ON a day of classic FA Cup upsets Chelsea made sure they would not be another giant-killing. The eight-time winners swept aside non-l...
ON a day of classic FA Cup upsets Chelsea made sure they would not be another giant-killing. The eight-time winners swept aside non-league Chesterfield 5-1 at Stamford Bridge to book their place in the fourth round with consummate ease. It took just six minutes for Timo Werner to get Thomas Tuchel's side off the mark in this year's F Cup.
Mateo Kovacic drove forward before feeding Hakim Ziyech and his shot was routinely swept home on the rebound by the gun-shy German forward. Ziyech then went close to a second as the Blues peppered the non-league outfit's goal early on - the Algerian rifling a right-footed effort towards the top corner, only for Scott Loach to deny him with a superb stop. But the Chesterfield keeper could not do anything about Callum Hudson-Odoi's wicked strike in the 18th minute as the young Englishman cut in from the left before curling a sumptuous strike into the far corner.
And it was three before the 20 minute mark as Chelsea debutant Luke Hall seized possession dee in the visitors half and crossed for Romelu Lukaku to tuck away inside the six-yard box. It was a statement performance from 17-year-old defender Hall who looked wholly unphased during his first appearance in front of the Stamford Bridge crowd.
Chesterfield provided a period of resistance in the mid-point of the first half before Tuchel's men helped themselves to a fourth seven minutes befor the break. Andreas Christensen looped a header over Loach after Werner's initial strike was parried straight to the Dane to cap a perfect 45 minutes for the European champions. With the game settled before the break, Tuchel too the opportunity to replace Lukaku and Kovacic for Kai Havertz and Ruben Loftus-Cheek for the secon half.
And Chelsea made it five when Christian Pulisic wa clumsily brought down in the box, allowing Ziyech to thump home the resulting penalty. Tuchel made several more changes including bringing on 26-year-old Lewis Baker for his second Chelsea appearance more than seven years on fro his debut. The game turned somewhat subdued after the hour mark as Chelsea took their foot off the gas and Chesterfield became acutely aware they would not be producing the sort of upset Cambridge and Kidderminster had managed just a few hours earlier. The travelling fans came close to celebrating a goa of their own in the 73rd minute when centre-back Fraser Kerr rattled his shot into the side-netting from a tight angle.
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