Chelsea star defends Noni Madueke laughing after FA Cup semi-final defeat vs Man City

Chelsea's Marc Cucurella has come to the defence of teammate Noni Madueke, who was seen laughing following the Blues' FA Cup semi-final defeat against Manchester City.

The west London side were narrowly defeated 1-0 in the Wembley showdown, with Bernardo Silva netting the game's only goal. Despite their recent struggles for form, Chelsea had made it to the semi-finals of the FA Cup after a quarter-final victory over Leicester.

The semi-final was a closely contested match, with Chelsea holding their own until Silva's 84th-minute goal. This result dashed Chelsea's hopes of securing any silverware this season, extending their trophy drought to over two years.

As the final whistle blew at Wembley, the cameras captured an emotional Thiago Silva, set to leave the club this summer, in tears on the pitch. However, in the background, Madueke could be seen sharing a laugh with Jack Grealish.

This footage sparked negative reactions from some Chelsea supporters. However, Cucurella feels that too much has been read into the incident.

"It was out of context," the left-back told The Athletic. "A lot of players have different personalities. For sure, Noni was not happy because he always loves to win. He wants to win every game in training.

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"[In] every action he shows it. I understand why the fans are not happy because we lost and he maybe showed he was happy. But, for sure, he was not happy. We know him."

Madueke played 79 minutes against Man City after beginning three other FA Cup encounters earlier this season. The 22-year-old has only recorded eight goals and two assists in 41 appearances since joining Chelsea from PSV at the start of last year.

Madueke, however, did notch a goal and an assist as Chelsea came from two goals down to secure a 2-2 draw with Aston Villa on Saturday evening.

And after the encounter, the star explained: "We beat them here earlier in the season [in the FA Cup] so we wanted to come here and win - that was our goal. It wasn't to be but nevertheless I'm still proud of the boys.

"It was a good performance. We do need to play better at times in phases of the game. However, we have an abundance of quality and when we fight we're a match for any team on our day."