Chelsea interim head coach Calum McFarlane believes his team are ready to replicate their strong showing against Manchester City at the Etihad in January when the sides meet again in Saturday’s FA Cup final.
In what was his first game in charge in senior football, McFarlane got the better of his upcoming opponent at Wembley, Pep Guardiola, in the second half when the teams met in the Premier League, making substitutions and changes to his side’s shape to rescue a point.
Enzo Fernandez struck in stoppage time to cancel out Tijjani Reijnders’ first-half goal as the Blues produced a hugely encouraging response to the surprise sacking of head coach Enzo Maresca three days earlier.
Calum McFarlane will meet Pep Guardiola again at Wembley
Calum McFarlane will meet Pep Guardiola again at Wembley(Martin Rickett/PA)
Four months on and McFarlane finds himself in the hot-seat again, elevated from first-team coach following the sacking of Liam Rosenior in April and tasked with leading the team until the end of the season.
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“It was really good learning,” he said. “The first half was tough, we got the prep wrong. They had a lot of control. We didn’t want the game to look the way it did. We had to suffer, we had to run, we had to defend our box really well.”
Trailing at the break, McFarlane sent on Andrey Santos to play in midfield which allowed Fernandez to play more advanced, where he has traditionally produced his best performances for the team.
Cole Palmer was moved from number 10 to the right wing whilst full-backs Josh Acheampong and Malo Gusto were swapped around, with the latter’s forward running instrumental in the equaliser when he crossed to the back post for Fernandez to tap in.
“We made some changes in the second half to try and shift the momentum and be a bit more aggressive and get more territory,” said McFarlane. “It worked. We got a foothold in the game.
“I thought it was more down to the players than myself. You can give them instructions but there are moments when it’s going to go wrong. I thought the fight that they showed – I remember it vividly. We worked so hard to get that point.”
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The game at Wembley represents likely the club’s last chance to qualify for Europe after a run of one point from seven games left them almost certain to miss out through their league position.
Reece James and Levi Colwill are in contention to play after returning from injury.
Colwill made his first start of the season during Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool at Anfield, his campaign having been wrecked after injuring his anterior cruciate ligament on the first day of pre-season, whilst James came on as a substitute for his first appearance since March 14.
The club captain’s return came at an opportune moment with Thomas Tuchel preparing to name his 26-man squad for the World Cup, particularly after Arsenal’s Ben White was ruled out of the tournament.
“Reece is a massive player for this team and England,” said McFarlane. “One of the most complete footballers in world football.
“(I’m) really pleased Reece came through that, really pleased with the week he’s put in in preparation for Manchester City. He’s in a good place.”