Back in the 1970s, the all whites were the team to beat in England, whilst the 'Kings of the King's Road' were a swashbuckling outfit who not only wanted to win matches, but to do so in a particular style.
Those games were incredibly physical encounters, with tackles that would be quickly punished in today's playing environment.
No Rosenior for Chelsea
The Blues went into the game on the back of having not scored in five consecutive Premier League losses, leading to Liam Rosenior being removed from his position as head coach and Calum McFarlane taking the reins until the end of the season.
Daniel Farke had guided his Leeds side into their first FA Cup semi-final in 39 years, and they were unbeaten in seven in all competitions before this clash.
Both teams had scored in every previous FA Cup tie that they'd played this season, with Chelsea hammering seven past Port Vale in the quarter-final.
They also shared four goals the last time they met, a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge in which Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer scored for the Blues, and Lukas Nmecha and Noah Okafor replied for Leeds.
Leeds unbeaten in seven but Chelsea dictate early play
The Elland Road outfit looked to take the game to the West Londoners from the first whistle, and had the first shot on target within four minutes.
However, they quickly retreated into their shells as the Blues began to dictate proceedings.
Chelsea were so on top in the opening quarter hour that they'd collectively had the ball an astonishing 82% of the time.
That dominance allowed their front men to play right up on the shoulders of the Leeds back four, pinning them back into their own defensive third for the most part.
Enzo breaks the deadlock
Alejandro Garnacho's industry saw him have seven first-half touches in the Leeds box, and though they ultimately came to nothing, it was an avenue that was proving successful in terms of making ground up the pitch.
Joao Pedro, Enzo Fernandez and Pedro Neto were also heavily involved at the sharp end, with Ethan Ampadu and Jayden Bogle having to fight fires in midfield, winning two of their three tackles each to keep Chelsea at bay.
Before Fernandez opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, the Argentinian had already had one effort on target, with Pedro hitting the woodwork and Garnacho and Neto seeing their shots blocked.
The goal was no more than the West Londoners deserved, and ominously for Leeds, the Blues hadn't lost in the FA Cup during 2025/26 when scoring first.
Sanchez denies Stach
Only Man City had scored more first-half goals during their cup run (eight) than Chelsea's seven, and before the half-time whistle was blown, their opponents had no real answer.
That's despite the likes of James Justin (93.3%) and Jaka Bijol (89.7%) knocking the ball around well and providing the platform for their colleagues to get at the Blues.
Robert Sanchez acrobatically denied Anton Stach just a minute into the second half, after the latter hammered in an Exocet that was heading into the top corner before the goalkeeper's intervention.
A stunning move for Chelsea just after deserved a goal, but Pedro dilly-dallied in the area, and the chance was gone.
Just one attempt from Calvert-Lewin
Dominic Calvert-Lewin had to do better with his first attempt on target as the game approached the hour mark, with the striker heading straight at Sanchez when unmarked.
It would prove to be his only touch in the Chelsea box, and yet when Farke made some attacking substitutions with 15 or so to play, the England man was kept on to plough what was increasingly becoming a lone furrow.
Only Brenden Aaronson emerged with any attacking credit for Leeds, though just three touches in the box and one shot on target also arguably needed to be better.
In fact, with just under 10 minutes of the game left, the Yorkshiremen had actually had more attempts at goal (10 to Chelsea's seven) - although still their lowest in this season's competition - and more on target (three to two).
Though the pendulum hadn't completely swung in the Yorkshiremen's favour, they were at least putting the Blues under some pressure in the latter stages, and, as a result, Chelsea hadn't been able to get a shot at goal in 30 minutes.
Caicedo keeps Leeds at bay
Ampadu had won more than half of his one-on-one duels, too, whilst Aaronson's seven successful duels were only one less than Pedro's eight, the best on the day.
Palmer offered Chelsea a different outlet down the right side after coming on as sub, thus keeping Gabriel Gudmundsson's raiding to a minimum, and that restricted the movement from the Leeds midfield as they sought to take the game to extra-time at least.
Moises Caicedo's industry and 90.3% pass completion were a major reason why the Yorkshirmen were still finding it difficult to penetrate in the right areas, and just 12 collective touches in Chelsea's area tell their own story.
When looking back at what went wrong for his side, Farke will surely conclude that they just weren't dynamic enough when they needed to be.
Leeds certainly can't be faulted for their effort, with six of their players making double figures for the number of one-on-one duels contested across the 98 minutes.
Goals win games though, and the all whites never really looked like scoring even when the balance of play fell in their favour.
As a result, Chelsea will now play Man City in the FA Cup final, a team that they've not beaten in any competition since their 1-0 victory in the 2021 Champions League final.
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