Chelsea made it to the FA Cup semi-final with a professional display and a comfortable 2-0 win away at Middlesbrough on Saturday night.The Blues made the trip to the north of England to face EFL Championship side Middlesbrough at their Riverside Stadium. As many problems as Chelsea are associated with, playing football is not one of them. Boro were eager to impress their fans with a good performance against the reigning European champions and tried to hold the ball as much as possible. However, the gulf in quality was painfully obvious. The visitors would let Boro arrive in the final third and then win the ball and counter quickly – with devastating effects.Mason Mount escaped his markers down the right flank and curled a low cross perfectly for Romelu Lukaku to poke into the net and make it 1-0 just 15 minutes into the game.Birthday boy Hakim Ziyech curled an impeccable second on the half-hour mark to make it 2-0 and put his team firmly in the driving seat. Ziyech thought he provided another assist for an easy Lukaku goal, but Middlesbrough’s Dutch defender Anfernee Dijksteel somehow cleared it off the line, keeping Chris Wilder’s team in the game.Only 2 of maybe 5 Chelsea fans shouting for the team infront of thousands of Boro fans pic.twitter.com/O3mJW9V61m— Kieran Morby (@KieranMorby) March 19, 2022 Chelsea tried to make this game go ahead behind closed doors because the London club wasn’t allowed to sell tickets to the away supporters – something that Boro fans weren’t willing to let go and forgive. They made sure they enjoyed the occasion regardless of the result – and they supported their team loudly.As far as the ticket sales go – the Championship club decided to donate the “Chelsea money” to the people of Ukraine.”On behalf of the people of Middlesbrough and Teesside, Middlesbrough Football Club will donate its share of the gate receipts from the Emirates FA Cup sixth round tie against Chelsea to humanitarian aid in Ukraine.Chelsea never looked in danger of surrendering the lead and eased to the last four of the national cup. FA CUP – QuarterfinalsSaturdayMiddlesbrough – Chelsea 0-2 (0-2)/Lukaku 15, Ziyech 31/Sunday15:30: (2.00) Crystal Palace (3.50) Everton (4.10)18:00: (9.00) Southampton (5.60) Man.City (1.35)21:00: (11.0) Nott.Forest (6.50) Liverpool (1.28)***odds are subject to change***
