Chelsea survived a scare to beat Leeds 3-2 at Stamford Bridge and reach the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Conor Gallagher’s 93rd-minute goal was the difference between the teams in west London, as the England midfielder came off the bench to score a late winner.
Gallagher’s neat turn and finish settled an entertaining cup contest, that saw Leeds take an early lead after a defensive mistake, through Mateo Joseph’s first senior goal.
Nicolas Jackson levelled for Chelsea just seven minutes later and Mykhailo Mudryk fired the hosts ahead before half-time.
Leeds, who have been in fine form in the Championship, were the better team after the break and Joseph arrived at the back post to steer in his second as Daniel Farke’s side threatened an upset.
Gallagher’s goal then sent Chelsea into the last eight and offered some relief after Sunday’s Carabao Cup final defeat. Mauricio Pochettino’s team will host Leicester in the quarter-finals, in a rematch of the 2021 final.
Gallagher admitted Chelsea had to dig deep as the Blues bounced back from their Wembley disappointment.
“It [the Carabao Cup final loss] was a big disappointment and we wanted to bounce back and give the fans something to celebrate and we managed to do that,” the 24-year-old said to ITV Sport.
“It has been a really tough few days and everyone has been down but we had to make sure we were right because it was such an important game and the boys dug deep to get the win.
“It was a really tough game, Leeds are a good side and doing well this season so we knew it would be a tough game but to win in that way was fantastic.”
