Leeds 5-1

Independent:
Chelsea make class count against Leeds after riding out old foes’ storm in Capital One Cup
Leeds 1 Chelsea 5

By SAM WALLACE

There was rain and cold and Michael Brown trying to wind up any Chelsea player he could. There was a hostile crowd and a first-half Leeds goal and the whiff of a cup shock. And then last night cold reality came crashing in on Neil Warnock's side goal by goal.

The scoreline looked brutal by the time the European champions had finished with their old 1970s adversaries. There is something beguiling about the historic Leeds United v Chelsea rivalry but they have moved too far in opposite directions in the last 10 years for this to be anything but a mismatch once the Premier League side found their A-game on a grim Yorkshire night.
As the goals rained in on Leeds, and the home support became ever more disconsolate, the Chelsea fans goaded Warnock. He responded by pointing his backside in their direction, one last act of defiance against an opponent that was too strong, too accomplished and too damned good for Leeds.
It should take nothing away from Chelsea who stepped off their flight from Tokyo on Monday and acquitted themselves well after Luciano Becchio gave Leeds the lead eight minutes before half-time. It is never a pleasant experience having to confront Michael Brown and El-Hadji Diouf in the space of one evening, never mind when you are suffering from jetlag.
They will play Swansea City in the semi-final of the Capital One Cup, a trophy that is looking like it could fall nicely for Rafa Benitez after the failure of his side to win the Club World Cup. There could be no denying that last night his team were – in the modern parlance – up for it. They certainly had to be.
Frank Lampard led the way, particularly in the handling of Brown – a rare creature, the like of which Juan Mata and Oscar have probably not encountered before in their careers. Brown has a long-standing problem with Lampard. Or maybe Lampard has a long-standing problem with Brown. It can be difficult to tell at times but it is undeniably entertaining to watch.
Warnock said later that his 35-year-old midfielder had overcome a sickness bug to renew hostilities one more time with his old adversary. It took the pair roughly 30 seconds to commence snapping at one another. Lampard was booked in the first half for a foul on Diouf, surprisingly quiet, which meant that the Chelsea man had to be careful. It said much about his experience that he had such a great influence on the game nonetheless.
It might have been the proverbial cold December night that is supposed to find out fair-weather foreigners who "don't like it up 'em" but once again there was no doubting the quality of Mata. He was gifted the equaliser by Jamie Ashdown's poor effort to get down to his tame shot at the near post but overall the Spanish midfielder was a shining presence whom Leeds found impossible to pin down in the second half.
Leeds' support in a full house of 33,816, albeit with a restricted capacity, began with such gusto and finished disconsolate. When the opposition can bring on a £32m substitute, on this occasion Eden Hazard, then there really is not much that the team placed 12th in the Championship can do about it.
Leeds always looked dangerous from set-pieces in the first half. Chelsea had chances too and had a marginal penalty appeal when Brown laid a hand on Victor Moses' shoulder in the area. The first-half goal for Leeds, however, was beautifully worked.
David Luiz, playing at centre-back, sauntered forward with the ball and failed miserably to scoop it over Sam Byram. Leeds burst onto the counter-attack with Byram moving the ball forward to Michael Tonge who then found Jerome Thomas out on the left wing. His cross with the outside of his right foot was met in the centre by Becchio.
With Oscar and Lampard as holding midfielders there was no-one behind him to protect Luiz from his own worst instincts. Mata had a shot deflected wide and Ashdown did well to save a Lampard free-kick before half-time. A header from Tom Lees would have made it very difficult for Chelsea had it gone in.
The goals came quickly for the away side after half-time. Fernando Torres found Moses whose pass reached Mata on the edge of the box. His tame shot beat Ashdown. Warnock said later that his goalkeeper had needed a painkilling injection before the game which had then failed to have the desired effect.
Hazard came on and it was after his cross, put out by Byram, that Chelsea scored from the resulting corner. Ivanovic met Lampard's corner with a firm header for the second goal, having left his marker Jason Pearce in a crumpled heap. Just over a minute later, on 66 minutes, Torres won another header in the middle, Mata picked out Moses and he switched the ball to his right foot for a low drive that beat Ashdown.
It had been a great cup tie but it was over then. Warnock brought off Brown and Diouf in a double-substitution that removed much of the potential aggro at a stroke. It did nothing to improve the score. On 81 minutes, with Leeds stretched, Luiz released a beauty of a pass right through the heart of the home defence that Hazard ran on to and finished.
The fifth was a deserved goal for Torres, who rolled it in from six yards after Hazard had collected up Lampard's shot – saved by Ashdown – and squared it. Warnock offered a handshake to Benitez at the final whistle and the interim Chelsea manager went out on to the pitch to thanks his players, no doubt thanking his lucky stars for the conveniently sparse field that remains in the Capital One Cup.

Semi-final draw
Chelsea v Swansea City
Bradford City v Aston Villa

* Ties take place 8/9 & 22/23 Jan.
Booked: Chelsea Lampard, Bertrand.
Man of the match: Lampard.
Match rating: 7/10.
Possession: Leeds United 45% Chelsea 55%.
Attempts on target: Leeds United 5 Chelsea 16.  Referee A Marriner (West Midlands).
Attendance: 33,816.


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Guardian:

Fernando Torres puts finishing touch to Chelsea's winning show at Leeds

Paul Wilson at Elland Road

The weather did its best on a filthy night in Leeds but West Yorkshire could not quite manage to rain on a second London parade in the quarter-finals of the Capital One Cup.
Following Arsenal's ignominious exit at the hands of League Two side Bradford City last week, another big upset was on the cards when Luciano Becchio gave Leeds United a half-time lead against the champions of Europe, but Chelsea stayed calm to win with five coolly taken second-half goals from five different players.
Both sides were at something close to full strength, give or take a couple of reserves, and if it was the introduction of Eden Hazard for the last half-hour that raised the quality bar just too high for Leeds, there was no doubt which goal took the individual honours. Rafael Benítez has had his critics for showing faith in Victor Moses, but the former Wigan forward's elegant strike was not only the game's decisive goal it was also the sign of a player brimming with confidence.
"Preparation is hard when you have eight games in 24 days, especially when you go all the way to Japan and back, but the reaction was excellent," Benítez said. "The first half was good, the second half amazing, but we can still improve in defence. Of course I would like to win this cup, all competitions are important, but my priority now is Aston Villa [in the league] at the weekend."
Moses brought the first save of the game from Jamie Ashdown after El Hadji Diouf went down theatrically in his own half but failed to win any sympathy from the referee, Andre Marriner, before Paul Green and Michael Brown injected some niggle into the proceedings by taking it in turn to foul David Luiz.
The two managers had set the right example by shaking hands before kick-off, despite their long-standing enmity, but Frank Lampard, surprisingly, was the first player to let the Leeds provocation get to him, the Chelsea captain finding himself in the book after only 14 minutes for a needlessly crude challenge from behind on Diouf.
Moses saw another shot saved midway through the first half after Ryan Bertrand had shown impressive control to bring down a raking cross-field ball from Branislav Ivanovic, then exquisite footwork from Juan Mata came to nothing when Jason Pearce stuck out his head to block his goal-bound attempt. Chelsea were producing most of the attacking ideas yet little clear-cut was being created and Fernando Torres was making no impact whatsoever.
That became much more of a worry eight minutes from the interval, when Leeds took the lead with a classic breakaway goal. David Luiz was caught in possession and out of position on halfway, Jerome Thomas galloped into yards of empty space on the left, and with the visitors undermanned in the middle an excellent cross was tucked away with relish by Becchio. The goal brought an already feisty crowd to life, and in addition to the familiar insults from his Liverpool days the home fans began to taunt Benítez with chants that he would be getting sacked in the morning.
On the restart Chelsea instantly spoiled their hosts' fun by equalising barely a minute in. Mata played a one-two with Moses and perhaps surprised Ashdown by squeezing out an accurate shot on the turn, yet even so the goalkeeper should have done better than allow an effort of only medium pace to squirm underneath him. Lampard sensibly kept testing Ashdown after that, even from distance, because there was always a chance the goalkeeper would misjudge a bounce or make a handling mistake in the slippery conditions.
In the event Chelsea took the lead in more prosaic fashion. From a routine corner Ivanovic met Lampard's cross decisively at the near post, though there was nothing prosaic or routine about the Moses goal that made the game safe just over a minute later.
With Leeds tiring and Hazard proving more effective at drawing defenders than Marko Marin, Moses skipped into space on the left and met the tireless Mata's first-time pass, cut inside Sam Byram and beat Ashdown handsomely with a drive from the edge of the area.
That confirmed the result, Hazard's well-taken goal 10 minutes from the end was mere decoration, and home fans were leaving in droves by the time Torres stabbed in a fifth from close range after Ashdown parried a shot.
"No complaints," the Leeds manager Neil Warnock said. "We shouldn't have conceded so early in the second half, but after that Chelsea took over. They were too good for us."
Benítez would like to win something in what appears likely to be a short stay at Chelsea, and now he has his chance. Even Bradford would hold no fears after this, never mind Swansea.
"We had a word with ourselves at half-time because we knew we had to up it," Lampard added. "With such a long trip to Japan our preparation wasn't great for this game, but it made a big difference when we began to play with pace."

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Telegraph;

Leeds United 1 Chelsea 5

By John Percy, at Elland Road

Perhaps the Stamford Bridge trophy cabinet is not in danger of gathering cobwebs after all, asChelsea overcame jetlag and the prospect of further turbulence against one of their oldest and most bitter rivals.
Neil Warnock may never get the chance to exact revenge on his nemesis Rafael Benítez again after a typically absorbing cup tie in one of English football’s most famous theatres, with five goals in the second half easing the pressure on Chelsea’s unpopular manager.
Days after defeat in the Fifa Club World Cup, exiting this competition to a Championship club would only have increased the levels of disdain towards Roberto Di Matteo’s unwanted successor but this was a welcome sign that their season may not be over yet.
Fernando Torres also claimed his sixth goal in five games to provide a hint that he could be approaching a new chapter in his troubled Chelsea career.
For 45 minutes, this was what Warnock had been patiently waiting for, five years after holding Benítez responsible for relegation at his beloved Sheffield United.
Warnock will have been clambering over rival managers in the queue to stick another knife into Benítez but class told in the second half as Chelsea quite simply ran away with it to claim a semi-final meeting with Swansea.
Enmity between the clubs runs deep, with their rivalry established on the muddy battlefields of the 1970s. It was, of course, the FA Cup final replay 42 years ago that ignited hostilities, and one of the more prominent protagonists in that gorefest, Ron Harris, was a guest last night.
Whereas skirmishes used to be frequent, this was their first date in more than eight years and time had done little to diminish the hatred.
Chelsea supporters on official coaches were picked up in Wakefield and then ferried to Elland Road, and both managers had been warned by West Yorkshire Police to put their fractious relationship aside and ensure their players did nothing to poison the atmosphere further.
Ken Bates was also in no mood to inflame the tension in his programme notes. His column is usually gripping and contentious agenda-driven reading and there were rumours that he would sling a shot across the bows of Roman Abramovich for his decision to sack Di Matteo, who Bates affectionately referred to as “his son” during his time at Stamford Bridge.
There was nothing of the sort, however, with Bates instead attacking Uefa and Fifa for opting to play the European Nations Cup at venues across Europe.
The much anticipated frosty handshake between Warnock and Benítez also failed to materialise, but this scrappy affair, on a mucky night, contained all the incident and was a reminder of those halcyon days of decades ago.
Chelsea only returned to the capital on Monday afternoon after an energy-sapping 6,000-mile flight from Japan and showed signs of fatigue in the first half. Victor Moses tested Jamie Ashdown with a low drive from just inside the area and again on 24 minutes but Leeds were clearly relishing the chance to add Chelsea to a list of prized scalps that included Everton and Southampton this season.
With the likes of El Hadji Diouf and Michael Brown, the hosts had players who have turned putting noses out of joint into an art form and, while they were both influential, it was Jerome Thomas who produced the telling contribution for the opening goal eight minutes before half-time.
Michael Tonge sent Thomas clear on the left and his cross into the area was exquisite, providing Luciano Becchio with the chance to wrongfoot Petr Cech by directing the ball into the bottom corner. Elland Road erupted.
Diouf almost created a second goal but Tom Lees was unable to keep his header down, while Frank Lampard was denied an equaliser when Ashdown saved superbly from the Chelsea captain’s 25-yard free kick.
There was a sense that Ashdown was going to hog the headlines but he was finally beaten 65 seconds into the second period. He was possibly at fault too, as he allowed Juan Mata’s low shot from 25 yards to squirt across the line.
For a short period the tie was pulsating until Chelsea’s superiority was rewarded on 65 minutes and paved the way for a resounding victory.
Lampard’s corner was typically precise and Branislav Ivanovic headed in at the near post, with Ashdown stranded. Moses then effectively ended any lingering Leeds hopes with a low drive from 20 yards to provide Benítez with his fourth victory.
Eden Hazard, a substitute, added another when he ambled clear before Torres rubbed Leeds’s noses in it with a finish from close range.
Silverware is still up for grabs.

Match details

Leeds (4-4-2): Ashdown 7; Byram 7, Lees 7, Pearce 7, Peltier 6; Green 6, Tonge 8, Brown 6 (Norris 72) Thomas 7 (White 68); Diouf 6 (McCormack 73), Becchio 6.
Subs (not used): Kenny (gk), Varney, Gray, Somma.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech 6; Azpilicueta 7, Ivanovic 7, Luiz 6, Bertrand 7 (Cole 74); Lampard 7, Oscar 7; Moses 7, Mata 8 (Ferreira 86), Marin 5 (Hazard 60 8); Torres 6.
Subs (not used): Turnbull (gk), Piazon, Saville, Ake.

Booked: Lampard.
Man of the Match: Juan Mata (Chelsea)


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Mail;

Leeds 1 Chelsea 5: Five-star Blues hammer rivals to book semi-final spot in League Cup
By IAN LADYMAN

At full time, there was a wink to John Terry alongside him and a handshake for every one of the staff sitting on the bench at a sodden Elland Road.
Even in moments of great triumph, Rafa Benitez has rarely been a man for expansive gestures. Deep down, though, there must have been a sense of satisfaction and indeed vindication.
Satisfaction with a performance that will have convinced the Spaniard his players are improving and are beginning to buy into his steady, pragmatic style.
And vindication at a decision he took to play seven of the players who started Sunday’s Club World Cup final in Japan.
Yokohama is 12,000 miles from Yorkshire and jetlag is a debilitating condition, even if you have spent the entirety of the flight stretched out in bed. Last night, though, you would not have known it as Chelsea came back from the inconvenience of an opening goal from Leeds to sweep the Championship team aside and progress with purpose into a  semi-final against Swansea.
Despite the relative unimportance of this competition to the Premier League’s top clubs, Benitez will perhaps take more from this result than he has from any during his brief time at Chelsea.
Trailing at half-time, there was every chance for something to go wrong.
That it did not says much for the mental resilience that runs through this Chelsea team and the focus Benitez always instils in his teams.
His sides do not always play football that quickens the pulse but rarely do they lack for application and there was evidence of that here.
Certainly at half-time there were questions to answer. Chelsea had played well enough during the first 45 minutes and may have led had they made better decisions in possession.
As it was, Victor Moses twice brought saves from Leeds goalkeeper Jamie Ashdown while Juan Mata saw a shot deflected wide and could have had a penalty when Michael Brown appeared to lean on his shoulder.
Then Leeds — who had played their part at this point — broke to score a brilliant goal that gave the home team an unlikely lead and brought the game to life.
Brown then crumbled under what he claimed was a shoulder from Mata and the constant niggling started to dominate proceedings as, away from that, the action consisted of Ashdown shovelling behind a Moses shot.
It was another Moses effort, again pushed away by Ashdown, that got football back on the agenda, with Leeds restricted to trying to feed on the scaps of Becchio's knockdowns.
As has been the case before, Chelsea defender David Luiz made a crucial mistake that was born of over-confidence as his attempt to chip the ball over Sam Byram deep in Leeds territory only gave away possession cheaply.
Nevertheless, the way that Leeds broke to exploit a numerical advantage was terrific. Michael Tonge picked up possession in centre field and he in turn set the rapid Jerome Thomas away down the left.
The quality of the cross was going to be crucial and Thomas did not disappoint. His delivery with the outside of his right foot allowed Luciano Becchio to gallop in and convert the chance first time without having to break stride.
The roof almost came off Elland Road. Leeds manager Neil Warnock, meanwhile, celebrated on the touchline as though the cup was already won.
In the dressing rooms at half-time, the messages would have been simple. Chelsea needed a foothold while Leeds needed 10 minutes of calm. Sadly for Leeds and their goalkeeper Ashdown, the crucial contribution was to be his.
The 32-year-old had looked impressively secure in the first half but how he allowed Mata’s weak shot to trundle under his outstretched right arm 65 seconds into the second perhaps he himself may not really know.
His manager was admirably sanguine afterwards. ‘We won’t blame him,’ said Warnock. ‘If you are a goalkeeper you can’t get away with a single mistake.’
In the dressing rooms at half-time, the messages would have been simple. Chelsea needed a foothold while Leeds needed 10 minutes of calm. Sadly for Leeds and their goalkeeper Ashdown, the crucial contribution was to be his.
The 32-year-old had looked impressively secure in the first half but how he allowed Mata’s weak shot to trundle under his outstretched right arm 65 seconds into the second perhaps he himself may not really know.
His manager was admirably sanguine afterwards. ‘We won’t blame him,’ said Warnock. ‘If you are a goalkeeper you can’t get away with a single mistake.’
Nevertheless, the importance of Ashdown’s error cannot be overlooked. It changed the complexion of the game and within 15 minutes Chelsea had taken the tie away from their opponents.
A half-chance in the Chelsea goalmouth almost gave Leeds another fillip as a cross flashed across Petr Cech’s goal, but before long Warnock’s team were punished for slack defending at a corner as Branislav Ivanovic was able to head his team ahead at the near post.
With confidence restored, Chelsea galloped away and played some expressive football as Leeds tired and ran out of adrenaline.
Mata was Chelsea’s best player but Moses was impressive, too, and he exploited the space afforded him by his team-mate’s decoy run to move forward and drive a low shot past Ashdown with his right foot from 25 yards.
It was a finish of Premier League quality and, in the final 10 minutes, there was more to come.
Luiz, an impressive footballer when he has the time he needs, played a pass as perfect as the one in the first half had been stupid to release substitute Eden Hazard and the Belgium forward sprinted goalwards to score with some comfort.
Then, at the death, there was a goal for Fernando Torres, who picked up the pieces close to goal after Ashdown had parried a Frank Lampard shot. Benitez will note that Torres has now scored six goals in his last five games.
For Leeds, the night ended in anti-climax and it is sad that we will not be here for a big night again for quite a while. They are missed.
Warnock still has a major job to do at Elland Road, though. In west London, Benitez’s has grown  marginally easier.


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Mirror:
Leeds 1-5 Chelsea match report Wide awake club: Jet-lagged Chelsea blow Leeds away with second half blitz
By Neil McLeman

Rafa Benitez's Chelsea needed 45 minutes to get back onto GMT last night to avoid a cup KO at Elland Road.
But the Blues then showed the DNA of winners to fight back for a stunning win against old rivals Leeds.
The European Champions only arrived back to the UK from the 12,000-round trip to the Club World Club in Japan on Monday afternoon.
And the Blues then flew up to West Yorkshire on Wednesday morning to prepare for Benitez's eighth game since taking over 25 days ago.
The hectic schedule and the jet-lag appeared to have taken its toll when Luciano Becchio caught Chelsea napping to give the Championship side the half-time lead.
Chelsea were then facing the same Capital One Cup humiliation as Arsenal suffered in nearby Bradford last week - and a second cup defeat in four days in times zone nine hours apart.
But the home goal and Benitez's half-time teamtalk provided a wake-up call as they were simply unstoppable after the break.
Goals from Juan Mata, Branislav Ivanovic, Victor Moses, Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres - all starters across the world in Yokohama on Sunday - gave the West London club a crushing win in a cracking cup tie.
Playing with pace and power after the break, the result and performance certainly proved the Chelsea squad want to play for their caretaker Spanish manager.
Frank Lampard, Mata and Moses were especially impressive in a great team display.
"The reaction in the second half was fantastic, especially with travelling back from Japan and having jet lag," Benitez said. "We were looking for character and the reaction was so good, we have to consider it for the future."
 The Blues extended their run of never losing a cup tie to Leeds to 12 matches, including the two duels in the infamous 1970 FA Cup final.
The emphatic nature of the the result against former Chelsea owner Ken Bates, now the Leeds chairman, would also have given Roman Abramovich no little reason to smile after these two great club's first meeting for eight years.
Although 13 points off the pace in the Premier League, Benitez can still triumph three cup competitions this season with the Europa League and FA Cup also to come after Christmas.
Warnock, Bates and Leeds can look forward to their takeover by Dubai-based investment firm GFH Capital - and then continuing their push to reach the Championship playoff spots or even better.
Playing like in the first half, they have got more than a chance under promotion specialist Warnock. And a sold-out Elland Road is certainly an arena worthy of top-flight football.
With seven starters from the Chelsea team which lost to Corinthians, Leeds had wanted to catch their visitors cold on a dank and dreary Yorkshire night.
In a frantic opening period, and a terrific atmosphere, referee Andre Marriner booked Blues captain Lampard when he scythed through El-Hadji Diouf.
And when another feisty challenge from Oscar gave Leeds a free-kick, Jason Pearce rose to flick the Senegalese's free kick wide.
Chelsea then enjoyed a spell of possession but just as the visitors seemed poised to take control, Leeds scored the crucial opening goal after 37 minutes on a classic counter-attack.
With centre-back David Luiz left stranded upfield, Sam Byram picked up the ball in midfield and fed Jerome Thomas down the left.
The London-born ex-Arsenal winger then clipped in a cross with his right foot wide of Branislav Ivanovic and into the path of Becchio who slid home his 15th goal of the season.
Chelsea made an immediate response before the break with Lampard drawing another save from reserve keeper Jamie Ashdown and firing a free-kick wide, while the dangerous Moses had a goal disallowed for offside.
 But the equaliser was to come just over a minute into the second half. Mata found his fellow Spaniard Torres who fed Moses. And the former Palace and Wigan winger laid a perfect pass back to Mata who swept home from the edge of the box with his left foot for his 12th goal of the season.
With the visitors now dominating, Ashdown made a juggling save from Torres and clasped a long-distance Lampard effort.
But the Leeds keeper was powerless to stop Ivanovic's near-post header from a Lampard corner after 64 minutes.
And a minute later the excellent Moses struck home a 25-yard shot with his right foot after more link-up play from Mata.
With Leeds now desperately pressing forward, David Luiz released sub Eden Hazard for the fourth after 81 minutes.
And Torres rounded off the scoring three minutes later with his sixth goal in five games under his former Liverpool boss when he diverted home Mata's cross after Ashdown had saved from Lampard.
Warnock said: "The crowd were fantastic. If Leeds sort themselves, it should be like that here every week. When we scored, I have never heard anything like it. But I have no complaints about the result."


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Sun:

RAFA BENITEZ and his Chelsea team had touched down from Japan just 53 hours earlier.
Yet the troubled Stamford Bridge boss avoided flying into another storm and instead landed in the semis of the Capital One Cup.
And all thanks to a stunning second-half ambush.
There were fears of jet-lag after Chelsea’s players covered 12,000 miles in 11 days travelling to Sunderland and then Japan for the Club World Cup.
And they were back on the plane yesterday morning as they flew up to West Yorkshire.

But while Neil Warnock’s side were on their knees at the final whistle, Chelsea were on cloud nine and winging their way to a showdown with Swansea.

The signs, though, had not been good for Benitez as Luciano Becchio grabbed a fine 37th-minute opener for Leeds.

But Juan Mata, Branislav Ivanovic, Victor Moses, sub Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres all scored in a sizzling second period.

Leeds, of course, is the city which will host the start of the 2014 Tour de France — and after Becchio’s strike the home fans were dreaming of sending Benitez on his bike.

But they left disappointed against visitors who sorted themselves out with a polished second-half display.

Mata was excellent while sub Hazard was mightily impressive after arriving with the scores locked at 1-1.

Losing to Corinthians in the FIFA World Club Championship final on Sunday will not be considered as one of Chelsea’s worst defeats.

But losing this quarter-final, against a team from the Championship would have been a huge embarrassment.

Yet Chelsea’s players not only displayed class and a cutting edge — they also looked hungry despite presumably feeling exhausted after their return from the Far East.

There will be a few tired legs this morning and improving Aston Villa may well be the beneficiaries when they visit on Sunday. But Benitez will be relieved to have avoided last night’s banana skin, which threw together these great rivals from the 1960s and 70s.

In a game with numerous sub-plots, this was also a massive match for Ken Bates, the former Chelsea chairman, who has tried to revitalise Leeds. He remains chairman despite selling the club.

The relationship between Benitez and Warnock, whose feud dates back to the 2006-2007 season, added spice to this battle.

Yet Warnock came out of the tunnel seconds before kick-off and made a point of walking over to the visiting bench to shake Benitez’s hand.

The Spaniard stuck with seven of the team who started against Corinthians although the atmosphere for this game was very different as Elland Road was rocking.

Leeds keeper Jamie Ashdown had to be at his best early on as he saved from both Moses and Frank Lampard.

The visitors, looking full of energy, had taken a grip of the game only to be clobbered by a killer break.

David Luiz was guilty of losing possession with a cocky, lazy chip, Sam Byram made the interception and fed the ball to Michael Tonge. He picked out Jerome Thomas, who had been given far too much space by Cesar Azpilicueta, and the winger delivered a perfect cross for Becchio to score his 15th goal of the season.

Cue mayhem. The ground erupted. For one, glorious moment we were transported to the days when Leeds were a mighty team feared by all.

Despite the goal, Leeds were always going to be on the back foot in the second half.

And sure enough, Ashdown was picking the ball out of the net just 65 seconds after the restart, having allowed Mata’s shot from outside the box to squeeze under his right hand.

Ashdown redeemed himself with a great stop from Torres but another goal was inevitable.

Hazard came on just past the hour and within five minutes Chelsea were 3-1 up.

Ivanovic charged in to head home Lampard’s corner at the near post. And two minutes later Moses sent a nasty, low shot whizzing into the corner of the net with Mata again involved in the move.

Hazard had made his mark on the game and got his reward with a goal, delivering a smart finish from Luiz’s through ball.

And Torres completed the rout from close range after more good work from Hazard.

Swansea will certainly provide tougher opposition in the semi-finals, yet for Benitez that game is a long way off.

Even now, most Chelsea fans would prefer it if he took yet another flight out of London today — and never came back.

DREAM TEAM
SUN STAR MAN — HAZARD (CHELSEA)
LEEDS: Ashdown 5, Byram 6, Lees 6, Pearce 5, Peltier 5, Green 5, Brown 6, Tonge 5, Thomas 7, Diouf 6, Becchio 7. Subs: White (Thomas 68) 6, Norris (Brown 72) 5, McCormack (Diouf 72) 5. Not used: Kenny, Varney, Gray, Somma.
CHELSEA: Cech 6, Azpilicueta 6, Ivanovic 7, Luiz 6, Bertrand 6, Lampard 7, Oscar 7, Marin 6, Mata 7, Moses 7, Torres 7. Subs: Ferreira (Mata 86) 6, Hazard (Marin 61) 8, Cole (Bertrand 74) 6. Not used: Turnbull, Piazon, Saville, Ake. Booked: Lampard, Bertrand.


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Express:

CHELSEA FIRE FIVE PAST LEEDS TO PROGRESS
Three days after losing the Club World Cup final to Corinthians in Japan, the last thing a Rafael Benitez team sporting just four changes could have done with was a trip to a rain-soaked Elland Road to meet a team with whom they share a bitter rivalry.
The omens were not looking good either when Luciano Becchio gave Leeds a first-half lead but, as if they had never been away, Chelsea ramped things up after the break. Three goals in a 20-minute spell from Juan Mata, Branislav Ivanovic and Victor Moses spun things in their favour, with Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres adding extra gloss late on.
Chelsea had home goalkeeper Jamie Ashdown to thank for the goal that got them level and, in the process, allowing Benitez to silence his opposite Neil Warnock, who is not the Spaniard's number one fan for what he feels was Benitez's part in his Sheffield United side's relegation in 2007.
Becchio broke the deadlock for Leeds in the 37th minute with a counter-attack goal.
After David Luiz made a hash of a foray forward, Michael Tonge picked the ball up in centre midfield and ran into Chelsea's half, releasing Jerome Thomas on the left. With Becchio clear and screaming for a pass, Thomas waited until the right moment and squared, with the Argentinean wrong-footing Petr Cech with his 15th goal of the season.
The goal had perhaps been harsh on Chelsea but they duly levelled things up just 62 seconds after the restart, with Mata's crisp, first-time hit off Moses' lay-off getting under Ashdown's outstretched hands and making a mockery of the better saves he had already made.
The former Portsmouth man went some way to redeeming himself as the hour approached, using all of his body to deny Torres and then Frank Lampard, but he could do nothing in the 64th minute as Ivanovic nipped in ahead of everyone at the near post to nod in a Lampard corner.
Moses then found the range he had lacked in the first half with a low edge-of-the-box shot which Ashdown got nowhere near and, if Leeds thought their punishment was over they were wrong as, with 10 minutes left, Luiz split their defence in half and Hazard easily tucked away a one-on-one.
There was still time for more, perhaps flatteringly, as Torres tucked into an open goal with seven minutes left from Hazard's pass after Ashdown had denied Lampard.


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Star:

LEEDS 1 - CHELSEA 5: VICTOR MOSES LEADS BLUES COMEBACK AFTER BECCHIO STRIKE

By Jason Mellor

VICTOR MOSES capped a stunning display as Chelsea put Leeds to the sword.
The Blues shipped a first-half opener to Luciano Becchio but roared back in the second half to demolish their ­Championship opponents and book a semi-final place.
The home side struck the first blow in Leeds boss Neil Warnock’s grudge match with old rival Rafa Benitez.
Becchio’s 15th goal of the season came eight minutes before the break in a no-hold-barred cup tie.
But having taken the lead, any plans the Yorkshireman had of hanging on to their slender advantage to crank up the pressure on their Premier League visitors went up in smoke just 60 seconds ­after the restart.
It was the impressive Juan Mata who handed his side a way back into the ­contest with his 12th goal of the campaign to draw level.
Leeds were caught napping as neat ­interplay between the Spaniard, ­Fernando Torres and Moses released Mata to try his luck from 20-yards.
The winger’s scuffed shot lacked power, but on a greasy surface slipped under Jamie Ashdown’s hand to find the ­bottom corner.
It was a nightmare moment for the stand-in keeeper in only his second game of the season.
Ashdown’s howler was made even worse by the fact that had put up a one-man barrier to keep Leeds on level terms, before pulling off a couple of great saves to see them go into the break on top.
It was only the second goal shipped by Leeds in their cup run as they pulled out all the stops to make it three top-flight scalps, having already dumping out ­Everton and Southampton.
Ashdown was soon back to his best, ­reacting brilliantly to deny a point-blank Torres header as the striker latched onto a great cross from Cesar Azpilicueta.
And he was at it again to grab a Frank Lampard daisy-cutter as Chelsea poured forward in search of a second goal.
But Ashdown had no chance as Branislav Ivanovic and Moses put Chelsea in cruise control on the way to the last four.
Ivanovic stooped to conquer as the big Blues defender stole in at the near post to head home his fourth goal of the season from Lampard’s in-swinging corner ­after 64 minutes.
And within two minutes, Moses latched onto Mata’s pass from a Torres flick to fire into the bottom corner from 20 yards to leave Leeds with a mountain to climb.
Eden Hazard added the fourth calmly taking a long Luiz pass and finishing past Ashdown.
Hazard then set up Torres for a simple finish to complete the rout.
The managers put their well-publicised differences aside with a pre-match handshake to break the ice in their bitter five-year feud.
The fall-out was sparked by Warnock blaming Benitez for his part in his ­relegation from the top flight with ­Sheffield United.
But there was little love lost between the sides who went at each other straight from the start.
Moses twice went close in the first 20 minutes, shooting wide and forcing a fine near post save from Ashdown. The speedy winger also had an early penalty shout turned down after a clash with Michael Brown in a no-nonsense opening that saw Chelsea skipper Lampard clash with the veteran Leeds midfielder as tempers flared.
Becchio headed wide from an El-Hadji Diouf cross as things opened up.
Paul Green headed straight at Petr Cech so it came as a big surprise that it took 37 minutes for the first goal.
Leeds stunned their high-profile ­visitors with a length-of-the-field move to take the lead caused when David Luiz lost the ball out of position at the wrong end of the field.
Sam Byram cut out Luiz’s sloppy pass on the edge of the Leeds box, the ball running loose to Michael Tonge, who surged forward past halfway to feed Jerome ­Thomas down the left.
The on-loan West Brom winger took a touch before sending over a low cross with the outside of the right-foot that cut out the back-tracking Ivanovic to find a lurking Becchio, who did the rest with a first-time finish form 12 yards.
Stunned into action, Moses had the ball in the net soon afterwards for Chelsea with a cool close-range finish. But the effort was ruled out for offside against Torres in the four-man build-up.
Chances came thick and fast as half-time approached, Lampard’s 30-yard free-kick saved well by Ashdown low to the keeper’s right as the deflected effort headed for the bottom corner.
Leeds refused to sit back on their lead, and they should have doubled their ­advantage on the verge of first-half ­stoppage-time.
Tom Lees easily out-jumped his marker Azpilicueta to meet another tempting Diof centre, only to head narrowly over from six yards after Chelsea failed to deal with a corner.