Leeds United boss Daniel Farke on Wembley nerves and reasons for FA Cup semi loss to Chelsea

Leeds United boss Daniel Farke sensed Wembley nerves as his team lost 1-0 to Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final but insists there are positives for them to take from it.

The Whites were made to rue their own missed chances as Enzo Fernandez' first half header gave Chelsea victory in front of 82,542 at Wembley. Brenden Aaronson squandered a one-v-one with Robert Sanchez, who was not made to work by Dominic Calvert-Lewin in Leeds' biggest second half chance. Sanchez pulled off a great save from Anton Stach and Ao Tanaka shot wide in other promising moments for the Whites, who dominated the second half.

Farke denied that his side would come away with regrets. "No we come away disappointed, we gave our second-to-none fans so much to dream about," he said. "Of course we would have loved to let them dream a bit longer. I don't want to miss to say congrats to Chelsea first. Overall it was a very tight game, could have gone in both directions. I saw the statistics in terms of xG, shots, big chances missed and we were the better side."

Leeds struggled in possession during the first half and though they improved in a new shape during the second half, they failed to make the most of their time in Chelsea's half. Farke saw nerves and errors that played into Chelsea's hands - it was a Pascal Struijk mistake on the ball that put the Blues on the attack for their winner.

"It's also fair to say we weren't at our free-flowing best, some unnecessary losses of possession, a bit clumsy in the build-up," he said. "You could tell the players were a bit nervous, so much was made of this game, it's also not that the players are used to playing in front of 90,000 on Champions League level once a week. They were a bit nervous to be at their best level. We had the first big chance, great save but to all their chances we more or less assisted a little bit. Unnecessary mistake, initialised their counter attack. Of course they can find the back of the net and were clinical. Second half we brought the game to them a lot very early, went man against man in the pressing. Their keeper with great saves from Anton and Dominic. Our deliveries, our crosses, set-pieces were not that tidy today. We needed this tidiness to create more. They had the answer to everything we asked."

Farke refused to offer any thoughts on the tactical timeout that sparked a confrontation between Ethan Ampadu, some Leeds staff members and Chelsea players. Sanchez appeared to go to ground under his captain's instructions, allowing Chelsea to break a spell of Leeds pressure and hear from interim boss Calum McFarlane.

"I spoke about this several times this season, after a loss I want to show class, it would just been seen as excuses," said Farke. "I spoke about what I think should be done and what I think of the behaviour, but I don't want to make a big topic. I would have said a few words about it had we turned the game. It'll just be 'he's crying because he loses' and I want to show some class."

Leeds return to Premier League action on Friday when relegated Burnley visit Elland Road, knowing that they may yet need another point or another victory to ensure top flight status. They sit six points ahead of 18th-placed Spurs with four games remaining. Farke insists they do not need to spend too long thinking about what might have been at Wembley and instead can take positives from the cup run.

"We don't dwell under this loss," he said. "We had nothing to lose today, just a lot to win. We're disappointed we didn't win. We gave our club so much to be proud of, the best run in four decades. It's a testament to how well they've done. Many positives to take out of it. We just concentrate on our bread and butter now, just to survive on Premier League level. We have a good chance, 40 points with four to play. If we win as many points as possible we have a great chance."