Batshuayi ends goal drought as Chelsea repel tigerish fightback
Hull City 1 Chelsea 2
MICHY BATSHUAYI scored his first goal in 14 matches as Chelsea squeezed into the fifth round, despite a late rally from Hull City.
Batshuayi, replacing the injured Tammy Abraham, fired the Londoners ahead early on, with Fikayo Tomori appearing to make the game safe midway through the second half.
However, they had some anxious late moments when Kamil Grosicki’s deflected free-kick beat Blues’ No 1 Willy Caballero.
Four-time FA Cup winner Frank Lampard saw his Chelsea side take the lead through Mason Mount. He took the ball in his stride and By Joe Bernstein though his shot was blocked, the rebound fell to Batshuayi and his deflected shot beat goalkeeper George Long in the sixth minute.
Hull, 12th in the Championship, didn’t let their heads drop and Chelsea were relieved to reach the hour still in front.
Jarrod Bowen lived up to his promise with a run past three defenders before a shot that fizzed just over for the Tigers.
The Blues then snapped into life and showed their class with a second goal.
Mount was crudely brought down and, from the free-kick floated in by Ross Barkley to the far post, Tomori found space to power a header home on 64 minutes.
Hull threw themselves a lifeline after 78 minutes. Marcos Alonso fouled Martin Samuelson and from the free-kick Grosicki’s effort deflected in off Mateo Kovacic.
Lampard said: ‘These games are tests of attitude and personality as much as your ability, sometimes.
‘We have our eye on getting as far as we can, but whoever we draw it is going to be tough.’