FA Cup quarter-final: Chelsea 7 [Hato 2; Joao Pedro 25; Lawrence-Gabriel 42og; Adarabioyo 57; Santos 69; Estevao 82; Garnacho 90+2] Port Vale 0
Chelsea ended another difficult week in their turbulent season on a high by reaching the FA Cup semi-finals with a 7-0 win over Port Vale that eased the pressure on Liam Rosenior.
The head coach sent out a near full-strength XI against the League One strugglers with the notable exception of Enzo Fernandez, suspended internally over his flirtations with Real Madrid but present at Stamford Bridge to see his team book their place at Wembley.
After back to back Premier League defeats and a Champions League humbling by Paris St Germain, this was further humiliation avoided and with room to spare.
Jorrel Hato, Joao Pedro scored in the first half while Port Vale’s Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel scored an own goal. Tosin Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos and Estevao added three more in the second before Alejandro Garnacho converted a stoppage-time penalty, ensuring a path to silverware remained open amid all the lingering doubts about the club’s present direction.