January 08, (THEWILL) – Chelsea began their FA Cup campaign with a simple but resounding 5-1 win against non-league Chesterfield on Saturday evening, avoiding the kind of upsets that marked the day’s Cup competition fixtures.
Timo Werner, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Romelu Lukaku, Andreas Christensen, and Hakim Ziyech scored to give Thomas Tuchel’s side the perfect start to a busy week that includes games against Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg and Manchester City in the Premier League.
The hosts were off from the start, scoring within the opening five minutes following a powerful breakaway play, just like they did in their midweek win over Spurs. Mateo Kovacic did a fantastic job driving the ball upfield before releasing Ziyech, whose deflected shot in the Chesterfield area was tapped in by a thankful Werner from two yards out.
The visitors rallied well and appeared to be up to the task, but Chelsea showed their Premier League class with a quickfire double that effectively sealed the win within 20 minutes.
Hudson-Odoi received the ball on the left wing before gliding inside and curling a wonderful strike into Scott Loach’s bottom corner from range to extend his side’s lead. Lukaku made it 3-0 for the Blues a minute later, turning in Lewis Hall’s cut back in acres of space barely six yards from goal.
After Hall’s long-range effort was parried by Loach, Tuchel’s men waited another 18 minutes to make it 4-0. Christensen picked his spot with an audacious and nonchalant lobbed header into the bottom corner.
Within ten minutes of the resumption, the Spireites’ sloppiness reappeared as Calvin Miller clumsily brought Christian Pulisic down in the penalty area. Ziyech stepped up and smashed the ball in for a five-goal advantage for his team.
Chelsea could have scored a sixth goal 15 minutes from time, but substitute Kai Havertz’s tap-in was called back as Werner went offside before teeing up his countrymen.
While the European champions were clearly content with what they had produced, Chesterfield looked more dangerous in the second half and even gave the travelling support something to cheer about with 10 minutes to go.
Kabongo Tshimanga gave Chelsea difficulties before seeing his effort stopped by Marcus Bettinelli, only for a bustling Akwasi Asante to hammer the rebound into an empty net.
The visitors’ fans were overjoyed with the consolation goal, which only slightly marred what was otherwise a commanding and professional performance by Chelsea. Tuchel’s team advances to the next round with a 5-1 win, giving them a boost heading into a key week.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
