Leeds could not handle Wembley pressure, claims Farke

Daniel Farke suggested his Leeds United team could not handle the pressure that came with an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley Stadium.

Leeds went down with a whimper as they lost 1-0 to Chelsea in a largely flat performance.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Brenden Aaronson and Anton Stach forced Robert Sanchez into action during the second half, but the Whites only created chances worth 0.9 expected goals.

Chelsea’s chances were worth only 0.33 xG, but Enzo Fernandez’s 23rd-minute header proved the difference.

And Farke claims his players were just unable to deal with the occasion.

“There’s lots of pressure on my players, and they’re also not used to always playing on such a big stage,” he told BBC Sport. “You could feel it during the weekend.

“I think the boys were better in the last games, a bit more composed on the ball. Sometimes in the build-up, they were a bit too clumsy or not brave, not playing with too many long balls.

“We were not played off the park, but it was certainly not our very best day.”

4 – Leeds United have become the first ever club side to lose four successive matches without scoring at Wembley. Overawed. pic.twitter.com/e2UhiIXcf3

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 26, 2026

Leeds have become the first ever club side to lose four successive matches without scoring at Wembley.

However, Farke feels his squad can use the experience as motivation for the Premier League run-in.

An impressive string of results has Leeds sitting six points clear of the bottom three with four games left to play.

Leeds host Burnley on Friday before facing relegation-threatened Tottenham, rounding out their season against Brighton and then West Ham, who are also in the dogfight.

Farke added: “It’s disappointing, but for the players, it’s a good experience.

“Going into a big game now, we will have learned from it, and we can then go with a bit more confidence and less nervousness.

“I think this is more than what we take out of it. We had nothing to lose, just a lot to win. [I’m] upset we didn’t win, but that’s what we have to accept.”