Willian slams two, Chelsea cruise past Hull in FA Cup
LONDON: Last season’s FA Cup runners-up Chelsea struck four times before the break to crush second-tier Hull City 4-0 and stroll into the quarter-finals at Stamford Bridge on Friday.
Willian bagged two and Olivier Giroud scored his first goal for the club since joining , while Pedro was also on target for Antonio Conte’s dominant side.
Willian needed only two minutes to give Chelsea the lead against Hull, curling the ball in from the edge of the area.
Cesc Fabregas sent Pedro away to make it 2-0 after 27 minutes and Willian then used his right foot to devastating effect to skim a low shot past keeper David Marshall.
French international Giroud clipped in a neat finish from Emerson’s cut back to make the second half academic. With an eye on Tuesday’s Champions League last 16, first leg at home to Barcelona, Chelsea took their foot off the gas in the second half.
“It was great for us. The most important thing is that we are in the next round. Now we have to prepare for the game against Barcelona,” Conte said.
“You hope to always have a game that you can dominate. Our start was impressive. We started with great focus and concentration, will to score and wanted to go to the next round. I’m really pleased with the commitment of my players.”
MAHREZ HELPS LEICESTER WIN
LEICESTER : Back in favor at Leicester, Riyad Mahrez helped the team reach the FA Cup quarterfinals by resuming his partnership with Jamie Vardy on Friday. Vardy earned Leicester a 1-0 win over Sheffield United in the fifth round by heading in a cross from Mahrez, who was starting for the first time since the collapse of his move to Manchester City at the end of the transfer window. Mahrez spent more than a week in self-imposed exile after being denied a transfer to the Premier League leaders, missing two games and a string of training sessions.