Lukaku strikes as Chelsea reach FA Cup semi-finals

MIDDLESBROUGH: Chelsea reached the FA Cup semi-finals for the third successive season as a rare goal from Romelu Lukaku inspired a 2-0 win against Championship side Middlesbrough on Saturday (Mar 19).

In what could have been a potential upset, Thomas Tuchel's team were never troubled as they made it six successive victories since Roman Abramovich put the European champions up for sale.

Unsettled Belgian striker Lukaku opened the scoring with just his second goal in seven games.

Hakim Ziyech increased Chelsea's advantage before the interval at the Riverside Stadium.

The Blues killed off the quarter-final with minimal fuss after that, ensuring a last four appearance at Wembley in April as they look to reach the final for a third consecutive year.

Chelsea are operating under a special licence allowing them to fulfil fixtures after the UK government sanctions on Abramovich in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

A host of bidders submitted their offers to buy Chelsea from Abramovich before Friday's deadline, offering hope that their current predicament will soon be over.

Tuchel admits he is out of the loop with regards to the sale, but the German has impressively kept Chelsea's players focused amid the off-field turmoil.

Chelsea have won 12 of their past 13 matches, with the exception the League final penalty shoot-out loss against Liverpool.

It hasn't all been plain sailing and following a scathing response from Middlesbrough and even their own supporters, Chelsea had withdrawn their request for the quarter-final to be played behind closed doors after they were denied the chance to sell their full allocation of tickets due to the sanctions.

Tuchel feared his squad would have to make a 10-hour bus journey to the match because of