Chelsea cruised through to the FA Cup fourth round after registering a comfortable 5-0 win against League Two outfit Morecambe at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Tosin Adarabioyo and Joao Felix struck twice each, with Christopher Nkunku also on the scoresheet to hand Chelsea their first victory in five matches.
The hosts’ chance to go ahead came early, when they were awarded a penalty after Yann Sango’o handled in the 16th minute, but Nkunku’s effort was saved by Harry Burgoyne. It was Tosin who finally broke the deadlock in the 39th minute, with a deflected shot.
Nkunku atoned early in the second half, reacting quickest to a rebound to double Chelsea’s lead. And in the 70th minute Tosin blasted in a brilliant long-range shot before Felix added a double inside four minutes to complete the rout.
Morecambe was nearly rewarded with a consolation when a header from Harry Macadam was cleared off the line by Axel Disasi, but the outcome instead extended its miserable record against Premier League sides.
Chelsea have now advanced from 36 of their last 37 FA Cup meetings with lower-division sides and they will hope to build some momentum after their recent trials.
