Chelsea vs Leeds United: Why I used Adarabioyo over Hato – McFarlane

Chelsea interim head coach Calum McFarlane has defended his decision to start Tosin Adarabioyo ahead of Jorrel Hato in Sunday’s FA Cup semifinal win over Leeds United, Afrik-Foot reports.

The Blues ended a poor run of form that had led to the dismissal of Liam Rosenior and sealed an important victory that booked their place in the final of the competition.

Adarabioyo, who joined Chelsea in 2024, has had a mixed spell at the club so far, struggling for consistency and also slipped down the pecking order in defence.

This made his inclusion in the starting lineup a big surprise when the team sheet dropped, although his outstanding performance in the clash would have cleared any doubts about his quality. 

The 28-year-old completed 86% of his passes and made 12 defensive contributions. He also stood out in the air, winning seven of his eight aerial duels. Most importantly, he helped the backline against the threat of England forward Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Enzo Fernández scored the only goal of the match in the first half which sent Chelsea into the FA Cup final for the first time since 2022 and keeps their hopes of a silverware alive this season.

McFarlane defends Adarabioyo selection against Leeds United

Before the match, Adarabioyo had made just 27 appearances across all competitions this season, making his selection a surprise given he had fallen behind others in the defence in recent matches.

However, he justified his inclusion with a dominant defensive performance, helping his side to a first clean sheet since mid-February.

Speaking after the match, McFarlane, who was named on an interim basis until the end of the season, said the decision was mainly to nullify Leeds United’s threat in the air and also to help defend against Calvert-Lewin.

“It’s a really good question, and it was one of the most difficult decisions in preparing for this game, because Jorrel Hato has probably been our best player over the last five or six games”, the Chelsea boss said, via Football.London.

“But I decided to go with Tosin mainly because of the threat of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, and because he was probably the best match-up to deal with that. Set-pieces are a massive part of their game, and Tosin is a great leader with a strong character.

“I fully trust Jorrel, and he could have played this game, just like Wesley Fofana could have. As a manager you make decisions and hope they come off, and I thought Tosin was exceptional today”, McFarlane added.

Following the win, Chelsea are now through to the final of the FA Cup where they will face Manchester City, who defeated Southampton, on May 16.

McFarlane will likely take confidence from Adarabioyo’s display in their semifinal win, with the defender now pushing for more regular starts in the Blues’ remaining matches this season.