Middlesbrough 0-2 Chelsea: Blues beat Championship side to reach FA Cup semi-finals

*Romelu Lukaku scored his 12th goal of the season as Chelsea beat Championship side Middlesbrough to reach the FA Cup semi-finals.

Hakim Ziyech made it 2-0 midway through the first half with an excellent effort from the edge of the box before Lukaku was denied the second when Anfernee Dijksteel cleared the line.

Middlesbrough showed plenty of effort in the second half as they looked to mount an unlikely comeback, with Arsenal loan Folarin Balogun firing wide after a promising counter-attack, while Duncan Watmore also sent an effort over the bar from a good shot. position.

However, Chelsea could have secured a late third-place finish when substitute Timo Werner was awarded a free kick, but Middlesbrough goalkeeper Joe Lumley did well to deflect the palm away.

Chelsea will find out who they will play in the semi-finals, to be played at Wembley on 16-17 April, when the draw is made ahead of Sunday’s quarter-final between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool (18:00 GMT).

• Reaction to Chelsea’s win at Middlesbrough

Chelsea’s streak continues despite uncertainty

There had been a bit of a needle before this game with Chelsea having to make an awkward U-turn on their request for the game to be played behind closed doors for “sporting integrity”.

The club was unable to sell its entire allocation of 4,500 tickets for the match due to government sanctions imposed on Russian owner Roman Abramovich due to his connection to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

It meant they were backed by around 700 supporters who had gotten their tickets before penalties were applied, while Middlesbrough were cheered on by a sold-out crowd at the 34,000 capacity Riverside Stadium.

Chelsea players have responded well amid the uncertainty surrounding the club off the pitch. They were unsure if they would have a 10-hour round trip by coach to get to Middlesbrough just hours after returning from a Champions League tie at Lille due to financial constraints.

Since Abramovich’s assets were frozen on March 10 as part of sanctions following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Chelsea have won all three games they have played and ultimately this was a routine win against a team has performed well against Premier League opponents in this year’s FA. Bowl.

Lukaku has endured a difficult campaign in which he has not looked entirely happy at Chelsea, but they gave him the starting job in this game.

And he made a key contribution, opening the scoring for a third FA Cup goal in four games, making an important free-kick clearance from Marcus Tavernier with the score 1-0, only to be denied the second by a clearance from goal.

The Belgian’s goal celebration was muted, doing little to quash speculation about his long-term future, but he did what he was asked to do as Chelsea kept their hopes of a ninth Cup title alive. FA.

Boro shifts focus to Premier League return

It has been an excellent run in the FA Cup by Middlesbrough, who have rejuvenated themselves since Chris Wilder took over on 7 November.

They started this game well and weren’t afraid to push high against a team that had won seven of their last eight games.

Ultimately that bold start proved costly as they were caught on the counter for the first match, but their run in competition and performances against Premier League opposition will give them confidence as they now shift their focus to joining their recent FA Cup opposition in the top flight. next season.

Middlesbrough are eighth in the Championship, two points from sixth but two games down on most of those above them.