Chelsea edged past Barnsley in a hard fought 1-0 victory at the Oakwell Stadium on Thursday as they secured their place in the last 8 of the FA Cup. Tammy Abraham broke the deadlock in the 64th minute to give Thomas Tuchel a 4th win in 5 games.
Abraham denied an equalizer for the away side when Barnsley player, Micheal Sollbauer’s goal bound flick was saved by his head on the line.
Calum Brittain had a chance early in the game to take the lead for the hosts but was denied by the leg of Chelsea goalkeeper, Kepa Arrizabalaga from close range followed by another shot later which deflected just wide.
It was substitute Reece James who provided the telling assist for Tammy to finish from close range. It was a hard fought, typical FA Cup tie which is known to provide surprises where no team was willing to throw in the towel but Chelsea did not let this opportunity slip. 4 clean sheets in 5 games not only gives the goalkeeper but also the defense confidence in progressing in the season. With this victory, Chelsea joins Manchester United, Leicester City, Manchester City, Southampton, Sheffield United, Everton and Bournemouth as the quarter finalists of this season’s FA Cup.
- The quarter finals are as follows:
Everton vs Manchester City
Leicester City vs Manchester United
Bournemouth vs Southampton
Chelsea vs Sheffield United
The quarter finals will be played on 20th March, 2021.
Chelsea will look to continue their fine form under their new boss, Thomas Tuchel when they play Newcastle United at home in midweek (15th February) whereas Barnsley play current leaders, Brentford in an away game in the EFL Championship on 14th February.
