Joe Returns With A Goal  (Sky Sports)

Blackburn Rovers 0 Chelsea 2 

Chelsea scored twice in the second half to see off Premiership rivals Blackburn Rovers 2-0 in the Carling Cup third round.

Joe Cole marked his first start of the season with an opening goal for The Blues before Salomon Kalou sealed the cup tie with a second in the late stages.

Blackburn will be disappointed to go out of the competition at this stage after a competitive first-half display with the Premiership champions.

In his 100th match in charge of Rovers, manager Mark Hughes gave former Liverpool and Wigan Athletic centre back Stephane Henchoz his first appearance of the season.

The Swiss defender replaced Dutchman Andre Ooijer, who was suffering from bruised ribs, while Aaron Mokoena and Jay McEveley were also drafted into the starting XI.

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, meanwhile, named a strong side to start their Carling Cup campaign, with John Terry, Michael Ballack and Arjen Robben all included in his starting line-up.

Frank Lampard and in-form striker Didier Drogba were left on the substitutes' bench, while Andrei Shevchenko was left out altogether for the West Londoners.

On a very wet Wednesday evening at Ewood Park, both sides provided a decent 45 minutes of football in the slippery Ewood Park conditions.

Blackburn had the first chance of the match through Shabani Nonda, but his close-range finish drifted wide of Henrique Hilario's goal.

The Blues responded by fashioning a decent chance of their own, but Kalou was unable to put Geremi's low cross from the right on target.

Robben looked the brightest Chelsea player on the pitch in the first half, and Rovers goalkeeper Brad Friedel had to be alert to save his point-blank drive before the American custodian was called on again to stop a second close-range effort from the Dutch winger in the same sequence.

It was not until the midway point of the half that Hilario was called on to make a save for the visitors, as he blocked Nonda's shot from close range before Kalou struck an effort high and wide of Friedel's goal at the other end.

Friedel was in fine form for Blackburn, as he then denied Michael Essien at the far post with his legs after Robben had swung in a dangerous-looking corner.

Robben's alertness unsettled Rovers, and the Dutchman created a shooting chance for Ballack after dispossessing James McEveley following a Blackburn throw-in.

The Germany captain was unable to show his striking prowess, as he scuffed his effort wide of Friedel's goal.

The half ended with Blackburn finishing strongly, as Hilario did well to knock away Morten Gamst Pedersen's free kick that skipped dangerously up off the slick Ewood Park surface.

The goalless scoreline lasted just seven minutes after the restart, as Chelsea fashioned a neat move to break the deadlock.

Cole played a ball out on the right for Kalou and his run allowed him to elude Henchoz before heading into the Blackburn box and playing a low cross across the face of Friedel's goal.

Having made the initial pass forward, Cole made a supporting run to meet Kalou's low cross and deflect the ball into the open net, despite having his back to goal as he scored.

Things got worse for Rovers three minutes later, as Nonda needed to be stretchered off favouring his knee after a collision with Terry, as both players went for a near-post Blackburn cross from the left.

A goal behind, the onus was on Blackburn to get back into the cup tie, but Brett Emerton was wayward with his goal-bound strike after taking a pass from substitute Sergio Peter.

Peter then set up a half chance for Benni McCarthy, but the South African hit-man was unable to direct the ball on target with his head.

McCarthy then collided with the onrushing Hilario after he was able to connect with Lucas Neill's cross, but the striker was unable to direct the ball on target.

With time running out, Chelsea substitute Shaun Wright-Phillips took just two minutes to effectively the end the tie as a contest.

After taking an Essien forward pass, Wright-Phillips's shot saw Friedel make a diving save, but the loose ball rolled into the path of Kalou and he slotted it into an empty net for 2-0.

Hilario then confirmed his clean sheet with a routine save from Bentley's free kick in the dying stages, as Chelsea put their name into the hat for the fourth round draw.

Blackburn Rovers	Team Statistics	Chelsea
0	Goals	2
0	1st Half Goals	0
2	Shots on Target	6
6	Shots off Target	3
2	Blocked Shots	3
3	Corners	6
16	Fouls	11
1	Offsides	5
2	Yellow Cards	2
0	Red Cards	0
N/A	Passing Success	N/A
N/A	Tackles	N/A
N/A	Tackles Success	N/A
44	Possession	56
N/A	Territorial Advantage	N/A