“He’s a fighter”: McFarlane praises Enzo Fernandez after match-winning header books Chelsea’s FA Cup final vs Man City | OneFootball

Calum McFarlane praised Enzo Fernandez as a fighter after the midfielder's winner against Leeds sent Chelsea into the FA Cup final.

Fernandez headed home the only goal of the semi-final showdown at Wembley, to set up a final meeting against Manchester City next month.

The Argentina international was dropped from the squad for two games earlier this season by former manager Liam Rosenior, following comments suggesting he was open to an exit in the summer.

Fernandez's match-winner will have improved his standing with the Chelsea fans and interim coach McFarlane praised his performance.

"The most impressive thing about him is that he's a fighter," McFarlane said toTNT Sports.

"You don't have to have the perfect game plan in those moments; he will run and compete and that is often the deciding factor."

McFarlane was named as interim manager this week following the decision to sack Rosenior. He admitted that ending Chelsea's winless run, and reaching theFA Cup final, was a 'relief' in his first fixture in charge.

"Relief is the correct word. We were confident going into the game. We had a good three days but you never know. We wanted to shift the momentum; our form hasn't been great.

"I did it (the interim manager role) for a week before, so I kind of knew what I was stepping into. It's easier this time because I have a relationship with the players and I've worked with them for three or four months now. I've been a part of the backroom staff, so I had a feel for what they needed psychologically. It's been intense.

"We wanted to be really clear with how we wanted to set up and play against Leeds. We knew they'd think we were vulnerable. We wanted to give Robert [Sanchez] the option to go direct because we knew we were in a bit of a vulnerable place. We started to take control of the game."