As has been the pleasing Chelsea tradition for close on two decades, the Premier League leaders made it safely over the first FA Cup hurdle thanks to two goals from Pedro and one each from Michy Batshuayi and Willian.
Pedro scored the first and the final goals of the game, his fifth and sixth strikes of an increasingly profitable season, with Batshuayi making it 2-0 just before half-time. Willian scored the best goal of the game shortly after the interval but then what was progressing as a straightforward victory was made more uncomfortable by a red card for John Terry and a goal soon after from the visitors.
But up stepped Pedro again to ease any tension from what, those middle few minutes of the second half and the opening stages apart, had been a game with Chelsea mostly well on top.
Antonio Conte’s team selection did not lack experience, especially with Terry back after injury and happily, following 11 months out, Kurt Zouma was also back in the first team fold.
Batshuayi was given his chance to impress the manager by playing the whole 90 minutes up front and there were more opportunities for Ruben Loftus-Cheek, in an attacking role, and Nathaniel Chalobah alongside Cesc Fabregas in central midfield.
Pedro was given the left wing-back role, and it was from his charge forward Chelsea won our first corner, after the referee played on when the flying Spaniard’s heel was clipped. Gary Cahill got his boot to Willian’s low delivery and flicked it goalwards where it bounced off the post and keeper Luke McGee before the on-loan Spurs player grabbed hold of it.
Asmir Begovic was called into action at the other end very soon after, making a sharp stop when Lee Angol was first to Marcus Maddison’s cross and it was already clear there was to be no bus parking at the Bridge today. An open, entertaining game was on the cards.
The action swung back to the other end with successive Chelsea corners and Terry shooting into the arms of McGee, following a Batshuayi effort deflected wide.
The end-to-end start continued with Lopes taking too long over a shot and allowing Cahill to intervene, before a Posh header was planted wide.
With Chelsea’s next attacking move, we took the lead. Willian did well to stretch the defence initially and when Fabregas’s shot was blocked, Chalobah stung the hands of the keeper. Pedro picked up the pieces, manoeuvred the ball patiently and rasped it beyond McGee into the far side of the net. There were 17 minutes on the clock.
Peterborough’s skipper Forrester was booked for a studs-in challenge on Fabregas but Cesc was quickly in the book too for his challenge on Tom Nicholls.
Batshuayi, who had been a little unfortunate not to win a penalty moments earlier, had a shot saved after Willian’s skilful turn and pass, and next to draw a save from McGee was Loftus-Cheek but he gathered the rebound and picked out Pedro who surely had to make it 2-0. To the surprise of the sell-out Stamford Bridge, his recent goalscoring touch briefly deserted the man from Tenerife and he hit the bar from point-blank range.
Willian then drove a shot at the keeper. The game had gone from end-to-end to sustained pressure in front of the Shed as half-time approached, although both Zouma and JT were called upon to defend well before the whistle.
By then Batshuayi had made it 2-0 with an accurate low strike after Loftus-Cheek had touched off an Ivanovic cross. The Serbian, operating as right wing-back today, had been set away into space by Willian’s fine pass.
Loftus-Cheek had a very good chance to add goal number three soon after the restart but fired wide, however there was no such mistake from Willian from the edge of the area in the 53rdminute. The Brazilian’s shot was low, hard and right into the far bottom corner. Undoubtedly one of the best goals of this third-round weekend.
The more nervous Chelsea followers who remembered being 2-0 up against League One Bradford before losing two years ago could begin to relax a little. A first-time Chalobah shot went wide as Chelsea pushed hard at the flood gates.
Ola Aina came on for Cahill and almost immediately won the ball strongly in front of his appreciative manager but then came a blow for the far more experienced man alongside him. A stretching Zouma could not cut out a long ball forward which left Terry against Angol and when our skipper’s tumble on the wet turf took down the Posh centre-forward, referee Kevin Friend decided a scoring opportunity had been denied and produced the red card. Conte later indicated an appeal will be considered.
Cesar Azpilicueta came on for Loftus-Cheek but with 20 minutes to go Peterborough pulled a goal back when Nicholls converted at the far post.
Kante came on for Willian but it was Pedro who supplied the reassurance needed when he planted the ball into the net with a shot that came close to matching Willian’s earlier finish. That made it 4-1.
Pedro and Batshuayi had chances to equal the five goals the Blues scored in our two previous FA Cup meetings with Peterborough, and Azpilicueta went close from long range just before the final whistle.
We will discover our fourth-round opponents when the draw is made from 7.10pm tomorrow.
- Match stats:
Chelsea (3-4-3): Begovic; Zouma, Terry (c), Cahill (Aina 57); Ivanovic, Fabregas, Chalobah, Pedro; Loftus-Cheek (Azpilicueta 69) Batshuayi, Willian (Kante 73)
Unused subs Eduardo, Moses, Hazard, Diego Costa.
Scorers Pedro 18, 75, Batshuayi 44, Willian 52
Sent off Terry 67
Booked Fabregas 24
Peterborough (4-4-2): McGee; Smith, Bostwick, Tafazolli, Hughes (Binnom-Williams 83), Maddison (Taylor 57), Lopes, Forrester (c), Edwards (Samuelsen 57); Nichols, Angol.
Unused subs Tyler, Ball, Inman, Chettle.
Scorer Nicholls 70
Booked Forrester 23, Tafazolli 33
Referee Kevin Friend
Crowd 41,003
- Match report by chelseafc.com
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