Carney Chukwuemeka rescued Chelsea with a stoppage-time strike that inspired a 4-2 win over 10-man Leicester in an FA Cup quarter-final thriller on Sunday.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side were fortunate to survive a stirring fightback from Championship promotion chasers Leicester amid a mutinous atmosphere at Stamford Bridge.
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Chukwuemeka netted in the closing minutes to save Chelsea from the embarrassment of being forced into extra-time.
Noni Madueke added Chelsea’s fourth to ensure the angry fans who booed Pochettino in the second half were silenced, at least for now.
For the sixth time in the last eight years, the Blues have advanced to the last four in the FA Cup.
But this was hardly a triumphant afternoon for Blues boss Pochettino, whose inconsistent team blew the two-goal half-time lead given to them by Marc Cucurella and Cole Palmer.
In between those strikes, Raheem Sterling missed a penalty and Axel Disasi gave Leicester hope with a farcical own goal early in the second half.
When Stephy Mavididi scored an eye-catching equaliser, Chelsea were in turmoil once again as the hapless Sterling earned the wrath of the home support.
But Leicester’s Callum Doyle was sent off for a professional foul on Nicolas Jackson, setting the stage for the Blues’ late revival.
Chelsea have failed to win a single domestic trophy since their most recent FA Cup triumph six years ago.
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The west Londoners are languishing in 11th place in the Premier League and former Tottenham and Southampton boss Pochettino is yet to win silverware in England.
Under mounting pressure amid a troubled first season in charge, Pochettino revealed this week that some of Chelsea’s young players endured a sleepless night before their League Cup final defeat against Liverpool in February.
Making amends by winning the FA Cup would buy Pochettino some much-needed breathing space.
Chelsea had taken the lead in the 13th minute when Nicolas Jackson accelerated past Jannik Vestergaard into the Leicester area before whipping over a low cross that Cucurella converted from close-range.
It was the Spanish defender’s first goal since joining Chelsea from Brighton in August 2022.
In the 25th minute, Cole Palmer surged down the right flank and crossed to the edge of area, where Sterling was clattered by Abdul Fatawu as he prepared to shoot.
Palmer has been taking Chelsea’s penalties this season and Sterling’s decision to grab the ball proved misguided.
A frustrating season for the 29-year-old, who was left out of the England squad again this week, showed no signs of abating as he fluffed his lines with a weak penalty that was easily saved by Jakub Stolarczyk.
It was a decision savaged by Chelsea fans as well as former Arsenal defender Martin Keown.
“It certainly is (a shocker), one of the players that you look to in this new generation of Chelsea players to be assured and he hits it straight down the middle,” Keown said on BBC’s commentary.
“There’s no quality in that at all. No real purpose, no power, comfortable for the keeper.”
Sterling also fluffed his lines on a free kick from just outside the area, sending the ball high and wide into the stands.
Keown was equally scathing of Sterling’s free kick attempt.
“Do you know that kind of says everything about the Chelsea performance today because we’ve got Palmer there,” Keown said.
“You’re waiting for Cole Palmer to maybe hit this into the back of the net and then we see this. That’s a ridiculous effort isn’t it.
“Obviously Sterling is doing his best there but Cole Palmer has to take that free-kick, end of.”
To his credit, Sterling didn’t hide and he set up Palmer’s goal on the stroke of half-time.
Sterling, who joined Chelsea only last season in a £47.5 ($AUD92) million deal raced into the area and delivered a low cross that Palmer deftly slotted home from close-range.
Disasi gave Leicester a lifeline in the 51st minute as the centre-back panicked under pressure from Daka and hacked a misjudged backpass past stunned keeper Robert Sanchez into his own net from 30 yards.
Weaving into the Chelsea area as the anxious Blues defence backed off, Mavididi curled a blistering finish into the top corner in the 62nd minute.
Chelsea thought they had been given a penalty in the 73rd minute when Doyle tripped Jackson.
VAR ruled the offence was just outside the area, but that didn’t save Doyle from a red card.
Sterling was booed by Chelsea fans after a woeful free-kick, while Pochettino also copped it with chants of “you don’t know what you’re doing” when he substituted Mudryk.
Sterling was jeered again when he was taken off, so it was no surprise to see Pochettino punching the air in relief in stoppage-time.
Chukwuemeka produced a cool finish after Palmer’s sublime back-heel teed up the young midfielder.
Madueke put a flattering gloss on the scoreline when his deflected strike dipped under the bar in the final seconds.