toptop
On
a weekend of FA Cup upsets a professional display from Chelsea ensured there was
no further embarrassment in the capital as they beat Brentford 4-0 at Stamford
Bridge to earn themselves a spot in the fifth round.
Brentford proved difficult to break down in the opening 45 minutes of an
engaging replay but Chelsea improved beyond recognition after the interval as
goals from Juan Mata, Oscar, Frank Lampard and John Terry extinguished the
League One side's hopes of pulling off the unlikeliest of scalps.
Rafa Benitez gave the competition the respect it deserves in selecting a strong
Chelsea XI but it was largely a flat first half performance from the hosts, who
started the contest 48 places above their visitors. Brentford kept a solid shape
throughout and while only threatening intermittently they grew in confidence as
the half progressed, with Chelsea and Lampard in particular left to rue
profligacy in front of goal.
The England man twice squandered gilt-edged chances in failing to make a proper
connection when well-placed from Branislav Ivanovic right wing deliveries.
The Serbian had earlier gone close himself to breaking the deadlock when a
looping header drifted over the top of Bees goalkeeper Simon Moore's far post.
For Brentford it was the industrious and highly-rated Adam Forshaw who looked
the likeliest bet for Uwe Rosler's side as two decent strikes had power but
lacked precision from range.
The closest either side came to threatening the score-sheet arrived on 25
minutes when Oscar, Chelsea's brightest spark, clipped the outside of the post
after being fed in by Mata.
An over eager whistle from Neil Swarbrick angered Brentford's players towards
the end of the first period when Marcello Trotta had the ball in Chelsea's net
but not before the match official had blown for a foul on Forshaw on the edge of
the area.
Presumably with a flea in their ear Chelsea came out for the second half with
more purpose as Moore was forced into a smart early stop when he repelled
Ivanovic's powerful header from a corner.
There was nothing he could do though in the 54th minute to prevent Chelsea from
taking the lead. Petr Cech's long clearance downfield set up an aerial duel won
by Demba Ba and when the ball broke to the Spaniard 20 yards from goal, he set
his sights before rifling a trademark daisy cutter past Moore in some style.
It was a lead doubled by Oscar's impudent flick from close range after
substitute Eden Hazard had picked off some wasteful Brentford passing to feed-in
a marauding Ivanovic, whose cross was beautifully finished by the Brazilian.
Thereafter it was a question of how many Chelsea might score as Lampard bagged
himself another club record when his tap-in from Mata's clipped cross, his 199th
goal for Chelsea, saw him surpass Bobby Tambling record for FA Cup strikes on
26.
An almost perfect second half was capped by a Terry goal on his return from
injury as he rose at the far post to nod in Oscar's clever looping cross. The
only sour note of the afternoon came five minutes from time when David Luiz
needlessly crashed into Bees substitute Jake Reeves in a reckless challenge that
could have earned him a red card from a less lenient referee. Chelsea
Click Here For Official Teamsheet
Teams
Chelsea Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Cole, Luiz,
Lampard (Bertrand 80), Oscar, Mata (Benayoun 76), Moses (Hazard 66), Ba
Subs Not Used Turnbull, Azpilicueta, Ramires, Torres
Booked Ivanovic, Luiz
Goals Mata 54, Oscar 68, Lampard 71, Terry 81
Brentford Moore, Logan, Dean, Craig, Bidwell, Douglas,
Diagouraga (Reeves 73), Donaldson, Forshaw (Saunders 78), Adeyemi, Trotta
(Forrester 66)
Subs Not Used Lee, Hodson, Barron, Hayes
Booked
Goals
Attendance 40,961
Referee N. Swarbrick