The final is 10 days away against a side similarly struggling this term in the Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur – who also lost 2-0 in their Sunday outing at home to Crystal Palace – but before then is a chance to reignite some momentum with Friday’s top-flight trip to Chelsea.
Our penultimate clash of the league campaign presents the opportunity for a statement result as far as our domestic form is concerned too, against a Chelsea side that will provide a “tough” test, according to Fernandes, as they fight to finish inside one of the competition’s five Champions League places at the top end of the table.
“We have some days to recover, to prepare well for that game,” our no.8 said, turning the page to Friday’s 20:15 BST kick-off at Stamford Bridge.
“We know it’s going to be a very tough game, Chelsea is fighting for a place in the Champions League, but we want to finish the season in the best way possible. So, we need to go to Stamford Bridge and do that, to get the best result there.”