Stoke 1-0

Independent:

Chelsea 1 Stoke City 0
Oscar's stunning free-kick fires the Blues into fifth round FA Cup clash with Manchester City
 
Jose Mourinho says all of the pressure will be on City at the Etihad
Sam Wallace 

It was all going so well for Jose Mourinho on his 51st birthday today until the moment that Troy Townsend, father of Andros, fished out ball No 12 in the draw for the FA Cup fifth round and Chelsea were off to Manchester City on 15 February.

Mourinho’s current conspiracy obsession is the Premier League fixture list and what he considers to be the better deal that Arsenal get in terms of rest days between their big matches. Goodness knows what he would have made of the draw had Arsene Wenger’s team landed one of the League One survivors in the competition but they are up against Liverpool, on the weekend before they play Bayern Munich.
As it turned out, Mourinho brushed aside the inconvenience of having to play City twice in two weeks, starting with the Premier League fixture a week on Tuesday and tried to turn it into a psychological advantage for his own team. The pressure, he said, would all be on City who would naturally be favourites to win at the Etihad and were coming to terms with the kind of expectation that he, Mourinho, has long had to live with.
 “We are ready to go there [to the Etihad] and enjoy it,” Mourinho said. “We are going to go there with a good attitude, and nothing to lose. They have everything to lose. They are the team that was made to win. They have to feel now the same thing I was feeling here in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007. [A case of] ‘We are the best team by far. We have to win. If we don't, it's because we did something wrong’. They must feel the same. We have nothing to lose.
“Our priority for the season is to improve. The best way to improve is with [accomplishing] difficult things. Play against the best teams, twice in two weeks, in their stadium, the stadium where they win every game and smash every team. Score four or five goals every game even against the big teams like Arsenal and Tottenham and United. It's a good thing for us. We are playing very well in my opinion. We played a very good game.”
It was a game ultimately decided by a beauty of a free-kick from Oscar, the perfect hit from the Brazilian’s right boot with exactly the requisite amount of pace, dip and draw to take it past a goalkeeper as good as Asmir Begovic. The ball was struck from outside the area in the right channel and it landed in the area of the side-netting just inside the Stoke goalkeeper’s right post.
That is what the best players can give to a team, and it did Mourinho no harm that the goal was scored by the player around whom he has made his biggest decision since returning to the club. Oscar has seen off Juan Mata and now he and Eden Hazard, the outstanding player in this FA Cup tie, must shoulder the burden of Chelsea’s attacking threat until at least the summer when a new striker can be recruited.
Hazard carried Chelsea’s threat down the left wing, with Geoff Cameron heading inexorably for a booking from the moment he chopped down the Belgian for the first time. Oscar hit the post before half-time with a right-footed shot and Andre Schurrle did the same in the second half. Nemanja Matic made his debut in midfield with the brief of trying to make life difficult for Peter Crouch.
It should have been a victory by a greater margin for Chelsea, especially given the miss by Samuel Eto’o in the 77th minute when he conspired to back heel the ball away from the goal. Ramires, on as a substitute, is not a natural six-yard area finisher and he managed to put the loose ball wide. Begovic saved a David Luiz free-kick brilliantly towards the end.
Marko Arnautovic fends off Chelsea's Nemanja Matic Marko Arnautovic fends off Chelsea's Nemanja Matic  As a result Chelsea were still protecting a one-goal lead in the closing stages of the game, although Stoke scarcely threatened them. Stephen Ireland put their best chance into the side-netting of Mark Schwarzer’s goal on 40 minutes when the ball was deflected into his path. Crouch barely had a cross which he could attack all afternoon.
Mark Hughes said after the game that he expected Peter Odemwingie to join this week with Kenwyne Jones going in the opposite direction, to Cardiff City. “You hold your hands up when the player produces the quality Oscar did for the goal,” Hughes said. “At 1-0 down it's a difficult game for us because they break on the counter-attack.
 “We stuck at it to the end, but you have to get a bit of luck at places like Stamford Bridge. Things have to go for you, and maybe we didn't force the issue enough to change things in our direction. I'm reasonably pleased. You're never happy to go out of a cup competition, but we have a huge game on Wednesday night [away to Sunderland].”
The reality was that Stoke never fully convinced that they were completely committed to winning this FA Cup tie and that they got exactly what they deserved. Ryan Shawcross was arguably their best player, his commitment exemplified by the way he blocked a shot from Willian in a very tender place in the closing stages.
Mourinho said that he was off to celebrate his birthday with dinner with his family – “at which I can be happy rather than have to pretend that I am happy”. This was the club’s seventh win in a row and with West Ham at home on Wednesday there is every chance it will be eight by the time they face City in the league on Monday. That match is shaping up to be one of the season’s great games.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Schwarzer 6; Ivanovic 6, Cahill 6, Luiz 6, Cole 6; Lampard 6, Matic 6; Schurrle 5 (Ramires 5, 70), Oscar 7 (Willian, 81), Hazard 7; Eto’o 6 (Ba, 85).
Substitutes not used: Cech (gk), Mikel, Terry, Azpilicueta.

Stoke City (4-2-3-1): Begovic 7; Cameron 4, Shawcross 6, Wilson 6, Pieters 5 (Muniesa, 85); Palacios (Assaidi, 72) 6, Nzonzi 6; Arnautovic 5 (Adam, 83), Ireland 6, Walters 6; Crouch 6.
Substitutes not used: Sorensen (gk), Whelan, Adam, Guidetti, Shotton.

Referee: C Foy
Man of the match: Hazard

Rating: 5
Booked: Stoke Cameron, Wilson, Pieters
Attendance: 40,845

===================

Guardian:
Chelsea's Oscar beats struggling Stoke City with sublime free-kick
Chelsea 1 Stoke 0
Dominic Fifield at Stamford Bridge

Strolls such as this offer timely reminders that, for all the upheaval of recent weeks, Chelsea will still ease into the second half of the campaign in rude health. Very few teams can boast comparable strength in depth, even after the sale of a World Cup winner for £37.1m. Manchester City will presumably test that theory in the fifth round more concertedly than Stoke City did in the fourth.
If the scoreline suggested this was a squeeze, it was actually a breeze. José Mourinho, celebrating his 51st birthday, could bemoan familiar profligacy as having denied his team proper reward for their dominance, and this side's failure to convert the plethora of chances they invariably create could yet undermine a pursuit for silverware that is maintained on three fronts.
But that was just the perfectionist in him exposed. Stoke, for all their success in avoiding the concession of a cricket score, never threatened to take advantage of the slenderness of their deficit.
Progress, courtesy of Oscar's sumptuous free-kick, ensured there was to be no mass gnashing of teeth at Juan Mata's sale to Manchester United. The departed midfielder was the elephant in the room here, the Spaniard the subject of one small banner held up by supporters in the west stand thanking him for two and a half years of fine service but, if truth be told, he was not overly missed. Perhaps it was not the contest by which to judge his departure but, without him, and with Michael Essien to join Milan and Kevin de Bruyne now at Wolfsburg, the hosts merely rejoiced in the excellence of the creative talents that remain. Or, even, in confirmation of Mohamed Salah's £11m arrival from Basel and the leggy purpose of Nemanja Matic in central midfield.
This was the £20.75m Serb's first start in two spells at this club and his physical presence and ability to stride forward with purpose stamped authority on the occasion. He is already unrecognisable from the wiry youth who had mustered three substitute appearances in 2009-10.
"He was very comfortable, offering big stability," said Mourinho. "I have no statistics but he stole a lot of balls and his passing was always quality. His left foot is soft. The ball comes always sweetly and the decision is always an easy, simple decision. The team flies when somebody makes it so simple."
He was progressive in his passing, too, to suggest he will offer another dimension. Once Mourinho has tweaked his forward ranks in the summer, with funding bolstered by Mata's sale, his lineup could indeed be the "phenomenal" selection he had confidently predicted a few weeks ago. The evolution is being played out in the public glare this term.
Stoke, once Peter Crouch had nodded wide five minutes in, failed miserably to check it. Even in the last 10 minutes, when their resistance – personified by the excellence of Ryan Shawcross and Asmir Begovic – had earned them a chance to pour forwards in search of parity, they mustered little of note.
They can concentrate now on securing top-flight survival, with Cardiff's Peter Odemwingie to join on Monday as Kenwyne Jones heads in the opposite direction.
The Nigerian will inject much needed pace into their front-line. Mark Hughes admitted they had not "forced the issue enough" though, in truth, they were too preoccupied trying to keep the home side at bay. Hazard is irrepressible these days, his burst of pace across the turf and quality in touch and vision illuminating his side's approach on a weekly basis. The Belgian might have conjured rewards for Frank Lampard and Oscar, while quite how neither Samuel Eto'o nor the substitute Ramires could score from inside the six-yard box after another fizzed centre defied belief. Oscar and André Schürrle crunched shots across the woodwork and, when David Luiz thrashed a free-kick goalwards late on, Begovic summoned a fine reflex save that took the breath away.
Another Brazilian had already beaten him from a dead-ball by then. Stoke had disputed Erik Pieters' foul on Eto'o just before the half-hour mark but they were helpless once Oscar dispatched a free-kick which curled viciously towards the post Begovic was guarding but still well beyond his despairing dive. It was the inside of the side-netting that bulged.
"It's a bit of a contradiction because we played so well but only won with a free-kick," said Mourinho. "Usually you win by scoring amazing goals in free play, and we had some fantastic play and very good collective movement out there. But the free-kick makes us happy because he trains for that. It's good to see a player who dedicates minutes every day after training on a specific thing score a beautiful goal like that." This was a seventh consecutive win in all competitions. The Etihad stadium awaits in the fifth round.

Man of the match Eden Hazard (Chelsea)

================

Telegraph:

Chelsea 1 Stoke City 0
By  Paul Hayward, at Stamford Bridge

For Jose Mourinho to justify selling Juan Mata to Manchester United he needs Oscar to pick up Oscars.
The Chelsea manager’s promise to build his side around his 22-year-old Brazilian was vindicated by a sweet free-kick and a performance of constant locomotion from his side’s leading man as Mourinho earned a fifth-round tie at Manchester City.
No sooner had Chelsea signed Mohamed Salah from FC Basle and dispatched Stoke City than Mourinho was heaping psychological pressure on City, who, he keeps insisting, have a duty to win everything by virtue of their vast talent pool and spending.
Even without this predictable jousting, a fifth-round tie worthy of a final will again test Mourinho’s decision to offload Chelsea’s player of the year for the last two seasons to a major rival.
Oscar dos Santos Emboaba Júnior looks ready for the task. His winning free-kick on Mourinho’s 51st birthday curled right to left and found the top corner of Asmir Begovic’s net as if obeying a computer’s calculation.
It cost £19.35 million to buy Oscar from Internacional: some £18 million less than the fee received for Mata. While United’s new acquisition darted through gaps and stroked unplayable passes onto the toes of team-mates, Oscar is more of a glider who turns up all over the pitch (including defensive positions).
Mourinho’s gamble met the approval of Chelsea’s fans, however sad they were to see Mata go. They trust his judgment. They see Chelsea settling into a mighty rhythm.
They watch Oscar, Eden Hazard and Willian supply the creativity. They are optimistic about Nemanja Matic’s return, in a deep midfield role. Salah is on his way. Mourinho has sold them the idea that Mata was ultimately surplus to requirements and no one is inclined to argue.
“Oscar is going to be my No 10 and I’m going to build my team around that decision,” Mourinho said before the Mata sale, and in this 1-0 victory Oscar set out to repay him. Stoke City’s tackling was robust in the early stages but Oscar’s goal stemmed from a non-foul on the edge of the penalty box.
When Erik Pieters poked his toe through the legs of Samuel Eto’o he unbalanced him without committing much of an offence. But Oscar, who also hit a post with a right-foot drive, seized his chance, clipping the ball in a perfect arc beyond Begovic.
Stoke’s attacking play was glacial. While Peter Crouch grappled with David Luiz, the ball was continually lost on the edge of the Chelsea penalty area.
Mourinho’s men accepted the invitation to practise counter-attacking.
Without Ryan Shawcross at the back Stoke might have conceded several more.
His reward was to take one in the unmentionables late on from a wicked Willian drive. Frank Lampard, hunting his 250th goal in club football, also fired over with his left foot. Eto’o and Andre Schurrle should both have scored. Yet Mourinho could feel sure throughout that Stoke were stuck in his Stamford Bridge vice.
Against Stoke’s 4-1-4-1, Mourinho started with John Terry, Cesar Azpilicueta, Petr Cech and Ramires on the bench. There was a rare start for Ashley Cole at left-back and Mark Schwarzer in goal.
Matic, repatriated from Benfica, was assured and strong alongside Lampard in front of the back four. This signing – or re-signing – brings more ballast to one of Mourinho’s favourite areas.
“Very comfortable, very comfortable. Big stability, also with Lampard on his side. Very comfortable on the pitch,” Mourinho said of Matic.
“I have no statistics, but he stole a lot of balls and his pass was always quality, and big stability and using his physical presence to make it difficult for Peter [Crouch]. Matic is comfortable anywhere. He’s good at defensive actions against this kind of team, but he’s very comfortable with the ball. His left foot is soft. The ball comes always sweetly, and the decision is always an easy, simple decision. The team flies when somebody makes it so simple. It was good.”
He was less impressed with Stoke’s meaty tacking of Hazard, though it was never malicious.
“I don’t want to cry. It’s not my nature, or Chelsea’s nature,” Mourinho claimed. “Hazard is small but is a very strong boy and resists a lot. He doesn’t like to dive or be on the floor. Opponents are coming very strong on him.
“Today, Mr [Chris] Foy, the referee, was just a little bit late to give the yellow card to [Geoff] Cameron, but he gave the card [for a foul on Hazard]. After that, the situation was different. You could feel at the beginning of the game it was go 'on’ him [Mourinho hit his palm with a fist].”
Now fully in his stride as the king of Stamford Bridge, Mourinho portrayed the Mata sale as a collegiate decision, free from the kind of owner-manager rancour that ended his first spell in west London.
He said: “I didn’t sell. We did. The club did. I was trying to explain the other day: at this club you don’t have individual decisions. The only person who can do an individual decision is the boss, Mr Abramovich, but he doesn’t. He respects the people who work, and we share opinions.
“I’m a football man, purely. We have people in the scouting and economical areas. Nobody in this club sold Mata for football reasons. For those reasons, we’d keep him. We sold because, economically, it was very good.
“The player was not happy with this situation, and that we have to respect.
“I’m sorry I didn’t make him happy. I build a team around Oscar in that position and, on the sides, the other people are doing very well. Juan is not comfortable on the sides. He did quite well and tried very hard on the right-side, but it’s not his natural habitat.”
A quiet family birthday dinner capped off the day. Mata out, Matic and Salah in. Seven wins in a row in all competitions. But two trips to Manchester City loom, within a fortnight in February, in League and Cup. Do believe the hype.

==================

Mail:
Chelsea 1 Stoke City 0: Oscar shows Brazilian class with stunning free-kick to send Blues into FA Cup fifth round

By Neil Ashton

In the end the banner count stood at one. It was a simple message — ‘thank you Juan Mata’ — held forlornly by a heartbroken young Chelsea fan before kick-off.
That was it, just about the only recognition this Champions League winner got at Stamford Bridge  following his £37.1million move to Manchester United.
This game moves so fast: the king is dead, long live the king.
In Mata’s place, for much of the season as it happens, Oscar stood out from a crowd of mediocrity by scoring a beautiful goal with a first-half free-kick from five yards outside the area.
As a result Chelsea are on their way to Manchester City in the FA Cup fifth round next month. It is a beast of a tie.
They travel to the Etihad because the boy from Brazil is putting them away for fun, and from any angle. Oscar has scored nine for Chelsea this season and he is revelling in his role behind the main striker. It is intoxicating.
Oscar’s willingness to run, to check back and, in one instance, loop the ball over the 6ft 7in frame of Peter Crouch to help out his defence, is the reason Mata is no longer here. The Brazilian is so easy on the eye too with effortless dribbles and an ability to arrive unnoticed in the most unexpected areas of the field.
With Oscar in such spell-binding form it made sense to sell his  deputy when the Glazers dug into the vaults of cash last week.
Chelsea’s player of the year for the past two seasons has been flogged to United, says Jose Mourinho, for ‘economic’ reasons.
What he meant to say, in old money, is that United have paid way over the odds for him.
‘He’s a world champion, a European champion and it was difficult for him,’ admitted Mourinho.
‘We couldn’t stop him going to Manchester United, even though it’s a direct rival. The player was not happy and we have to respect that.I’m sorry I didn’t make him happy.’
Ah, the heart bleeds.
This is the new Chelsea, then, counting the pennies and adding value by stringing together these routine victories.
That said Stoke played a major part in Chelsea’s victory. They were dreadful. They have not scored in six games at Chelsea and there is every chance they will go another six, or maybe even 60.
Even their fans, propped up in the corner of the Shed End, looked as though they would have been far happier back home in Burslem in front of the fire with a cup of cocoa.
There was a hint of the old Stoke about them, with niggling and unnecessary ambushes on Eden Hazard. ‘Mr (Chris) Foy (the referee) was a little bit late to give the yellow card to Geoff Cameron,’ added Mourinho. ‘Hazard is not a boy to go down and dive.’
Stoke were never going to win here, not once Oscar clipped his breathtaking free-kick beyond the sprawling arms of Asmir Begovic.
It seems a pity that he was not rewarded with another when he was clean through four minutes before the break, but this time he hit the base of a post. After the break, his nifty footwork created an angle but he hit the side netting.Stoke got off lightly.
Another effort was straight at Begovic. One was enough, though. Oscar deserved his ovation when he was replaced nine minutes from time, resting up ahead of Wednesday’s clash with West Ham in the Barclays Premier League.
With David Luiz stirring memories of Johnny Metgod by winding up for a ferocious free-kick from long range, there was only one way this fourth-round tie was headed. Begovic saved well but his team were already beaten.
Stoke never got going, suffocated in midfield by the presence of Nemanja Matic. That, along with their limited ambition, meant they didn’t stand a chance. Matic was in for his full debut after returning from Benfica and he slotted neatly alongside Frank Lampard in  Chelsea’s engine room. Mourinho can explore his options.
Matic was dependable, putting a toe in to steal the ball off the feet of Wilson Palacios or the woeful Stephen Ireland when required.
Possession regained, he prodded the ball into the feet of Hazard, Andre Schurrle or Oscar to do their stuff. Job done.
They are into the fifth round and the air will be thick with anticipation when they travel to City (again) on the weekend of February 15-16.It’s a massive game and if the country doesn’t catch Cup fever with a tie as monstrous as this then we may as well call it a day.
Chelsea have won four FA Cups in the Roman Abramovich era and Mourinho was the manager for the first of them in 2007.
They are on the trophy hunt again and yet Mourinho — reminded that it was his 51st birthday — was relaxed after Chelsea’s seventh  successive victory.
‘I will have dinner with my wife, daughter and son and a couple of friends,’ he added. ‘It is better to have dinner when I am happy.’

Chelsea: Schwarzer 6, Ivanovic 6, Cahill 7, Luiz 6, Cole 6, Lampard 6, Matic 7, Hazard 7, Oscar 7 (Willian 82), Schurrle 5 (Ramires 70), Eto'o 5 (Ba 85)
Substitutes not used: Cech, Mikel, Terry, Azpilicueta
Manager: Jose Mourinho 7
Scorer: Oscar 27
Stoke City: Begovic 7, Cameron 6, Shawcross 7, Pieter 6 (Muniesa 85), Wilson 6, Palacios 5 (Assaidi 72), Nzonzi 6, Walters 5, Ireland 5, Arnautovic 6 (Adam 83), Crouch 7
Substitutes not used: Whelan, Guidetti, Sorensen, Shotton
Manager: Mark Hughes 5
Booked: Cameron, Wilson, Pieters
Referee: Chris Foy (Merseyside)
Attendance: 40,845

================

Mirror:
Chelsea 1-0 Stoke: Oscar free-kick the difference as Blues progress to FA Cup fifth round
 
By Martin Lipton

The Brazilian's delightful first-half goal settled an attritional affair at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon
Oscar put the icing on Jose Mourinho’s birthday cake with the screamer that earned the Blues an FA Cup clash of the giants.
The Brazilian’s all-round contribution was the key reason Mourinho decided he could afford to let Juan Mata leave for Manchester United.
And on an afternoon ­electrified by Eden Hazard’s glittering skills, it was Oscar’s first-half free-kick that set up the titanic fifth-round trip to Manchester City next month.
Up and over the Stoke wall from the right side of the box, arcing beyond Asmir Begovic with the late movement that sent the ball an inch or so inside the keeper’s far post.
Utterly unstoppable, too, taking the Brazilian’s tally for the season to nine, behind only Hazard in the Londoners’ goal charts this term.
No wonder the Chelsea boss, who joked that turning 51 was nothing to celebrate, set off for a birthday dinner with a smile on his face.
“The free-kick makes us happy because he trains for that,” said Mourinho. “It’s good to see a player dedicate some minutes every day after training on a specific thing to score a beautiful goal like that.
“It’s a bit of a contradiction because we played so well but won with a free-kick.
“Usually you win by scoring amazing goals in free play, and we had some fantastic play and fantastic individual actions. We played very well.”
The Portuguese was right, and it should have been more. Stoke offered precious little except rugged physical resistance, ­seemingly targeting Hazard for special treatment from the outset.
Even so, the Potters struggled to stop him, as Chelsea again ­demonstrated their growing sense of verve, Mourinho’s options increasing with confirmation of the signing of £11million ­Egyptian Mohamed Salah.
With Hazard at times ­unplayable, Nemanja Matic bringing a new physical ­dimension, perceptive passing and tactical discipline in central midfield, Chelsea were, as Mark Hughes conceded, a class apart.
The Stoke boss complained, with little justification, that Erik Pieters had not fouled Samuel Eto’o to bring the free-kick, yet only once, when Stephen Ireland flashed into the side-netting, did they really threaten Mark Schwarzer in the Blues’ goal.
Otherwise, it was one-way traffic.
Hazard’s first slalom run ended with Eto’o a whisker wide, while Ryan ­Shawcross was on constant fire-fighting duties, a series of vital interventions keeping his side in the game.
Even so, the woodwork rescued Stoke either side of the break, with Oscar thudding against the foot of the post and Andre Schurrle crashing onto the bar.
There were other chances, Frank Lampard a fraction away from the finishing touch when Hazard skipped down the right, Eto’o conspiring to prod wide from four yards after the Belgian danced down the left, Begovic saving superbly from both Lampard and David Luiz.
All the time, Matic, on his second Blues debut following his £21m return from Benfica, was giving impetus and drive.
“Matic did well, very well,” said Mourinho. “He was very ­comfortable on the pitch, stole a lot of balls and his passing was always quality.”
Chelsea are flying now, that’s for sure. Mourinho revealed: “I will have dinner with my wife, daughter and son, and a couple of friends.
“You want me to celebrate being 51 years old? Come on! But the best thing is to be with my family, and they’re happy - and now I can have a dinner where I don’t have to pretend I am happy.”

=================

Express:

Oscar puts icing on the cake with winner to lift birthday boy Jose Mourinho
LIKE many men, Jose Mourinho was none too keen on celebrating the unwelcome anniversary of his 51st birthday last night, as he went out to dinner with his family. But at least Oscar gave him the early present of a place in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
By: Tony Banks

It was the Brazilian, whose superb first-half curling free-kick provided the winning goal on a grey and rainy Sunday afternoon at Stamford Bridge.
It should have been more, which made for a nervy end to this grinding 90 minutes for the glory of the cup. And the reward? An away tie at Manchester City. That was a late birthday surprise that Mourinho probably did not want – but the Special One still insisted he was relishing that particular task.
He said: “How will I celebrate my birthday? I have dinner with my wife, daughter and son and a couple of friends. People want me to celebrate being 51 years old? Come on. How do you celebrate that?
“The best thing is to be with my family and they’re happy. One thing though was to have a dinner where I didn’t have to pretend I was happy. It’s better that I am actually happy.”
Chelsea registered their seventh win in a row and the wonder was that they did not win by more goals, against a Stoke side whose sole aim appeared to be to not lose by too big a margin.
Mourinho made five changes from the side which beat Manchester United last Sunday and gave new £21million midfielder Nemanja Matic his debut on his return to the club.
The Serb had a fine game and already it looks as though the Chelsea manager’s January transfer business might have been plenty shrewd enough, with the club yesterday confirming the signing of midfielder Mohamed Salah form Basle on a five-and-a-half-year contract.
The man from Benfica was steady and incisive in his passing and he also provided the pace that Chelsea have occasionally lacked in that area. They were almost ahead in the first minute, when Samuel Eto’o turned on a sixpence to shoot an inch wide.
There was a brief scare when Peter Crouch headed wide, but Oscar then steadied the ship with a peach of a goal. Eto’o was brought down on the edge of the area and the Brazilian curled a glorious free-kick into the top corner.
Mourinho said: “It’s a contradiction because we played so well but won with a free-kick. We had some fantastic play against a difficult team. The free-kick makes us happy because Oscar practises those.
“We hit the post twice and their goalkeeper again showed how good he is. We controlled the game from the first minute.”
The only other scare was Stephen Ireland hitting the side netting in the first half, but Oscar then hit the post with a drive and Frank Lampard fluffed a good chance. Chelsea’s pressure on the Stoke defence thoughout was relentless and, when the excellent Oscar then put Andre Shurrle through, the German struck the bar with his shot.
With Eden Hazard having yet another excellent game – despite repeated attempts by the Stoke defence to hack him down wihich resulted in bookings for Geoff Cameron and Marc Wilson – the Potters struggled to contain their attack.
One glorious run by the Belgian saw first Ramires and then Eto’o somehow miss the target from six yards. And goalkeeper Asmir Begovic’s brilliant tip over from David Luiz’s rocket free-kick was another frustration.
Stoke piled forward at the end but they had neither the wit nor the pace to really trouble Chelsea. Manchester City might be different, of course.
Potters boss Mark Hughes said: “You have to hold your hands up when a player produces a free-kick of the quality that Oscar has. We stayed in the game right until the end but we did not force the issue hard enough.”
Hughes will today hope to finalise the swap deal which will see striker Peter Odemwingie join his side from Cardiff, with Kenwyne Jones going in the other direction – with priority being the goals that will secure Premier League survival.
Ashley Cole, 32, whose deal runs out at the end of this season, started yesterday’s 1-0 FA Cup fourth round win over Stoke, but could be replaced if Chelsea’s planned bid for Southampton’s Luke Shaw is successful.
Last night Cole responded to a supporter who said it was nice to see him back in the Blues defence by tweeting: “Cheers mate, just don’t get used to it.”

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Schwarzer; Ivanovic, Luiz, Cahill, Cole; Matic, Lampard; Schurrle (Ramires 69 6), Oscar (Willian 82), Hazard; Eto’o (Ba 85). Goal: Oscar 27.
Stoke (4-2-3-1): Begovic; Cameron, Wilson, Shawcross, Pieters (Muniesa 85); Nzonzi, Palacios (Assiadi 71); Arnautovic (Adam 83), Ireland, Walters; Crouch. Booked: Cameron, Wilson, Pieters.
Referee: C Foy (Merseyside).

==================

Star:

Chelsea 1 - Stoke 0: Oscar's magnificent free-kick sends the Blues into the last 16
CHELSEA gave Jose Mourinho the birthday gift of a seventh straight win - but this was no party for the Portuguese coach.
By David Woods

On the day he turned 51, Mourinho spent most of the FA Cup tie hands thrust deep in the pockets of his black coat, looking anxious as he prowled around his technical area.
In the 64th minute fans at the Shed End tried to lift him by singing ‘Happy Birthday’. He ignored them and it was the last we heard of it.
For despite claiming he loves the FA Cup - he won it in 2007 during his first spell at the Blues - a replay was the last thing he wanted, especially as it would have meant complications switching next Monday’s crunch trip to Manchester City.
As it was, Stoke never really threatened to hit back after Oscar’s 27th-minute goal.
Mark Hughes and his men had a bit of a go, but not much and certainly this was a much watered-down performance from the one that saw them beat Chelsea 3-2 at home in the league in December.
Even as the clock wound down they seemed more concerned about being caught on the break by the home side and, in particular, the excellent Eden Hazard.
Stoke took up just 600 out of a ticket allocation of 7000, but at least those fans can now - like their manager and team - concentrate on Premier League survival.
Mourinho might have been more relaxed had his men had a dream start.
It was almost to be as in their first attack, Samuel Eto’o turned smartly and shot just wide.
Then a superb Chelsea break saw Hazard pick out the veteran striker’s run through the heart of the Stoke defence.
Eto’o rolled to Oscar who then tried to do the same for Andre Schurrle, but the ball was too slow and Ryan Shawcross intercepted.
Shawcross also did well in the 25th minute when Eto’o tried to poke through for Oscar, getting to the ball first again.
But Oscar did not have to wait long for his chance. It came in after a clumsy foul by Erik Pieters on Eto’o.
From the right flank it looked like Luiz was going to shoot, but he ran past the ball and allowed Oscar to bend a terrific right foot strike over the top of the wall - which featured Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic and Schurrle - and sizzling past Asmir Bergovic.
“it looked like Luiz was going to shoot, but he ran past the ball and allowed Oscar to bend a terrific right foot strike over the top of the wall”
Steven Nzonzi tested Mark Schwarzer with a shot from long range which bounced awkwardly, but the Aussie keeper was equal to it. It was about as bothered as he was all match.
A superb run in from the right wing by Hazard culminated in a pass across goal which Frank Lampard just could not reach and seconds later Stephen Ireland fired into the side-netting for Stoke.
Chelsea broke with speed again, though, and Oscar smashed a shot against the foot of Begovic’s left post after being played in by Hazard.
Lampard ought to have done better than blaze over with his left foot following a cutback from Branislav Ivanovic.
A fine pass from new boy Nemanja Matic in the 48th picked out Oscar who then moved the ball onto Schurrle. He fed it onto Schurrle whose strong sidefoot struck high up on Begovic’s left upright.
There was little threat of a goal at either end then until the 76th minute when Lampard at last struck a ball cleanly, but Begovic got down well to deny him.
A minute later the excellent Hazard powered in from the left to present an opportunity for substitute Ramires and then Eto’o to poke home.
Neither could oblige under pressure from Stoke players, and Eto’o eventually prodded wide.
Soon after Begovic had impressively strong hands to push over a rasping free-kick from Luiz.
Like cheap champagne for a birthday bash, this match had little fizz left by the end of it.
Mourinho got his victory and Hughes took solace in a narrow defeat which will not have dented his men’s confidence.

=======================