5 days can sometimes be as long as a lifetime in football. A few minutes after the final whistle blew at Amex, after Chelsea's poor performance - also the end of Liam Rosenior's reign - Enzo Fernandez stood silently in front of the away team's stands, his eyes glazing over.
The Argentine international was the last to leave the field, even after the Brighton players celebrating the victory. At that time, his action was like a declaration of power, a message that everything needed to change.
And in fact, Fernandez was also part of the reason for that defeat. The match at Brighton passed and the Argentine midfielder almost disappeared, when the home team overwhelmed Chelsea in all areas of the field.
But at Wembley, 5 days later - in the FA Cup semi-final - everything reversed. Fernandez completely controlled the midfield, scored the decisive goal and became the real leader. He brought discipline and tenacity in defense, making Leeds United unable to resist. Those two images are completely opposite.
The Blues played with all their energy at Wembley, while they did not even perform a single tackle in the first 30 minutes against Brighton. This is a performance that Rosenior called unacceptable and did not want to watch again. And indeed, he can now only watch from afar.
Of course, Calum McFarlane played a significant role. He was assigned the task of temporarily rescuing the team from crisis. When asked about the difference between the 2 matches, McFarlane avoided recalling the defeat to Brighton: "We haven't even watched that match again, we just focused on Leeds".
However, he did not hesitate to praise Fernandez. This midfielder once scored the equalizer in the 90+4 minute against Manchester City in McFarlane's first interim match, and now continues to prove his value.
I asked him if he liked to score in the far corner, he just smiled. He did it very well. Positioning ability, jumping, heading - he is a winner" - McFarlane said.
The best thing is that he can do anything. When the team has difficulty, you will see the fighting spirit, tackles, the decisiveness in each situation. Today he deserves to be the best player of the match" - Chelsea's interim coach added.
This victory not only has a resulting meaning for Chelsea. It also ended their 5-game losing streak without scoring in the Premier League and brought new confidence.
Breaking that streak is extremely important. That completely changes the atmosphere in the team," McFarlane added.
Now, Chelsea is facing the opportunity to save the season with the FA Cup final against Pep Guardiola's Manchester City on May 16. Of course, this is still a huge challenge. But if there is anything that the past 5 days have proven, it is that in football, everything can change very quickly.
