Chelsea stamp authority and move to next round

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Premier League leaders Chelsea humbled Championship side Brentford FC as defeated them 4-0 to progress to the next round of the FA Cup. Chelsea boss Antonio Conte rested a host of first-team players for this match. But that did not deny Chelsea from getting an easy win.

First Half:

Chelsea made nine changes to their starting line-up as they rested first team players like Costa, Courtois, Ivanovic among others. Asmir Begovic, Loftus-Cheek and Batshuayi all got first team starts in this match. Chelsea got the break through in the opening quarter from a superbly taken free kick by Willian in the 14th minute. In the 21st minute, Batshuayi found Pedro with a wonderful through-ball to carve open Brentford and the Spaniard slotted home the second goal.

Chelsea had a number of attempts on goal during the first half. But they failed to convert them to add a third goal to the tally.

Pedro was the most consistent player for Chelsea.

Second Half:

Brentford came out in the second half with a bit more energy and positive play but that soon fizzled out as Chelsea were on top again. Conte made his first change of the match in the 65th minute by replacing Willian with Ivanovic. And Ivanovic scored within 5 minutes since his arrival after he put the back in the back of the net.

Pedro who assisted Chelsea’s third goal was replaced by Diego Costa and thanks to him Chelsea won a penalty in the 81st minute as Ivanovic was tackled inside the box. Batshuayi converted from the penalty spot to score the 4th goal of the night for Chelsea.

Ivanovic had a wonderful game since coming off the bench. He scored a goal and also won a penalty.

Chelsea played some fine football throughout the match as they stamped their authority on Brentford FC. Pedro was easily the best player for Chelsea on the night. Branislav Ivanovic also made a huge impact after coming off the bench. This performance from Ivanovic comes at the back of the news that he might be heading out of Chelsea after Conte refused to guarantee Ivanovic a future at Chelsea.