The Blues overcame a poor start and defeated the Championship team to advance to the fourth round thanks to a flurry of goals in the second half.
Chelsea defeated Preston 4-0 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday to advance to the FA Cup’s fourth round. Three goals in only eleven minutes gave Chelsea the lead. The Blues overcame a lackluster start to defeat the visitors and win the cup thanks to goals from Armando Broja, Thiago Silva, and Raheem Sterling. Enzo Fernandez completed the scoring in the last minutes.
Against a Championship team who played excellent deep defense, keeping Broja quiet for the majority of the match and reducing the threat presented by Sterling and Mykhailo Mudryk, Mauricio Pochettino’s team had found it difficult to get going.
But the visitors could not hold on, and after 58 minutes Mudryk helped set the tone by winning the ball high up and passing it to Malo Gusto, who curled in a wonderful cross that Broja headed in for the opening goal. Five minutes after Thiago Silva entered the game, he got a clear header from a corner to extend their lead. Sterling then added a third with a superb free kick. After a protracted VAR check, Fernandez would add a fourth goal to round out the score for the hosts, who had an easy evening’s work.
Chelsea’s players from Stamford Bridge are rated by GOAL…
Goalkeeper & Defence
Dorde Petrovic (6/10):
Not under immense pressure but pulled off two comfortable saves.
Alfie Gilchrist (7/10):
Looked really good in one-on-ones on what was his first Chelsea start, with the homegrown talent totally deserving of the big cheers as he went off on the hour mark.
Axel Disasi (5/10):
Looked a bit vulnerable throughout. Bizarre decision to leave him on and take off Gilchrist.
Levi Colwill (6/10):
Swept up well at centre-back but looked more comfortable when moved to the left for the last 30 minutes.
Malo Gusto (7/10):
Pushed high up the pitch in an unfamiliar left-back role and put in a great cross to set up Broja’s opener.
