Chelsea cruised into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup after a clinical first-half display saw the Blues take a four-goal lead into the break. Two goals from the superb Willian, one from Pedro and a first in Chelsea blue for Olivier Giroud were enough before Willy Caballero’s penalty save helped secure a clean sheet.
The visitors had 106 fleeting seconds of being level before Willian found the net with a sweet left-footed strike from outside the area. He’d cut inside from the right and curled his effort with David Marshall in the Hull goal left rooted to the spot. Olivier Giroud should’ve netted his first Chelsea goal minutes later but he couldn’t keep his shot down when the ball fell to him inside the area. Cesc Fabregas was controlling the midfield and had the Hull players on strings at times. The Spaniard was involved in Chelsea’s second goal when he, with his first touch, sent a ball over the top of the Hull defence towards Pedro. His former Barcelona teammate stroked it past Marshall and it was becoming too easy for the home side.
Willian made it three before the 35-minute mark when he strolled up towards the penalty area and rolled the ball in off the foot of the post. The casual nature of the goal reflected the mood of the Stamford Bridge crowd with the Blues hardly having to exert themselves to be out of sight. Olivier Giroud took nine matches to score his first goal for Arsenal but he notched his first goal in Chelsea blue in just his third and it was a very tidy finish from the Frenchman. Emerson, making his debut at left wing-back, danced into the area and cut the ball back for Giroud to stab under Marshall.
17-year-old Callum Hudson-Odoi was introduced by Antonio Conte at half time, replacing Pedro in the front three and the youngster impressed with some positive, attacking play from the first whistle. Hull enjoyed some sustained possession for the first time in the game and were awarded a penalty when Cesc Fabregas tripped Harry Wilson inside the area. Willy Caballero, whose penalty save in the third round sent Chelsea through against Norwich, performed his party piece and denied David Meyler from the spot. That miss added insult to injury for Hull after Wilson was forced off with a shoulder injury that he sustained in the penalty incident.
Another member of Chelsea’s youth team was given first-team minutes as Cesc Fabregas gave way to the American Kyle Scott. Scott put in a couple of strong challenges and didn’t hide away during his senior debut in what will be a valuable experience for the 20-year-old. Willian had the chance to grab his first career hat-trick after Hudson-Odoi and Zappacosta combined on the break but the Brazilian couldn’t get the ball out of his feet and his eventual effort was blocked. The ball ran to Zappacosta but his low drive was well saved by Marshall, diving low to his right to palm away the strike.
The remainder of the second half went by without much incident. Antonio Conte was happy enough to watch his team see the game out while Nigel Adkins would have been a little more encouraged from what he saw from his side after the break. Willian, who was sensational all evening, came close to his hat-trick again when he created space on the edge of the box and whipped a low shot which rebounded off the outside of the post this time. He may well have played his way into the team that starts against Barcelona on Tuesday.
The Blues are in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup once again and are just two steps away from a second FA Cup Final in a row. It was too easy at times for them against Hull but it’ll be very different in the Champions League because next time out… it’s the big one.