, ‘you like scoring at the back post for me’, and he just laughed. He does that really well, he has done it all year. It is one of his biggest attributes that when you attack down the right the timing of his runs, his ability to actually get good distance and height on his jump, and his heading technique is really good.
“He is a winner, he has got so much talent, so much fight and he is massive for this group.
“The best thing about Enzo is that he can do a bit of everything, but when it gets tough you see the fight in him.
“You see him driving the group on, you see him making tackles, you see him fight for every loose ball. He was exceptional today and deserved his man-of-the-match.”
Fernandez was banished from the team for two games by Rosenior as punishment for giving an interview praising Real Madrid and suggesting he didn’t know if he would be at Stamford Bridge next season.
He was back and named skipper for the abject 3-0 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion the previous Tuesday, a game which proved to be Rosenior’s last in the hotseat.
Despite all the recent controversy and poor run of results, McFarlane was more than happy to let Fernandez lead out the team once again at Wembley.
He said: “In terms of making Enzo Fernandez captain, I’m very aware that I’m interim coach and Enzo is the vice-captain of this club, so I wasn’t hesitant to make him captain now Reece James isn’t fit to play this game.”
Fernandez’s goal against Leeds made it thirteen in all competitions this season for the midfield ace, a contribution McFarlane was keen to acknowledge.
The interim manager said: “It is something we rely on a lot. That is why he has changed position a lot over the last few years. He has played deeper, he has played as a ten, he has moved about.
“But he is such a threat in the box that the higher up you play him – and he can drop down and he can drift – but the higher up you play him he can really cause oppositions problems in that left half-space and attacking the back two.”
Chelsea will return to Wembley on May 16 to take on City, with the bookies having Pep Guardiola’s side as strong odds-on favourites.
However, McFarlane is firmly convinced his charges are more than capable of winning their first FA Cup since 2018.
“Of course,” he replied when asked if they have a chance against City.
“They are a great side, he is a great manager and they are probably the form team in the league.
“There is a lot that they can do to hurt you but we wouldn’t be going into the game thinking we are not going to win.
“We are going to be confident, we are going to attack the game and hopefully put in that sort of performance again.”
