Chelsea survived a late comeback by Hull City to advance to the fifth round of the FA Cup, winning the game 2-1. Lampard made eight changes to the side that drew against Arsenal on Tuesday. A number of big names returned to the starting eleven after a while including goal scorers Michy Batshuayi and Fikayo Tomori.
The Blues started brightly at the KCOM Stadium and scored at their first attempt to give themselves a good boost of confidence. Mason Mount’s deflected shot from Cesar Azpilicueta’s cross reached Michy Batshuayi and the Belgian dispatched the ball into the net to give the visitors the lead.
Chelsea continued their attack following the goal and Mount found the run of an unmarked Ross Barkley into the penalty area who took the shot but it was saved by the Hull City keeper, George Long. The Blues had a late chance in the first half to double their lead when Azpilicueta fired Marcos Alonso’s cross but Long got a good hand to it.
After surviving some early pressure from the Tigers in the second half, Chelsea doubled their lead courtesy of a Fikayo Tomori header. Mason Mount was fouled in a good position and Tomori headed in a good free kick from Ross Barkley to make it 2-0. Pedro almost made it 3-0 when Willian found the Spaniard with some clever footwork but his shot went inches wide of the far post.
With less than 15 minutes to go, Hull won a free kick in close range and Kamil Grosicki scored it deflecting off Mateo Kovacic in the process, giving some hope to the home fans. It was just a consolation at the end as Chelsea held on to progress to the fifth round.
Lampard would have been happy with the win but he still emphasised that his team needs to be more clinical in front of goal. Batshuayi scoring the opener was very vital given Tammy Abraham could be out for a little while and the club not getting any deals done in the January transfer window. Tomori was solid alongside Zouma that gives the defence some reassurance. Barkley shows good potential but makes bad decisions at times.
The draw for the fifth round takes place on Monday, the 27th of January. The Blues travel to the King Power Stadium next to face Leicester City in a vital top 4 game.
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