🔗 Share this article

Against a backdrop of freezing rain, snow, and a swirling wind from the waters of the Humber, alongside a resolute Hull City side pushing hard for a top-flight place, this had all the makings of a challenging night's work for Chelsea.

"We might have scored more but Hull are a strong team and it was a tough fixture; I am very pleased with the display," he said. "This club means a lot to me so it was great to get a good reception from both sets of fans. The application of the players was superb."

Liam Rosenior has this place dear to him, considering part of his relatives hail from Hull and his successful spell in charge of the Tigers. His happy connection was extended with a magnificent display from his team, who ultimately strolled into the next round of the FA Cup.

Clinical Finishing Seals Comprehensive Win

Seventy-two hours removed from surrendering a two-goal lead in the Premier League, there was a hint of fragility about Chelsea going into this intriguing cup clash. The packed Hull support clearly felt it too, but Rosenior's men navigated the task with ease.

Rosenior made alterations, making seven of them to his XI. The match might and maybe ought to have been settled earlier than it eventually was, with two the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap at fault for missing excellent opportunities to put Chelsea ahead in the first half.

However, luckily for the visitors, Pedro Neto was in a much more ruthless frame of mind. He broke the deadlock with a spectacular long-range strike, which proved to be the catalyst for Chelsea to assume control of the match. By full time, they had four, with Neto scoring a trio of them for a brilliant hat-trick.

The Forward's Redemption and Influence

The home side showed great spirit throughout, but the clearer opportunities always fell Chelsea’s way. The winger ought to have broken the scoring when he rounded keeper the Hull stopper before inexplicably shooting over. The striker then had a comparable horror moment in front of goal against his former club.

He deflected a the goalkeeper's kick which bounced off the crossbar, and he began to celebrate believing the ball had gone over the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he realised, Hull's backline had reacted to clear the danger.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was immensely influential from there on out, providing three key passes. The first was for the opening goal as his pass teed up his teammate to finish from range. Six minutes after the second half began, it was two as Neto's set-piece went straight in through the keeper's legs.

Tie Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Turns

Soon after Neto’s second, the tie was effectively ended as a magnificent dribble from the forward laid on Estêvão to slide into an unguarded goal. Neto then completed his treble as Delap again played the crucial ball for the striker to calmly slot past a helpless Phillips.

At that point, the effort Hull had done in the first thirty minutes had been erased. Their priority must now switch back to achieving a return to the Premier League under their manager, who left out several key individuals with that goal in mind.

"I think we earned at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a strong position in the league," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming games this can be a good example of how we should play."

Hull showed plenty of effort to the end, and they almost got a consolation when a substitute struck a post in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another positive stride for their recently-appointed manager at a place he knows intimately.

FA Cup Omens Are Promising

That resulted in an in the end routine night's work, and the cup competition signs are positive from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three other occasions in this tournament in the last decade and on each occasion, they have progressed to make the showpiece. Much remains to be done in that respect, but this was another huge positive for the Chelsea boss.