We all know they’re just beating around the bush, the truth of the matter is they can never win the FA Cup anytime soon’: Brazilian football legend Ronaldo has given his prediction for this season’s FA Cup as he ruled Chelsea out

As usual, Chelsea made things as hard as they could be for themselves. They needed two late goals after Callum Doyle was sent off to beat Championship team Leicester City 4-2 in the FA Cup. In Mauricio Pochettino’s first season with the club, they make it to their second cup semi-final and will hope to get revenge for losing the League Cup to Liverpool.

Things were exciting in SW6, and Chelsea went into halftime with a 2-0 lead that made the second half look like it would be easy. After good work from Nicolas Jackson, Marc Cururella scored for the Blues with a simple touch into an open goal in the 13th minute.

This was the first of several things that Sterling did poorly that afternoon. Even though he set up Cole Palmer’s goal with a good low pass, he was booed off after a missed free kick when the score was tied. Axel Disasi scored an own goal in a chaotic play that tied the game six minutes into the second half. Stephy Mavididi then scored one of the best goals of the event with a right-footed curler from long range into the top right corner.

The red card in the 73rd minute, on the other hand, did put the home team in full control of the game. But it took even more great play to win. In extra time, Palmer set up Carney Chukwuemeka with a beautiful flick, and Noni Madueke scored a brilliant curling goal to seal the trip to Wembley.

It was a good ending, and it may have been a message to Pochettino that he should give some of the young stars on his bench more chances than players like Sterling.

Is it just a matter of balance?
Chelsea keeps giving up goals. In their last four games, against Leicester, Newcastle, Brentford, and Leeds United, they’ve given up two goals each time. Luckily for Mauricio Pochettino, his team has scored more than two goals in three of those four games, but it still makes you wonder.

Attacking groups of full-backs have been put together, and Malo Gusto has been on the right side of all of them. The only game they switched to a back four was against Brentford, and the Blues didn’t attack very well in that game.

Although an own goal and a great strike cost Chelsea the points, it shouldn’t be forgotten how many times the away team got into dangerous areas in the wide areas. Both Gusto and Cucurella naturally think ahead as full-backs, which makes room for moves behind them.

So many times, the best teams in the league use unusual strategies to try to both build from the back and defend more carefully. Arsenal plays both Ben White and Jakub Kiwior. Manchester City plays Nathan Ake, Josko Gvardiol, and Manuel Akanji a lot. And in big games, Liverpool has chosen to play Joe Gomez on both sides.

So, the question is whether Chelsea needs to fix these problems. One solution could be to choose a full back who is better at defence. There are different options in the ranks, but a steady choice might help players get to know each other and feel more confident.

“I’m not dumb”
During his news conference after the game, Mauricio Pochettino was very stern. Naturally, he was asked about the choice to replace Mykhailo Mudryk before taking off Raheem Sterling. With the Ukrainian’s number raised, Blues fans had a lot to say about the Argentine.

If you asked him about the decision, he said, “I am not here to give the people what they want.” Along with “I am not stupid.”

“To be honest, I saw Mudryk and we talked about it. He looked tired and was stretching, so we thought he might not make it through the game. Then we’ll decide whether to go for Mudryk first or Raheem second.”

When put that way, it makes sense. Also, it was two replacements who scored the game-winning goals, which may be a fair way to give Pochettino credit for how he handled the substitutions.

Pochettino talks very positively about the project, and if we believe him, the club is fully behind him. However, it looks like work is still being done behind the scenes. Through the way he spoke, it was clear that he wanted more players to be brought in.

He knows that his spot in the table isn’t good enough and that things need to change. On the other hand, Chelsea has been to Wembley twice before, twice more than league leaders Arsenal. A win in the tournament would do great things for his image and restore a lot of faith.

What do we need?
Many fans of other teams may be wondering what Chelsea still needs after spending so much money. But people who follow the Blues regularly are well aware of the holes in the team and the problems with some of the less successful signings.

We need a unique player very badly. While Enzo Fernandez was out, Mudryk filled in as a central defender. However, while Martin Odegaard helps Arsenal score goals and Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva help City score goals, it looks like Chelea needs an orchestrator.

The team is giving up a lot of goals, so it seems like they need a defender. But after putting so much money into their back line already, adding another one seems like too much. Still, as we already said, if they can find a flexible player who can also play as a disciplined full-back, that might be the best way to go.

The goalie is the last player. Robert Sanchez and Dorde Petrovic are both good players, but the Blues need to find a better ball-player who can give defenders the confidence that they can play with an extra defender, like David Raya, Alisson, and Ederson do at the top of the league.

But Pochettino says that his team still has eleven games to play to finish as high in the table as possible so that they can get more players to join. It will take another summer to rebuild, but there are signs of hope that fans can hold on to.