FA Cup Demolition of Chesterfield as Chelsea Reach Round Four!

There are no surprises at Stamford Bridge, as Premier League outfit, Chelsea make easy work of removing non-league, Chesterfield from the FA Cup!

Chelsea sealed their place in the FA Cup fourth round with a 5-1 destruction of non-league side, Chesterfield, in west London on Saturday.

First-half goals from Timo Werner, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Romelu Lukaku, and Andreas Christensen killed off any hopes of an upset, while Hakim Ziyech netted later in the match to give Chelsea a five-goal advantage. Chesterfield’s Dutch frontman, Akwasi Asante, netted a late consolation goal to end the tie on a positive note for James Rowe’s visitors.

Chelsea head coach, Thomas Tuchel, selected a strong XI for Saturday’s encounter, with 10 senior players named in the starting lineup and with 17-year-old left-back, Lewis Hall, making his senior debut.

Chesterfield, who ply their trade in the fifth-tier of English football, were one of only four non-league sides remaining in the competition, heading into the third round.

Werner broke the deadlock on six minutes when the ball fell to him in front of an unguarded net, after Chesterfield shot-stopper, Scott Loach, parried a strike from Zyiech.

Hudson-Odoi doubled Chelsea’s lead with 18 minutes played. The 21-year-old produced a fantastic, curled effort from just outside the box, which flew into the far corner.

Lukaku made it three from point-blank range, with the Stamford Bridge clock reading 18 minutes. It was the Belgian’s first goal since apologising for a bizarre interview he gave to Sky Italy, in which he said he was frustrated at the club and would prefer to be back at Inter Milan.

Things got even worse for Chesterfield when Christensen looped in a header, following a thwarted shot from a teenage teammate, Hall, six minutes before the break.

American winger, Christian Pulisic, won a penalty after being felled inside the 18-yard box on 55 minutes, and Ziyech stepped up to powerfully dispatch the spot-kick.

Chesterfield gave their fans something to cheer late on, when Congo-born striker, Kabongo Tshimanga, stepped past Chelsea’s Malang Sarr and Lewis Baker, before seeing his shot parried to his Dutch teammate. Asante duly made no mistake in slotting the consolation into an empty net.