Chelsea marched into the FA Cup semi-finals with a ruthless 2-0 victory over Championship play-off chasers Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday evening.
First-half strikes from Romelu Lukaku and Hakim Ziyech put Chelsea in the driving seat heading into the break. A quieter second period saw relatively few chances of note, but the Blues remained professional to progress to the semi-finals amid all their uncertainty.
Lukaku opened the scoring inside the first quarter of an hour, turning home Mason Mount’s cross from close-range. Mount turned provider again with half an hour played, setting up Ziyech who doubled the Blues lead with a dipping strike from distance.
Chris Wilder’s men refused to lie down in the second half and kept Chelsea on their toes, the fans were the 12th man and did everything to inspire a comeback, however, it’s the Blues who booked a date with Wembley, bringing an end to Boro’s inspired FA Cup journey.
After the international break, Chelsea host Brentford in a south-west London derby at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League. Middlesbrough return to Championship action when they travel to Peterborough United looking to chase down the play-off positions.