Calum McFarlane gets game plan ‘spot on’ as full-time moment speaks volumes

Steven Gerrard has heaped praise on Calum McFarlane after guiding Chelsea into the FA Cup final.

Chelsea ended a turbulent week by beating Leeds 1-0 in the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday afternoon and will return to Wembley Stadium next month for the showpiece against Manchester City .

The win over Leeds ended a run of three successive defeats - without scoring too - as McFarlane began his second spell as interim head coach on a positive note .

Enzo Fernandez was Chelsea’s match-winner with a first half header, while Robert Sanchez has received rave reviews for his performance in between the posts .

However, Gerrard spotted a big improvement from the Blues in terms of performance and believes McFarlane deserves credit for getting the game plan spot on.

Speaking on TNT Sports, the Liverpool legend said: “I was impressed with Chelsea in the second half with their game management.

A clean sheet, better structure to their game and lots of positives.

"Chelsea were much improved, to a man.

Fernandez will get the headlines for his winning goal, but across the board, the structure of the team was much better.

“There was a lot more fight and a lot more passion within that.

I thought Calum got his game plan spot on.

“Leeds will go away from this game full of regret, really.

They never really got going until the second half.

They had one good chance either side of half-time, but that's not enough in a semi-final if you want to knock Chelsea out."
There was a special moment involving McFarlane and Chelsea captain Reece James after the final whistle at Wembley.

James, who missed the match through injury, pushed McFarlane in front of the travelling Chelsea supporters, ensuring the interim head coach got his appreciation for the FA Cup semi-final win.

The Blues have two Premier League fixtures against Nottingham Forest and Liverpool before taking on Man City in the FA Cup final on May 16.