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Chelsea 5 - Manchester City 1: Hazard returns to form as Blues cruise past youthful City
CHELSEA dispatched an unfamiliar Manchester City side to put Guus Hiddink one step closer to a second FA Cup final as Blues boss.
Willian was part of a Chelsea forward line that tore City apart at times
Diego Costa had given the home side a deserved lead but debutant David Faupala squared things up almost immediately.
But Chelsea broke loose in the second half with goals from Willian, Gary Cahill and Eden Hazard putting the result beyond doubt.
Oscar had a penalty saved by Willy Caballero but Bertrand Traore ensured it was five with a late looping header as City slipped quietly out of the FA Cup.
For Chelsea fans the first ten minutes were probably mostly spent asking ‘who’s that again?’ every time their opponents touched the ball as Manuel Pellegrini’s youngsters tried to make a name for themselves.
But the Blues, who were unchanged from their Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain, dominated the opening exchanges and it looked as though it might be literal case of men vs boys when the home side finally got the breakthrough.
A lovely move, the like of which had already opened up City, ended with Hazard lifting the ball across the six-yard box for Costa to thump a header in having lost his marker.
Pablo Zabaleta was one of the most experienced players on the pitch for City
But they led for just 94 seconds as the kids hit back at once.
Kelechi Iheanacho got to the byline and poked the ball towards goal and Cesar Azpilicueta’s clearance was blocked into the goal by Faupala.
The game turned into a true cup tie as both sides started to pass and move with Cesc Fabregas and Pedro both floating across the front line and causing problems.
Chelsea players ran riot in the second half as the young City side fell away
And while City went in level, they were behind almost immediately after the break.
The away side broke down in attack and Chelsea’s counter-attack was devastating as Willian gave it to Hazard and the Belgian timed the perfect pass into the box to allow the Brazilian to drive the ball into the bottom corner.
Five minutes later and it was 3-1 as City failed to clear a corner and the ball, again poked into the box by Hazard, fell to Cahill who hoofed the ball straight at Caballero but the keeper was unable to keep it out.
The quick-fire double took the sting out of the game a little with the result seemingly beyond doubt, and a Hazard free-kick which Caballero never even saw ensured it was a comfortable win.
A foul on substitute Bertrand Traore by Martin Demichelis gave Oscar the chance to make it five from the spot but Caballero atoned for a difficult day with a strong save to his right.
Chelsea: Courtois, Azpilicueta, Cahill, Ivanovic, Baba Rahman, Mikel, Fabregas, Pedro, Willian, Hazard, Costa.
Subs: Begovic, Miazga, Matic, Loftus-Cheek, Oscar, Traore, Remy.
Manchester City: Caballero, Zabaleta, Adarabioyo, Demichelis, Kolarov, Fernando, A. Garcia, M. Garcia, Celina, Iheanacho, Faupala.
Subs: Hart, Clichy, Humphreys, Kompany, Fernandinho, Barker, Sterling.