Chelsea were back to FA Cup action last night as the Blues made the trip to Championship promotion challengers, Hull. Chelsea came into this tie off the back of a 2-2 draw to Leeds on Tuesday night and looked to get back to winning ways against the Tigers.
The Blues fielded a side with no player over the age of 30 for a 105th consecutive game in an effort to progress to the FA Cup round-of-16.
An outstanding Pedro Neto hat-trick featured an outside-the-box power strike, a curling effort directly from a corner and a cleverly worked near post finish. Alongside this, Brazilian wonderstar, Estevao found the net from a Liam Delap lay off to mark his first FA Cup goal.
Neto clinical from number ten position
The Portuguese forward marked his first ever senior hat-trick in stupendous fashion, linking up with Chelsea striker Liam Delap with precision and effectivity.
The rout began with a 18-yard power-strike beyond the Hull keeper and directly into the inside netting. He kept pushing until a wonderfully worked corner found its way into the net untouched to double the forward's tally.
The hat-trick was completed after some skillful footwork around the penalty area was finished with a cool, composed slot into the near corner.
Chelsea unfazed by poor conditions
Despite snow spraying over the MKM Stadium in the first half as well as a poorly tended pitch with evident mud markings, Chelsea were undeterred by these poor conditions.
With a side full of South American and Mediterranean footballers, these conditions were anticipated to go in favour of Hull.
However, this made no impact in what resulted to be an emphatic four goal victory with goals from Brazilian and Portuguese marksmen.
Composed Sarr debut
Last night marked newly recalled defender Mamadou Sarr’s official Chelsea debut. With utter control and a calm nature both in and out of possession, Mamadou proved himself to be a worthy contender for a Premier League starting spot.
An early goal line clearance made his mark almost immediately and continued the game in a skillful fashion, mopping up any mistakes made by his defensive teammates.
Young talents prospered
Jesse Derry
Cobham graduate Jesse Derry was handed his Chelsea senior debut with a quarter of an hour remaining and it’s fair to say he didn’t disappoint.
The skillful number 55 weaved through the Hull defense with ease and appears to be an exciting rising talent with 16 G/A's in the Chelsea U21's and U19's.
Shim Mheuka
Fellow Cobham graduate, Shim Mheuka was also granted minutes in this cup tie. The 18 year old made his Chelsea debut in Europe last season, away to Astana.
Since then, Shim has made 6 further appearances in both the League, European and domestic cups against the likes of Copenhagen and Southampton.