toptop
Willian
scored twice as a first-half blitz from Chelsea secured an emphatic 4-0 win over
Hull City at Stamford Bridge to book their place in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
The Brazilian opened the scoring after just 106 seconds with a composed finish,
before Pedro doubled the home side's advantage after being put through by Cesc
Fabregas (27).
Willian capitalised on more slack defending from the Tigers to stroke in his
second (32) and Olivier Giroud then met fellow new signing Emerson Palmieri's
cross at the near post to stretch the lead three minutes before half-time.
David Meyler missed a second-half penalty for Nigel Adkins' side as Chelsea
cruised into the next round ahead of next week's Champions League showdown with
Barcelona.
Player ratings
Chelsea: Caballero (7), Rudiger (7), Cahill (7), Ampadu (8),
Zappacosta (7), Drinkwater (7), Fabregas (8), Emerson (7), Pedro (8), Willian
(9), Giroud (8).
Subs: Scott (6), Hudson-Odoi (7)
Hull: Marshall (7), Clark (5), MacDonald (5), Dawson (6),
Meyler (5), Irvine (6) Stewart (5), Wilson (6), Diomande (5), Evandro (5), Dicko
(5).
Subs: Toral (6), Batty (6), Campbell (6)
Man of the match: Willian
Only Swindon and Wolves have been relegated from the Premier League to the third
tier in successive seasons, but with just six Championship wins to their name
this campaign, it was understandable that Hull manager Adkins rung the changes.
But the performance of those handed the opportunity to impress was disjointed
and indicative of a side missing 12 first-team players as Chelsea wreaked havoc
to reach the last eight.
Hull made the worst possible start as Kevin Stewart was dispossessed by Giroud
in the second minute before Willian used the Frenchman as a decoy as he bent his
left-footed shot into David Marshall's bottom right corner.
Chelsea doubled their lead after a sublime ball from Fabregas over a depleted
Hull defence enabled Pedro to slot home, and worse was to come five minutes
later.
Stewart failed to intercept Willian's attempted flick and, after Giroud worked
the ball back into his path, the Brazilian curled a shot beyond the hapless
Marshall via the left-hand post.
Giroud's link-up play was a feature of the match and, having provided two
assists, the striker opened his Chelsea account with a smart finish at the near
post following good work down the left by debutant Emerson.
Chelsea blooded youth in the second period as Callum Hudson-Odoi and Kyle Scott
entered the fray, but the visitors restored some pride with an improved display
that was very nearly capped by a consolation six minutes after the restart.
Fabregas was late on Harry Wilson, and referee Andre Marriner had no hesitation
in pointing to the spot, but Blues 'keeper Willy Caballero denied Meyler with a
comfortable save to his right to keep his clean sheet intact.
Willian came close to completing his hat-trick in the final minutes but his shot
from the edge of the box struck the outside of the post as Chelsea cruised into
the draw for the next round.
The managers
Antonio Conte: "It was a good game and a good performance. The first half was
great for us and the most important thing for us is to be in the next round. Now
we must prepare for Barcelona.
"We will always look to dominate the game but our start was very impressive
today. We started with great focus and great concentration. I'm very pleased
with the commitment of my players.
"It was a positive night for us because we had the opportunity to rest a few key
players and at the same time I saw other players in good form. This has given me
a lot of doubt before the game against Barcelona which I think is important. Now
we have three days to make the right decision."
Nigel Adkins: "After a couple of minutes we've gifted them a goal, but it's
exciting to watch them. Our game plan went out of the window and we were
punished for giving them the ball too easily. The second half was a different
story and we showed great character.
"It could've gone totally the other way and I thought we did really well in the
second half. We kept a clean sheet and could've scored. We're out of the FA Cup
but we've got 15 cup finals ahead."
Man of the match: Willian
If this was an audition to make Chelsea's starting line-up to face Barcelona
then Willian passed it with flying colours.
Eden Hazard is a guaranteed starter on Tuesday night against the Catalan giants
and as Alvaro Morata watched on unused from the substitutes' bench, Willian took
his chance to shine with a brilliant display full of dexterity and no shortage
of end product.
The 29-year-old took centre stage in Hazard's absence to fire two first-half
goals to have the contest won and his crowning moment very nearly came in the
closing stages as he struck the post to be denied the match ball.
Opta stats
Chelsea have now won seven consecutive matches against Hull City in all
competitions, scoring 17 goals and keeping six clean sheets.
Chelsea's opener was scored after just 106 seconds, and there were just 288
seconds between the Blues' second and third goals.
The Blues have progressed from 10 of their last 11 fifth-round FA Cup ties, only
losing against Manchester City in 2014.
Willian has had a hand in 14 goals in his last 14 starts for Chelsea in all
competitions (nine goals, five assists).
Olivier Giroud has been directly involved in five goals in his last two
appearances against Hull in all competitions (three goals, two assists). Indeed,
the Frenchman has had a hand in three goals in a single match for the first time
since January 2017 for Arsenal against Bournemouth.
Willy Caballero has saved five of the last eight penalties he has faced in all
competitions (excluding shootouts).
The Tigers have failed to score in three consecutive FA Cup ties away from home
against top-tier opponents for the first time since January 1909 - when they
also drew their third straight blank against Chelsea.
What's next?
Chelsea turn their attention to the first leg of their Champions League last-16
tie against Barcelona at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday before they travel to face
Manchester United at Old Trafford on February 25, live on Sky Sports Premier
League.
Hull face two crucial Championship games next week, starting with the visit to
Middlesbrough on Tuesday before hosting Sheffield United on Friday night, live
on Sky Sports Football.
Click Here For Official Team Sheet
Teams
Chelsea Caballero, Rudiger, Cahill (c), Amapdu, Zappacosta,
Drinkwater, Fabregas (Scott 62), Emerson, Willian, Giroud (Morata 70), Pedro
(Hudson-Odoi 46)
Subs Not Used Eduardo, Chalobah, Sterling, Moses
Booked Scott
Goals Willian 2, 32, Pedro 27, Giroud 42
Hull City Marshall, Irvine (Batty 88), Meyler, Dicko (Campbell
62), Diomande, Evandro, Dawson (c), Clark, Stewart, Wilson (Toral 55), Macdonald
Subs Not Used McGregor, Crosicki, Keane, Clarkstone
Booked Stewart, Irvine
Goals
Attendance 39,591
Referee Andre Marriner