Ross Barkley 8 out of 10, Billy Gilmour 3; Ben Chilwell 5: Leicester v Chelsea player ratings

Substitute volleys home Willian's second-half cross as Blues beat Leicester 1-0 to reach FA Cup semis

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  Kasper Schmeichel – 8, Phenomenal first-half save from Pulisic, and delayed the inevitable at the end by thwarting Barkley. EPA

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  James Justin – 7, Good early tackle on Pulisic, and generally deputised well for the injured Ricardo Pereira – a late wasted cross notwithstanding. AFP

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  Jonny Evans – 6, A sloppy pass late on when Leicester were pushing to equalise was the opposite of what was required. EPA

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  Caglar Soyuncu – 7, Made some important blocks as Chelsea seized the momentum at the start of the second phase. AFP

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  Ben Chilwell – 5, Spent plenty of time waving his arms blaming his teammates for their faults. Hardly shone himself, though. AFP

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  Wilfried Ndidi – 7, Ubiquitous in the first half, but he found life tougher once Barkley and Kovacic came on. Reuters

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  Ayoze Perez – 6, Perky during the home side’s bright start, but did little that was telling before going off after 57 minutes. Reuters

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  Youri Tielemans – 6, Featured strongly in Leicester’s brightest moments, but his imprecision at those times cost them in the end. AFP

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  Dennis Praet – 6, Looked like he was warming to his work when he was subbed just before the hour mark. Reuters

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  Harvey Barnes – 7, Provided the Foxes with much of their early thrust, but he was wasteful when well placed, too. AFP

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  Jamie Vardy – 6, Looked as though he was in for a fun afternoon the way his side started, but it did not amount to much. Reuters

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  SUBS: Hamza Choudhury (on for Perez, 57') – 6, The tide was already turning Chelsea’s way when he came on, and he was unable to help stem it. Reuters

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  Demarai Gray (on for Barnes 76') – 6, Given 15 minutes to change the game, but was not able to prise an opening. AFP

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  Marc Albrighton (on for Praet, 57') - 7, His side went behind shortly after he came on, but he did his best to revive them. EPA

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  Willy Caballero – 6, Had to bail a few of his mates out in an erratic first half by Chelsea. Azpilicueta returned the favour when he waved at a cross late on. Reuters

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  Reece James – 6, Lucky not to be booked for a first-half foul, but he was the least poor of the three players substituted at the break. AFP

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  Antonio Rudiger – 6, Visibly tried to rouse his teammates from their static start, but needed to listen to his own advice. Reuters

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  Kurt Zouma – 7, Chelsea’s backline did not make an auspicious start, but Zouma did well in locking the door once they had gone ahead. AFP

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  Emerson – 6, A rare start for the Brazilian and left-back. Did little much to advertise himself, but was rarely troubled. Reuters

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  N’Golo Kante – 7, Outplayed by his opposite number Ndidi in the first half, but showed up far better once joined by the half-time reinforcements. AFP

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  Billy Gilmour – 3, Nightmarish start, could have given a goal away within 20 seconds, and twice more before being replaced at half time. AFP

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  Mason Mount – 5, Played a neat through ball for Pulisic’s first-half chance, but was hauled off at half time. AFP

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  Willian – 7, Appetising cross for the opening goal, and the Brazilian was typically reliable throughout. AFP

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  Christian Pulisic – 7, Denied a goal by Schmeichel, but the American was a constant threat, even when Chelsea were up against it. AFP

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  Tammy Abraham – goal ruled out for offside. AFP

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  SUBS: Cesar Azpilicueta (on for James, 45') – 8, Oozed authority when introduced at the interval, and made a nuisance of himself to spoil a Soyuncu header late on. AFP

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  Ross Barkley (on for Gilmour, 45') - 8, Central to the turnaround, and deserved his goal, which was a fine finish from Willian’s cross. Left a few chances out there, too. AFP

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  Mateo Kovacic (on for Mount)– 7, Provided a rugged edge for Frank Lampard (pictured) where Chelsea had been flimsy in the first half. EPA

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  Ruben Loftus-Cheek (on for Pulisic, 72') – 6, Feeling his way to fitness, he was given 18 minutes after coming on for Pulisic. EPA

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  Pedro (on for Willian, 78;) – 6, No time to make an impression after he swapped in for Willian. AFP

Ross Barkley emerged from the substitutes’ bench to score the goal that sent Chelsea through to the semifinals of the FA Cup.

The 2018 winners beat Leicester City 1-0 to advance to the last four, but their manager Frank Lampard said: “We got lucky today.”

Leicester were the dominant force in the first half. Lampard made three substitutions at the break, suggesting he could have made “seven, eight, or nine,” given how badly they had fared.

It did the trick, with Barkley – who was introduced at the same time as Cesar Azpilicueta and Mateo Kovacic – scoring the decisive goal.