Man City 5-1

Independent:

Pellegrini's kids taught FA Cup lesson by Costa, Hazard and Fabregas

Chelsea 5 Manchester City 1: No shame in a heavy defeat for Pellegrini’s bright young things

Mark Ogden Stamford Bridge

It was men against boys in the end, just as the teamsheet suggested it would be, but while Chelsea booked their place in the FA Cup sixth round, Manchester City’s teenage rookies at least made the fallen Premier League champions earn it.

Cesc Fabregas reminded us of his ability to produce champagne football and Eden Hazard showed flashes of his former self, but City’s kids did enough to justify their manager’s decision to select them, despite suffering the club’s heaviest defeat since Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan’s takeover in September 2008.

There are two sides to the debate over whether Manuel Pellegrini disrespected the competition by handing five of the club’s brightest young talents a first competitive start at Stamford Bridge. Others have conserved their resources in similar fashion this season, with Jürgen Klopp fielding even less experienced Liverpool teams prior to their fourth-round elimination, but David Faupala, Manu Garcia and the Manchester-born Tosin Adarabioyo all distinguished themselves for City as Chelsea ultimately secured a comfortable victory.

City and their youngsters at least emerged with pride intact, unlike those Chelsea supporters in the Matthew Harding Stand whose sour reaction to Faupala’s first-half equaliser resulted in the 19-year-old and his team-mates being showered with coins as they celebrated.

Chelsea were quick to condemn those responsible, insisting that any culprits identified would be banned from Stamford Bridge, but when a teenager scoring on his debut cannot celebrate the moment safely, the game has bigger problems than a manager choosing to rest his senior players.

While Pellegrini and his squad prepare to fly to Ukraine on Monday afternoon for Wednesday’s Champions League round-of-16 first leg against Dynamo Kiev – the reason for the Chilean’s decision to field a weakened team – Chelsea can now contemplate a sixth-round trip to Everton and the genuine prospect of silverware in the FA Cup at the end of a season of turmoil for the club.

Guus Hiddink’s team were forced to work for their victory, however, as City’s youngsters played with enough freedom and energy in the first half to go in level at the interval.

With City’s Premier League title hopes dented by back-to-back defeats at home to Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur, the FA Cup appeared a better route to success, but Pellegrini nonetheless chose to hand full debuts to Adarabioyo, Faupala, Bersant Celina, Manu Garcia and Aleix Garcia.

Hiddink, having seen his players suffer a 2-1 Champions League first-leg defeat away to Paris Saint-Germain last Tuesday, went with a full-strength team, but it was City who started the more brightly, with French forward Faupala forcing Thibaut Courtois into a third-minute save. Pedro then rattled the post before Diego Costa ran into a defensive roadblock after being set free by Fabregas.

Pellegrini strode to the touchline on the half-hour, urging his players “forward, forward”. They responded, with Faupala and Kelechi Iheanacho linking well before the Nigerian youngster shot over from 30 yards.

Chelsea finally hit their stride when Fabregas instigated the move for Diego Costa’s opener on 35 minutes. Fabregas’s lobbed ball into the penalty area found Hazard, who hooked a cross back towards Costa. Having escaped the attentions of Martin Demichelis, Costa scored with a low, diving header past goalkeeper Willy Caballero.

It should have been the moment for Chelsea to pull away, but City displayed their resolve by equalising within two minutes. Good work between Manu Garcia, Iheanacho and Faupala resulted in Faupala scoring from six yards after Cesar Azpilicueta’s clearance fell into his path.

Faupala raced away to celebrate, only to be pelted with coins by Chelsea supporters. Fortunately, the City players were not hit by the flying missiles. They had landed a blow, but they had a further 45 minutes to hold out and against such experienced opponents, would their physical and mental energies be able to withstand such an examination?

Inevitably, they could not and Chelsea’s class told as Hiddink’s players raced through the gears, picking holes in the City line-up with Fabregas, Hazard and Willian all punishing Pellegrini’s team with their attacking qualities.

Willian restored Chelsea’s lead on 48 minutes with a stunning breakaway goal. Having sprinted from his own half, the Brazilian laid the ball off to Hazard before receiving a return pass inside the area. With the goal opening up, Willian guided the ball past Caballero and into the far corner.

City were now forced to mount a rearguard action as Chelsea continued to pour forward and Gary Cahill extended the home side’s lead on 53 minutes when he struck from 12 yards after Fernando had attempted to clear Hazard’s cross.

Fabregas then shot wide from the edge of the penalty area and, as City began to buckle, Demichelis conceded a free-kick with a clumsy challenge on Hazard.

Twenty yards out, Hazard placed the ball and picked his spot to score his first goal at Stamford Bridge since last season, thanks in no small part to Caballero’s inexplicable decision to dive behind his wall, rather than in the direction of the Belgian’s free-kick.

At 4-1, Chelsea were cruising and City faced with damage limitation – a challenge intensified when referee Andre Marriner awarded the home side a 75th-minute penalty following another Demichelis challenge, this time on Bertrand Traoré.

Oscar, rather than Hazard, stepped up for the penalty, which was saved by Caballero, who thereby redeemed himself for his free-kick brain freeze moments earlier.

Yet just as City appeared set to avoid further damage, Chelsea landed a final blow on 89 minutes when Traoré’s header from Oscar’s cross bounced in off the far post.

Once again, Caballero could have done better, and Pellegrini will hope he does not have to rely on Joe Hart’s understudy too often again this season.

As for the kids, they all showed signs of promise, but ultimately they were just too young and raw to live with Chelsea.


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Guardian:

Chelsea and Eden Hazard overwhelm Pellegrini’s weakened Manchester City

Chelsea 5 - 1 Man City

Daniel Taylor at Stamford Bridge

Whatever the rights and wrongs of Manchester City’s team selection – and Manuel Pellegrini will argue with anyone who accuses him of going too far with his protests – it was hard not to leave Stamford Bridge thinking that when the story comes to be written about this season’s FA Cup this mismatch will form an unsatisfactory part of the narrative.

This tie ought to have been a cracker. Instead there was an air of inevitability as soon as the teams were announced and it became clear Pellegrini was not making idle threats about fielding a scratch XI and, in effect, waving Chelsea into the quarter-finals.

It would be wrong to say his lineup represented a white flag of surrender but it was a close-run thing at times. Chelsea duly equalled their biggest win of the season and City suffered their heaviest defeat of the Abu Dhabi era. It would have been even heavier if Oscar had scored from the penalty spot and Chelsea will know their luck was in because of the combination of television scheduling, City’s involvement in the Champions League on Wednesday and the overwhelming sense that Pellegrini was absolutely determined to make his point.

In total there were six teenagers in Pellegrini’s team, including five who were making their full debuts, and two more youth-team graduates coming off the bench. Pellegrini had made nine changes and the shirt numbers at the end totted up to 521, including a 75, a 76 and a 77. David Faupala, Tosin Adarabioyo, Bersant Celina, Aleix García, Manu García, Brandon Barker and Cameron Humphreys were included – City’s PR department even sent round a memo before kick-off to give some background on the newbies. The away end was sparsely populated and, for anyone who cares about this competition, it was a shame to see the FA Cup reduced to this level.

Whose fault was that? Pellegrini, prioritising City’s midweek game against Dynamo Kyiv, blames a combination of the Football Association, the BBC and the Metropolitan police for not staging the tie a day or two earlier. The BBC argues there was no Friday slot and the police have made it clear the game could not have taken place on Saturday because Fulham were playing Charlton Athletic a couple of miles down the road. Pellegrini remains convinced City have been dealt a raw deal and, after that, Chelsea were always likely to make it into the last eight by playing their strongest team.

They took a while to get going and it was barely a minute after Diego Costa had put them ahead, with his ninth goal in his last 12 appearances, that Faupala , meaning the sides went into half-time at 1-1. Yet the difference after the interval was stark. Willian re-established Chelsea’s lead within three minutes, breaking out from his own half to add another fine goal to his collection, and it became a harsh lesson for City in which their more experienced players, Martín Demichelis in particular, did not always help the youngsters.

Gary Cahill’s volley made it 3-1 after a poor clearance from Fernando and the game had become a damage-limitation exercise for City by the time Eden Hazard whipped a free-kick past Willy Caballero midway through the second half. Caballero, an erratic mix of good and bad, saved Oscar’s penalty but another of Chelsea’s substitutes, Bertrand Traoré, completed the scoring with a looping header late on and the second half was typified by the moment at the end when Chelsea counterattacked again. Already 5-1 down, their opponents had one defender back.

For City, perhaps it might have been less of an ordeal if Faupala had made more of the game’s first opportunity, having beaten a couple of players with a promising run. Faupala, a 19-year-old striker, joined City in July after running down his contract at Lens and was a tricky opponent for Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic even if the Frenchman’s goal did have a considerable element of good fortune.

Kelechi Iheanacho, a comparative veteran of seven starts, cut in through the right-hand channel and slid a left-footed centre across the six-yard penalty area. Thibaut Courtois could manage only the faintest of touches and when César Azpilicueta, covering from right-back, tried to slice it clear Faupala was maybe closer to him than he perhaps realised, diverting the ball into an exposed net and, inexcusably, being the target of several coins as he celebrated in front of the home end.

Otherwise, there were only sporadic moments for City to reflect upon with any kind of satisfaction. Manu García, an 18-year-old Spaniard, will have enjoyed the moment he dropped his shoulder and left Cesc Fàbregas behind and Adarabioyo, a tall, rangy centre-half with a high-kneed running style, should be better for the experience of facing an in-form Costa. Yet City were terribly vulnerable in defence and generous opponents for Hazard, in particular.

The Belgian, fiercely criticised for his performance against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, provided the cross for Costa to head in the opening goal and it was his precise pass that Willian put away at the start of the second half. It was also Hazard’s cross that led to Cahill’s goal and Chelsea will be glad to see him playing with confidence again. Now he just has to show he can do it against a side that is not essentially made up of youth-team players.

Man of the match Eden Hazard (Chelsea)


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Telegraph:

Chelsea 5 Manchester City 1

Full-strength Chelsea show no mercy against City's kids

City slumped to the heaviest defeat since the Abu Dhabi ownership took over in 2008 against Chelsea

Jason Burt

It was, as Manuel Pellegrini promised, men against boys. The only problem was the Manchester City manager threw in a couple of old men as well as those boys into his vastly-depleted team and it was 35-year-old Martin Demichelis and 34-year-old Willy Caballero who let him down in this anticipated rout against a full-strength, unchanged Chelsea.

It was, nevertheless, the heaviest defeat City have suffered since the Abu Dhabi ownership took over in 2008 and set about transforming the club into one of the European super-powers; so strong that they can attract Pep Guardiola to become their next manager.

Pellegrini reinforced his reasons and had his mitigation at the ready: injuries, fixture congestion, no help from the Football Association – even if he was helping them, he said, by fielding (some) English youngsters amongst a host of Spaniards.

But what he might have to fret about is the effect this defeat might have, after losing to Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City in the Premier League, on the psyche of his players. It is now three defeats in a row and that is an unwanted statistic whatever the circumstances.
In the numbers game for Chelsea they scored five goals – to make it 10 in their last two home matches with two 5-1 score-lines (to add to the 5-1 away win in the previous round of this competition) – struck the goal-frame twice and missed one penalty as they moved into the last eight of the FA Cup.

In the numbers game for City they were in the running for four trophies, now it is three, they made nine changes, started with six teenagers, brought on two more, handed out six debuts and the shirt numbers of their starting XI added up to (surely a record?) 447 (with a 72, 75 and 76 – and then a 77 coming on as a substitute).

Yes, it was that bewildering as Chelsea were, effectively, handed a bye into the quarter-finals. That might sound harsh but there was no way they were going to lose this encounter, even when City surprisingly drew level. Guus Hiddink made sure of that. He had one academy kid – Ruben Loftus-Cheek – and he stayed on the bench even with Roman Abramovich in attendance and with the Chelsea owner so desperate for a young player to come through. But that is not Hiddink’s concern.

By the end City were over-run and had run out of steam and the thought post-match was how they will react as they fly out on Monday to Ukraine for their Champions League last-16 tie against Dynamo Kiev and then fly back for the Capital One Cup Final against Liverpool at Wembley next Sunday. What a week in store.

So there is plenty to ponder for Pellegrini – not least whether he can fulfil his promise of fielding Caballero in that final. He certainly should not on this evidence although when he comes to consider the performances of the young players – particularly Aleix Garcia, a composed Spanish midfielder, Mancunian defender Tosin Adarabioyo, both just 18, and, of course, 19-year-old striker Kelechi Iheanacho - there was encouragement.

The irony of that is that he will not be at the club to develop them. That will be for Guardiola. Pellegrini goes and we will have a clearer indication in the next 10 days – with Liverpool away in the league a week on Wednesday after the two cup matches – whether he can still hope to leave with a trophy or two.

Hiddink firmly has one in his sights. He won the FA Cup back in 2009 and clearly sees a path to winning it again opening up. Next up it is Everton away – the club he beat in that Wembley final seven years ago. Hiddink will hope that is an omen.
The portents are good. Chelsea are, emphatically, getting better. There was special encouragement in the performance of Eden Hazard, with a goal and two assists, as they edge their way back into something appearing to be some decent form.

The Belgian fashioned the opening goal – hooking the ball across the penalty area for Diego Costa to dive and head powerfully past Caballero. The goalkeeper could do little about that but Demichelis could have done with the defender having strayed away from covering Costa.


Pedro had already beaten Caballero – only for his shot to clip a post – but City then halted that one-way traffic. They broke away with Fernando finding Manu Garcia, another 18-year-old Spaniard, who played in Iheanacho. The striker poked the ball across goal, it flicked off Thibaut Courtois’s glove only for Cesar Azpilicueta’s clearance to cannon off French teenager David Faupala. As the City players celebrated coins were thrown – with Chelsea quick to condemn the miscreants.

The goal only delayed the inevitable. Willian restored the lead, steering his shot back across Caballero, after a sharp break and poor defending, before Hazard’s cross ricocheted off Fernando for Gary Cahill to drill a low shot through Caballero’s weak attempt to stop it.

Demichelis was booked for a crude challenge on Hazard who picked himself up and capitalised on Caballero’s woeful positioning, and City’s terrible defensive wall, to stroke a free-kick into the net before substitute Oscar missed a penalty. It came as Demichelis barged over another Chelsea substitute – Bertrand Traore – and was perhaps fortunate not to be sent off. Caballero pushed away Oscar’s too deliberate spot kick.
But the hapless goalkeeper was beaten again. After Traore, the 20-year-old striker from Burkino Faso, had poked a shot against a post he reached Oscar’s cross to loop a header backwards with Caballero allowing it to drop over him, strike the post and drop into the net. It summed up his day and City, most emphatically, were out of the FA Cup.


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Mail:

Chelsea 5-1 Manchester City: Blues cruise into FA Cup quarter-finals with Diego Costa, Willian, Gary Cahill and Eden Hazard on target as Manuel Pellegrini's youngsters fall short

By MARTIN SAMUEL FOR THE DAILY MAIL

By the end, it looked like pure folly, not some defiant stand, or message to the Football Association. Manuel Pellegrini left the young men of Manchester City pitilessly exposed against Champions League opposition, and the result was as expected. Chelsea ran away with the tie in the second-half, City beaten and bewildered, down and most definitely out.
It wasn't their fault. The kids, a group of Elite Development Squad teenagers, were largely alright – certainly in the opening 45 minutes when they held Chelsea to a 1-1 draw.

It was the senior professionals who were brutally exposed here, in particular stand in goalkeeper Willy Caballero. Indeed, it could be argued that Pellegrini should have played even more kids. If there is not a young goalkeeper in the under-21 group who could have made a better fist of it than Caballero, then the youth development team has not been doing its job.

He made two superb saves – one from an Oscar penalty, another from a volley by Pedro – yet still emerged from the game without credit. Martin Demichelis and Fernando the same.

A good working relationship with director of football Txiki Begeristain is meant to be one of the reasons Pep Guardiola is coming to Manchester City next season. That may be challenged when Guardiola sees what he has been left to work with at his new home.

Pellegrini has been moaning for weeks about having to field a weakened team in this fixture, with the Champions League tie against Dynamo Kiev looming and injuries stacking up. Yet, in doing so, he did his young charges a disservice.

He could have built them up, could have said that, obviously, he would prioritise the European fixture but City had a good under-21 squad and players who might even surprise Chelsea, as Bradford City did in this competition last season.

Instead, he said this was not a real game, and that he wouldn't pay for a ticket. How would that have made them feel?
Fair play for giving the youngsters a chance, but at least sell their credentials. In essence, Pellegrini said they were not worth the price of admission.
They most certainly were. City started brightest and their riposte to Chelsea's opening goal was immediate and robust – an equaliser in the space of two minutes.

So one understands Pellegrini's predicament, but not his moans. Yes, he has an important Champions League match on Wednesday and the Capital One Cup final next Sunday against Liverpool – but a club with City's riches is not going to elicit much sympathy wailing about fixture congestion, in the same way that talk of Manchester United's injury woes is usually met with a shrug.

City were in four competitions before this, but with the money they have spent they would hope to be.  Not much point in all that investment if it does not deliver the clogged calendar of a successful, elite club.

And when that happens something has to give and it is usually the FA Cup. So plenty of managers have been in Pellegrini's predicament without taking such an extreme approach to team selection. He got more than he deserved from these development players in the circumstances.
Not only did they work hard, they produced moments of very high quality too – not least the young French forward David Faupala.

Like most of the City teenagers on display, he is not a true product of the youth system. He arrived from Lens last summer, having let his contract run down – but has spent most of his time in the EDS on the wings this season, unable to claim a central role.
He made up for that here, his first involvement a quite lovely run that twisted Gary Cahill in spirals twice before unleashing a shot well saved by Thibaut Courtois. So the youngsters were not the problem.

They were let down by the inadequates Pellegrini placed around them, senior players who should not have been left to baby sit. Chelsea scored twice early in the second-half and game ran away from City after that. It looks like humiliation but from the perspective of the visitors, the scoreline could have been much, much worse.

The goals that decided the game came after a surprisingly even first-half. After City's energetic opening, Chelsea gained control, with Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard running midfield and John Obi Mikel locking the back door.
Yet while Chelsea's first was a neat move, it was assisted by some rotten marking from Demichelis and Aleksandar Kolarov.

Fabregas played in Hazard with a perfectly weighted pass and his chipped cross found Diego Costa entirely unmarked on the edge of the six yard box to head home.
The two centre-halves were either side, but not really in attendance.
It should have been over, given the imbalance in the teams, but City showed great pluck to draw level.

Manu Garcia played Kelechi Iheanacho in on the right and Cesar Azpilicueta tried to clear his low cross, succeeding only in slamming the ball against Faupala inches away, the ball ricocheting into the net, unstoppable.
Comedians were speculating that Pellegrini must have warned about the perils of the draw and further fixture congestion at half-time, too, because certainly City gave up parity very quickly after re-emerging.
There were 48 minutes gone when Cahill fed Willian after a City attack had broken down, the Brazilian going on one of his energetic runs, half the length of the field.

He found Hazard, got the ball back and finished smartly in the far corner. Could City respond? No. Within four minutes the game was done.
It was another Hazard assist, this time a cross that Fernando cleared directly to Cahill and got back in spades, Caballero slow to react, letting the ball pass under his body.

The fourth, in the 66th minute, was another defensive calamity for City. Demichelis made a foolish lunge on Hazard, upending him and conceding a free-kick in perfect range for specialist taker Willian.
He generously allowed Hazard to have a go and he planted it in the corner of the net, unprotected by the wall.
It was, of course, protected by Caballero who showed all the movement, and indeed awareness, of a house plant in that role.

It was nearly five after Demichelis clumsily felled Bertrand Traore in the penalty area with 75 minutes gone. Oscar stepped up and missed, again, his shot saved. It may be time to relieve him of penalty duty.
When even Caballero can call your moves, perhaps the time has come to let someone else have a go. Not that he anticipated much about Chelsea's fifth, in the 89th minute.
A cross from Oscar, a looping back header from Traore and Caballero seemed to lose track of where his far post was, letting the ball go in over his head with barely a jump. Dreadful stuff. Seriously, what was the point of it?

MATCH FACTS AND RATINGS

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Courtois 6.5; Azpilicueta 6, Cahill 7, Ivanovic 6, Baba 6; Fabregas 7.5, Mikel 7 (Matic 82, 6); Pedro 7.5 (Oscar 70, 5.5), Willian 7.5, Hazard 8; Diego Costa 7.5 (Traore 70, 6).
Subs not used: Begovic, Miazga, Loftus-Cheek, Remy
Scorers: Costa 35, Willian 48, Cahill 53, Hazard 67, Traore 89
Manager: Guus Hiddink 7

Manchester City (4-4-2): Caballero 5; Zabaleta 5, Adarabioyo 5, Demichelis 5, Kolarov 5; Celina 5 (Barker 53, 6), Fernando 5.5 (Humphreys 79, 5), A Garcia 5.5, Garcia 6; Iheanacho 6, Faupala 7.5
Subs not used: Hart, Clichy, Kompany, Fernandinho, Sterling
Booked: Demichelis
Scorers: Faupala 37

Manager: Manuel Pellegrini 4.5
Referee: Andre Marriner
Attendance: 41,594

*Ratings provided by Sam Cunningham at Stamford Bridge


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Mirror:

Chelsea 5-1 Manchester City: Ruthless Blues dismantle City youngsters - 5 things we learned

BY DARREN LEWIS

Goals from Costa, Willian, Cahill and Hazard saw Guus Hiddink's men progress to the FA Cup quarter-finals

Ruthless Chelsea ripped Manchester City’s kids apart to move into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

City boss Manuel Pellegrini fielded six youngsters in protest at the refusal by the BBC and the FA to move the tie back 24 hours.

The Manchester club had made the request to accommodate the club’s Champions League commitments this week against Dynamo Kiev.

Their academy stars still impressed with striker David Faupala scoring to equalise in the 37th-minute - less than two minutes after Diego Costa had headed Chelsea in front.

Guys Hiddink’s men, however, pulled away in impressive fashion during the second half.

Willian netted three minutes after the break to make it 2-1. Gary Cahill blasted in a third on 53 minutes and Eden Hazard swept in a sumptuous free-kick ten minutes later.

Substitute Bertrand Traore earned a 74th-minute penalty when he was brought down by Martin Demechelis. Fellow sub Oscar, however, saw his effort from the spot saved by Willy Caballero.

Traore then got his name on the scoresheet as his looping header deceived Caballero and went in off the post.


Here are five things we learned.

1. Chelsea remain on course to salvage season

When they stepped up a gear they simply had too much for City’s Under-21 side.

Efficient in possession, clinical in front of goal and hungry to make up for their horrendous first half of the season.


2. Iheanacho isn't City's only exciting youngster

Of the five youngsters that Pellegrini started with, (especially goalscorer David Faupala) all look a bit special.

Centre-half Tosin Adarabioyo is a man-mountain with a good touch and strength in the air.


3. City's senior players let the kids down

Cabellero had hearts in mouths with his handling.

Demechelis and Kolarov let Costa come between them for his goal.

Fernando messed up for Cahill to score the third and Demechelis brought Hazard down for the fourth.


4. Chelsea youngsters look on in envy

Knowing that City were going to field their kids, it was a bit surprising that Guus Hiddink could no room in his starting line-up for 20-year-old Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Even new signing Matt Miazga was on the bench to come on had Cahill been unable to continue. Where was Fikayo Tomori, who accidentally broke Diego Costa’s nose in training?

Or the much-vaunted Jake Clarke-Salter?


5. Hazard finally justifying £200,000-a-week wages

Put a few noses out of joint last week with his revelation that he fancies a summer move to PSG - on the eve of the game.

Made up for it here, however,

Had a hand in all three goals and scored the fourth which helped to provide the touches of class that put this game out of City’s reach.


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Express:

Chelsea 5 - Manchester City 1: Hazard returns to form as Blues cruise past youthful City

CHELSEA dispatched an unfamiliar Manchester City side to put Guus Hiddink one step closer to a second FA Cup final as Blues boss.

By JAMES GRAY


Diego Costa had given the home side a deserved lead but debutant David Faupala squared things up almost immediately.

But Chelsea broke loose in the second half with goals from Willian, Gary Cahill and Eden Hazard putting the result beyond doubt.

Oscar had a penalty saved by Willy Caballero but Bertrand Traore ensured it was five with a late looping header as City slipped quietly out of the FA Cup.

For Chelsea fans the first ten minutes were probably mostly spent asking ‘who’s that again?’ every time their opponents touched the ball as Manuel Pellegrini’s youngsters tried to make a name for themselves.

But the Blues, who were unchanged from their Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain, dominated the opening exchanges and it looked as though it might be literal case of men vs boys when the home side finally got the breakthrough.

A lovely move, the like of which had already opened up City, ended with Hazard lifting the ball across the six-yard box for Costa to thump a header in having lost his marker.

But they led for just 94 seconds as the kids hit back at once.

Kelechi Iheanacho got to the byline and poked the ball towards goal and Cesar Azpilicueta’s clearance was blocked into the goal by Faupala.

The game turned into a true cup tie as both sides started to pass and move with Cesc Fabregas and Pedro both floating across the front line and causing problems.

And while City went in level, they were behind almost immediately after the break.

The away side broke down in attack and Chelsea’s counter-attack was devastating as Willian gave it to Hazard and the Belgian timed the perfect pass into the box to allow the Brazilian to drive the ball into the bottom corner.

Five minutes later and it was 3-1 as City failed to clear a corner and the ball, again poked into the box by Hazard, fell to Cahill who hoofed the ball straight at Caballero but the keeper was unable to keep it out.

The quick-fire double took the sting out of the game a little with the result seemingly beyond doubt, and a Hazard free-kick which Caballero never even saw ensured it was a comfortable win.

A foul on substitute Bertrand Traore by Martin Demichelis gave Oscar the chance to make it five from the spot but Caballero atoned for a difficult day with a strong save to his right.


Chelsea: Courtois, Azpilicueta, Cahill, Ivanovic, Baba Rahman, Mikel, Fabregas, Pedro, Willian, Hazard, Costa.

Subs: Begovic, Miazga, Matic, Loftus-Cheek, Oscar, Traore, Remy.

Manchester City: Caballero, Zabaleta, Adarabioyo, Demichelis, Kolarov, Fernando, A. Garcia, M. Garcia, Celina, Iheanacho, Faupala.

Subs: Hart, Clichy, Humphreys, Kompany, Fernandinho, Barker, Sterling.


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Star:

Chelsea 5 Man City 1: Blues make light work of Manuel Pellegrini's young team

GUUS HIDDINK kept up his love affair with the FA Cup with a big helping hand from Manuel Pellegrini.

By David Woods

Hiddink won the trophy when he was interim boss seven years ago, beating Everton in the final, their next opponents in the competition.

With an angry Pellegrini fielding the kids, the Chelsea charge to Wembley once more was never going to be thwarted as City fell to their heaviest defeat under their current ownership.

Having this TV tie arranged for the day before he and his men were flying out for Wednesday’s last 16 Champions League clash at Dynamo Kiev left Pellegrini fuming.

“This is not a real game,” said the Chilean in the build-up. “I wouldn’t pay for a ticket.”

Quite a few City fans agreed with him, with big gaps in their section.

Pellegrini’s ‘pups’ in his starting line-up were academy teenagers, defender Tosin Adarabioyo, midfielders Bersant Celina, Aleix Garcia, Manu Garcia and David Faupala up front with Kelechi Iheanacho.

Brendon Barker and Cameron Humphreys also came off the bench.

For a while it did look like Pellegrini and City could win with the youngsters - the impressive French hopeful Faupala equalising less than two minutes after Diego Costa had given the Blues the lead.

But four second-half goals, from Willian, Gary Cahill, Eden Hazard and Bertrand Traore, showed anyone thinking of such an upset was kidding themselves.


Oscar also had a penalty saved by Willy Caballero.

As for Hiddink, despite the lack of experience in the opposition, there was plenty to delight the Dutchman.

Cesc Fabregas was a maestro again in midfield, demanding the ball all the time and looking so assured in his passing.


And Eden Hazard, with only his second goal of the season - the other was in the FA Cup win by the same scoreline at MK Dons - looks like he might, at last, be finding some of the form that led him to be voted Footballer of the Year.

As well as scoring, he set up two of Chelsea’s goals.

It augurs well for Hiddink in both the FA Cup and the Champions League, with Paris St-German – 2-1 up from the first leg - the visitors in nine days.

Chelsea went ahead in the 35th minute after good work between Fabregas and Hazard.

Fabregas’ cushioned ball left Hazard with plenty to do, but he hooked into the box with his left foot and found Costa in between Martin Demechelis and Aleksander Kolarov with time to head home.

But they weren’t ahead for long. It was a superbly worked City goal too, with Manu Garcia finding Faupala who laid off for Kelechi Iheanacho.


He picked out his strike partner’s run with a clever flick, allowing Faupala to prod home from close range.

Willy Caballero showed super reflexes to keep out Pedro’s stabbed shot from a Fabregas cross. But he was unable to defy Willian in the 48th minute.

Running into the box to take a perfectly-weighted pass from Hazard, he cut the ball across the keeper and into the far corner.

In the 53rd minute it was 3-1. Gary Cahill fired home after Pedro’s ball into the box deflected to him off Fernando.


Hazard claimed his goal in the 67th minute after he was cut down by Demechelis on the edge of the box, with the centreback booked for his foul.

Strangely, City allowed three Chelsea players in their wall and Hazard slotted calmly home from the free-kick after taking advantage of the space they made.

Demechelis knocked over substitute Betrand Traore in the box, but Oscar, who had also come off the bench, saw his penalty beaten away by Caballero.

Traore sidefooted against a post after being teed up by Hazard, following yet another fine pass from the rejuvenated Fabregas.


Traore did score in the 89th minute when his looping header from an Oscar cross caught out Caballero.

Hiddink’s record in this competition now stands at nine wins and a draw with 29 goals scored and eight conceded - Southend at Stamford Bridge, in his first ever game, the only team not to be defeated.


CHELSEA (4-2-3-1): Courtois 6; Azpilcueta 6, Cahill 6, Ivanovic 7, Rahman 7; Mikel 7 (Matic 82), FABREGAS 8; Pedro 7 (Oscar 70, 6), Willian 8, Hazard 8; Costa 6 (Traore 70, 7).

Subs: Begovic, Remy, Miazga, Loftus-Cheek.

MANCHESTER CITY (4-4-2): Caballero 6; Zabaleta 5, Adarabioyo 6, Demechelis 4, Kolarov 5; M. Garcia 6, Fernando 5 (Humphreys-Grant 78), A. Garcia 7, Celina 5 (Barker 53, 6); Iheanacho 6, FAUPALA 7.

Subs: Hart, Kompany, Sterling, Clichy, Fernandinho.