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Chelsea reached the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 5-1 win over Manchester City at Stamford BridgeIt wasn’t exactly a classic FA Cup tie at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea ran out 5-1 winners over Manchester City on Sunday evening. Diego Costa had opened the scoring in the first half only for City to equalise through David Faupala.However, the Blues lifted their performance up a couple of gears in the second half as Willian, Gary Cahill, Eden Hazard and Bertrand Traore scored to take the Blues into the quarter-finals of the competition.Here are the major talking points of the game
#1 Pellegrini fields young and inexperienced squad
“This is not a real game. I wouldn’t pay for a ticket. That’s why we told the fans one week ago that we are going to play with a young team.”
Manuel Pellegrini lived up to his promise and fielded a team with players even casual Manchester City fans would not have known. As many as five players were handed a senior debut at Stamford Bridge while Guus Hiddink put out a strong side at home. With the FA Cup being Chelsea’s realistic shot at a trophy this season, the Dutch manager wasn’t taking any chances.
It was a case of completely different priorities for both clubs. Pellegrini’s excuse was that with the fixture pile up (City travel to Dynamo Kyiv in the Champions League in midweek and then play the Capital One Cup final against Liverpool on Sunday) and the long injury list, he simply couldn’t afford to play his senior players.
With the Sky Blues also struggling in the Premier League, the FA Cup became the Chilean manager’s sacrificial lamb. Ultimately, in spite of an equaliser in the first half, City were no match for the star-studded Chelsea lineup who have been slowly getting back to their best in recent games.
#2 Manchester City made a game of it in the first half
While it was an inexperienced side, the visitors took the game to Chelsea in the opening stages of the match. In fact, Thibaut Courtois was tested as early as the third minute when 19-year-old David Faupala nutmegged not one but two Chelsea players before he unleashed a shot on goal.
Even the equaliser after Diego Costa had scored the opener saw a fantastic move from the kids who are part of City’s Elite Development Squad. It was midfielder Manu Garcia who started the move when he played a one-two with Fernando. Chelsea’s defence were static and allowed Garcia to find Faupala at the edge of the penalty area.
The 19-year-old then released Kelechi Iheanacho on the right and his cutback was prodded home by Faupala in spite of pressure from Cesar Azpilicueta who tried to make a clearance. It was a fantastic goal that brought the match to life; especially since it was scored less than two minutes after the opener.
“We played a very good 45 minutes in which we equalised the game,” Pellegrini said after the game. Even though it was a crunch game for the youngsters, they did not show any nervousness on the pitch. Five goals may tell a different story, but it was more to do with their dire organisation than their mettle in the face of overwhelming odds.
#3 Eden Hazard back to his best?
If there ever was a game for Eden Hazard to get his confidence back, this was it. A crucial FA Cup tie against a second string Premier League side at Stamford Bridge set the tone for the Belgian forward to get back to his best.
He was very busy in the first half and set up Diego Costa for the opener after a sublime run into the box and pin-point cross to the striker. He then set up Willian for the second after half-time on the counter-attack with a cross, this time from the right side of the pitch.
Hazard then earned a free-kick and took it upon himself to take it in spite of the fact that it was in Willian territory. The Brazilian had scored from set pieces earlier in the season when everyone else was misfiring but Hazard made it count. It was his first goal at Stamford Bridge this season and his second goal of the season, his first also coming in the FA Cup against MK Dons.
Hiddink may have been tempted to drop Hazard after his ill-timed and damaging interview praising PSG and poor performance in the Champions League in midweek. But he opted to start with the 25-year-old in the hope that he would pull up his socks and reclaim some semblance of form and finish the season strong.
#4 Demichelis and Caballero were Manchester City\'s worst players
Although it would be tough to pin the heavy defeat on Manchester City’s youngsters, two players who must definitely take the bulk of the blame are goalkeeper Willy Caballero and centre-back Martin Demichelis. The two Argentine players were undoubtedly the eldest players on the pitch but looked like amateurs at Stamford Bridge.
Caballero did make a couple of fine saves to deny the Blues more than one goal in the first half. Twice he managed to snuff out Pedro’s attempts on goal but they were pretty straightforward. An atrocious second half saw him completely lose sight of the ball for Hazard’s free-kick while he should really have done better for Gary Cahill’s shot on goal.
Meanwhile, Demichelis was directly responsible for one second-half goal and almost gifted Chelsea another. The 35-year-old defender is not known for his pace and was very slow to react when Hazard tried to skip past him just outside the box. Demichelis stuck a leg out and hacked him down, resulting in the free-kick which allowed Hazard to score.
His night only got worse when he tried to catch up with Bertrand Traore who was through on goal only for him to carelessly collide with him and concede the penalty. If not for Oscar’s hesitancy and poor effort, City would have been staring at an even bigger scoreline by full time.
Demichelis’s career at City is pretty much over and he is only in the squad because of the injuries to Vincent Kompany and Eliaquim Mangala. Meanwhile, 18-year-old Tosin Adarabioyo still showed some composure in defence in the first half even though the team were overrun in the second.
#5 Can Chelsea go all the way?
The Blues have shown promise after the sacking of Jose Mourinho and the appointment of interim manager Guus Hiddink. The so-called culprits for the poor start to the season such as Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas are finally showing their class which helped the London side win the Premier League and League Cup last season.
Since Christmas, Costa has scored nine goals and grabbed five assists. Fabregas may not yet have the numbers to show his impact on the side but it is his range of passing and chance creation that has not gone unnoticed. The Spaniard has been instrumental in most of Chelsea’s attacks with the definitive key pass to set up the likes of Pedro, Hazard and Costa.
Pedro is also finally showing signs of making progress and makes some eye-catching runs into the box to trouble the defence. Oscar has been in and out of the starting lineup but his hat-trick in the previous round and his threat on set pieces (the penalty miss notwithstanding) means Chelsea’s attack are finally delivering. Willian’s rise has also been phenomenal, having now scored 10 goals this season.
If Chelsea’s defence is reinforced by the return of John Terry, they have a chance to finish the season on a high, possibly at Wembley. Their quarter-final opponents are the frustratingly inconsistent Everton and if they get the better of Roberto Martinez’s side, a return to Wembley will allow them to relive their glory days of previous years where they have won four FA Cups in the last decade.
