FA Cup: Stats Chelsea fans will not want to see after another Wembley disappointment

Mauricio Pochettino's Chelsea defeated by Arsenal(Imago/Sportimage)

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Mauricio Pochettino's Chelsea were defeated by Manchester City in the 2024 FA Cup semi-final at Wembley (Imago/Sportimage)

FA Cup: Stats Chelsea fans will not want to see after another Wembley disappointment

Seye Omidiora 13:23 - 21.04.2024

Mauricio Pochettino’s men were defeated at the Home of Football by Manchester City on Saturday, continuing a pitiful pattern for the London club.

Chelsea failed to defeat a clearly fatigued Manchester City side in Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final, after failing to convert several promising situations to punish Pep Guardiola’s troops at Wembley Stadium. 

Man City vs Chelsea

A late Bernardo Silva goal sealed a 1-0 success for the Manchester outfit keen to record consecutive triumphs in the prestigious cup competition. 

While Guardiola went berserk after the victory because of the arduous scheduling, Mauricio Pochettino’s team were left to rue yet another failure at the Home of Football, having been defeated by Liverpool in the EFL Cup final in February. 

Nicolas Jackson bore much of the brunt this time, with the striker’s decision-making and execution undoubtedly lacking in decisive moments. The criticism of the striker was the latest in a mixed debut campaign for the Senegal international, who divides opinion despite a decent return in his first year in English football. 

Nicolas Jackson failed to convert several clear goalscoring chances in Chelsea's FA Cup semi-final defeat to Man City
Nicolas Jackson failed to convert several clear goalscoring chances in Chelsea's FA Cup semi-final defeat to Man City (Imago/Xinhua)

However, the lack of a clinical edge has intermittently undermined the striker’s broader progress, and losing to Guardiola’s side brought the criticism to a head. 

Disappointing stats Chelsea fans will not want to see

Saturday’s defeat continued the pattern of defeats for the West London club, whose recent visits to Wembley have ended in dispiriting results. 

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  • Saturday's loss was Chelsea's 11th elimination at the semi-final stage in the FA Cup, the third most in the competition's history after Everton (13) and Tottenham Hotspur (12).

  • Chelsea have now gone nine games without a win against Man City (seven losses, two draws) since beating Guardiola’s team in the 2021 Champions League final. 

  • The Blues have been defeated in six of their recent eight FA Cup encounters against the Cityzens. 

  • Chelsea have been beaten on six of the last seven occasions they have played the FA Cup holders. 

  • Pochettino has now lost five of his nine major semi-finals since his managerial career began. He has been beaten in two semis against Guardiola — the 2021 Champions League semi-final as PSG boss and Saturday's FA Cup clash at Wembley. 

Mauricio Pochettino and Josep Guardiola
Mauricio Pochettino and Josep Guardiola (Imago)
  • Chelsea have not scored at Wembley since the 2022 FA Cup semi-final win over Crystal Palace, with Mason Mount the last goalscorer for the London side at the Home of Football. Excluding added time, 330 minutes have passed across the three games since the Englishman netted in that 2-0 success over Palace — 120 minutes in the FA Cup final loss to Liverpool, 120 minutes in the 1-0 EFL Cup defeat to Jurgen Klopp's men this year and 90 minutes on Saturday.

What comes next for Chelsea?

While Pochettino’s side are ending this term without a trophy, the Blues could still end in a European spot via a high finish in the Premier League

Chelsea are ninth in the table, but the West London side have played fewer games than the clubs ahead of them in the league. 

The five-time Premier League champions’ next match takes them to title-contending Arsenal on April 23.