John Terry was sent off on his return to the Chelsea starting line-up as the Blues beat Peterborough 4-1 in the FA Cup third round on Sunday.

The club captain was given his marching orders after a foul on Posh striker Lee Angol in the 66th minute, although the home side were already on their way to victory.

Pedro book-ended the scoring - netting in the 18th minute and again with 16 minutes of the game to play - with strikes from Michy Batshuayi (43) and Willian (52) sandwiched in between.

Tom Nichols replied for the hosts four minutes after Terry's sending off, but it could not inspire a comeback as Chelsea cruised into the fourth round.

It was a fast start at Stamford Bridge from both sides, with Peterborough goalkeeper Luke McGee saving from a Gary Cahill flick, before Asmir Begovic denied Angol at the other end. Peterborough again tested the Blues defence on the quarter-hour mark as Nichols saw his shot put wide by Cahill before Ryan Tafazolli also nodded past the post from a corner.

But Chelsea took the lead in the 18th minute with Pedro sending them on their way to victory. It was a delightful team goal for Chelsea as Cesc Fabregas teed up Ruben Loftus-Cheek - seeing his effort blocked - before Nathaniel Chalobah had his long-range shot well saved.

However, he couldn't prevent the rebound finding Pedro, who took a few steps to find some space before curling into the top corner.

The Spaniard was involved again in the 34th minute when Chelsea really should have added their second. Loftus-Cheek burst towards the box and going for goal, but Tottenham loanee McGee was there again to push away the shot. It fell back to the midfielder who passed to Pedro instead of trying his luck again, with the former Barcelona man firing a shot again on the underside of the crossbar from point blank range before it was cleared by the Posh defence.

But there were no mistakes nine minutes later when the Blues did double their lead with two minutes of the half to play. Branislav Ivanovic powered down the right flank, with his cross finding Loftus-Cheek in the box. He in turn flicked the ball into the path of Batshuayi who slid home to make it 2-0 at the end of the first half.

Chelsea came racing out of the traps in the second period, with Loftus-Cheek just slipping the ball wide of the post within the first minutes, but the Blues capitalised on their fast start seven minutes after the break.

It was another lovely goal, with Pedro getting away down the left wing, picking out Willian at the top of the box. The Brazilian took a few touches before curling past a leaping McGee to put Chelsea in control.

Things took a brief turn for the worse for Chelsea as they went down to ten men in the 66th minute as Terry saw red. As Angol raced towards goal, the captain clipped him to send him tumbling over the legs of the defender, instantly appealing to referee Kevin Friend for clemency in the aftermath. However, it was not to much affect as the referee produced the card to send Terry for an early shower and marring his 50th FA Cup start for the Blues.

Peterborough were offered a brief glimmer of hope four minutes later as they pulled a goal back. Michael Smith got away down the right flank and fired a cross into the box, with Nichols latching onto it at the back post and turning the ball home.

But the cut deficit was not to last as Pedro nabbed his second of the afternoon to restore the three-goal lead. It was some great give and go play between the Spaniard and Batshuayi, with the latter laying the ball off to his Blues team-mate that allowed him to expertly curl home.

The game was seen out with relative ease by Chelsea who could have rounded it off with a late fifth - only to be denied by McGee - as they booked their place in the fourth round draw on Monday evening.

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Teams

Chelsea Begovic, Zouma, Terry (c), Cahill (Aina 57), Ivanovic, Fabregas, Chalobah, Loftus-Cheek (Azpilicueta 70), Pedro, Batshuayi, Willian (Kante 73)
Subs Not Used Eduardo, Moses, Hazard, Costa
Booked Fabregas
Sent Off Terry
Goals Pedro 18. 75, Batshuayi 43, Willian 52

Peterborough United McGee, Smith, Bostwick, Tafazolli, Hughes (Binnon-Williams 83), Forrester (c), Nichols, Lopes, Maddison (Taylor 57), Edwards (Samuelson 58), Angol
Subs Not Used Tyler, Ball, Inman, Chettle
Booked Forester, Tafazolli
Goals Nichols 70

Attendance 41,003

Referee Kevin Friend