Hull City saw their FA Cup run end at the hands of Chelsea at the MKM Stadium on Friday night, with the West London side emerging 4-0 victors.
With it being well-documented that Liam Rosenior was returning to East Yorkshire for the first time since his dismissal 21 months ago, the Blues boss saw his team ease past Championship opposition for the second successive round through Pedro Neto's double, as well as strikes from Jorrel Hato and Estevao.
As a result, Sergej Jakirovic's Tigers now have 15 matches of the regular season remaining - all of which could determine their promotion chances.
Hull City 0-4 Chelsea
The first effort of the night came after five minutes when Neto found space on the edge of the box before firing over the top of Dillon Phillips' net. A half-cleared Tigers corner from the following attack then saw a half-volley from Regan Slater charged down by Alejandro Garnacho.
Phillips was then at full stretch to thwart the Argentine who raced one-on-one after a defence-splitting ball from Moises Caicedo, with Neto unable to flick the rebound home. City then had a glorious chance to take the lead as Liam Millar gambled on a loose ball to set up Lewis Koumas, who couldn't direct his flick past Robert Sanchez.
Brazilian winger, Estevao, then spurned a glorious chance from inside the box with the goal at his mercy after rounding Phillips on 17 minutes, before another error saw the shot-stopper bail out the second-tier side as Liam Delap fired a low strike from a narrow angle.
Ryan Giles then saw a free-kick across the body of Sanchez well saved by the Spaniard, with McCarthy unable to sort his feet out on the rebound.
However, with five minutes of the first period left, a neat passing move from the Blues was rounded off by Neto's fine finish into the bottom left-hand corner from 20 yards, which left Phillips with little chance.
Pedro Neto scores for Chelsea vs Hull City
Five minutes after the interval, the Hull keeper produced another impressive stop as Andrey Santos' header looked goalbound from Reece James' hanging cross. However, the resulting corner was eventually bundled home by Hato to give Rosenior's side breathing space.
The contest was well and truly ended on 59 minutes as Estevao powered into an open net after receiving a square pass from Delap.
With 19 minutes to go, former Hull loanee Delap was able to complete a hat-trick of assists as he exchanged a one-two with Neto, who drifted inside to slot his second of the game into the bottom-right-hand corner in front of the travelling supporters.
To their credit, the Tigers continued to push for a consolation goal in the final minutes, with Giles drifting into the box before seeing his low drive turned behind by Sanchez, which was the Chelsea keeper's first save of the second half.
Rosenior was then given a strong reception from the Tigers faithful as the encounter drew to a close, as Chelsea progressed into round five with ease, although Koumas was unable to get his name on the scoresheet in added time for the hosts after racing through.
FT: Hull City 0-4 Chelsea
Player Ratings
Hull City
Dillon Phillips - 6.5
Paddy McNair - 6
John Egan - 6
Cathal McCarthy - 6.5 (Dowell 80" - 6)
Lewie Coyle - 6 (Drameh 77" - 6)
Regan Slater - 7
Amir Hadziahmetovic - 6.5 (Lundstram 64" - 6)
Ryan Giles - 7
Yu Hirakawa - 6.5 (Joseph 77" - 6)
Liam Millar - 6 (Gelhardt 64" - 6.5)
Lewis Koumas - 6
Unused Subs: I.Pandur, A.Famewo, M.Jacob, N.Tinsdale
Chelsea
Robert Sanchez - 7
Reece James - 7 (Acheampong 60" - 6.)
Wesley Fofana - 7.5 (Tosin 77" - 6)
Mamadou Sarr - 7.5
Jorrel Hato - 7.5
Moises Caicedo - 7.5 (Fernandez 60" - 6)
Andrey Santos - 7.5
Pedro Neto - 9
Estevao - 7.5 (Derry 76" - 6.5)
Alejandro Garnacho - 7.5
Liam Delap - 9 (Mhueka 87" - 6)
Unused Subs: T.Sharman-Lowe, M.Gusto, B.Badiashile, J.Pedro
Attendance
MKM Stadium, Hull City vs Chelsea
The attendance at the MKM Stadium tonight was 24,320.