• Monday, 23 December 2024
Four second-half goals take Chelsea past Preston

Four second-half goals take Chelsea past Preston

Chelsea booked their place in the FA Cup fourth round as four second-half goals took them past Championship side Preston at Stamford Bridge.

Armando Broja opened the scoring with a superb glancing header from Malo Gusto's left-wing cross just before the hour mark and Thiago Silva was left unmarked to head home from a corner eight minutes later. 

A third goal in 11 minutes came when Raheem Sterling's dipping free-kick from 20 yards out beat a helpless Freddie Woodman in the Preston goal.

Enzo Fernandez added a fourth from close range late on following a check by the video assistant referee after he had initially been flagged offside.

The scoreline was harsh on Preston, who were lively in the first half and looked to attack Chelsea at every opportunity, but the hosts had the better chances.

Cole Palmer had the pick of them but dinked wide after being picked out by a pinpoint ball over the top from Fernandez, who had a excellent chance of his own but headed straight at Woodman from six yards out.

Mauricio Pochettino's side were far more clinical after the break to take the game away from Preston as the visitors tired.

Chelsea can now turn their attention to the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final at Middlesbrough on Tuesday.

Chelsea quality shines through

As comfortable as it ended up being, for nearly an hour this was a frustrating evening for Chelsea.

Preston were determined to give their vociferous travelling support something to shout about and had no intention of simply sitting in and allowing the home side to dictate proceedings.

Ryan Lowe's side struggled to create much in the way of clear-cut chances but their intent was clear and they had enough of a threat, often through Liam Millar down the left, that Chelsea had to remain alert.

Chances went begging at the other end in the first 45 minutes but the hosts' quality came through in the second period.

The first goal exemplified that as Gusto whipped in a pinpoint right-footed cross for Broja, who leapt to flick the ball in off the far post.

Preston's first-half exertions began to show and it did not take much of a drop off for the Blues to hammer home their advantage.

They quickly put the result beyond doubt and Pochettino was able to hand a debut to 17-year-old Michael Golding in the closing stages with Woodman having to react well to deny the teenager from close range in stoppage time.

 

Player of the match

Thiago Silva

with an average of8.0
 

Avg

  1. Squad number6Player nameThiago Silva
    Average rating

    8.04

     
  2. Squad number11Player nameMadueke
    Average rating

    7.56

     
  3. Squad number27Player nameGusto
    Average rating

    7.48

     
  4. Squad number42Player nameGilchrist
    Average rating

    7.41

     
  5. Squad number23Player nameGallagher
    Average rating

    7.35

     
  6. Squad number7Player nameSterling
    Average rating

    7.31

     
  7. Squad number28Player namePetrovic
    Average rating

    7.22

     
  8. Squad number10Player nameMudryk
    Average rating

    6.97

     
  9. Squad number8Player nameFernández
    Average rating

    6.93

     
  10. Squad number19Player nameBroja
    Average rating

    6.93

     
  11. Squad number68Player nameGolding
    Average rating

    6.88

     
  12. Squad number26Player nameColwill
    Average rating

    6.85

     
  13. Squad number36Player nameDeivid Washington
    Average rating

    6.78

     
  14. Squad number2Player nameDisasi
    Average rating

    6.60

     
  15. Squad number25Player nameCaicedo
    Average rating

    6.48

     
  16. Squad number20Player namePalmer
    Average rating

    5.28

 
Home TeamChelseaAway TeamPreston
Possession
Home70%
Away30%
Shots
Home24
Away4
Shots on Target
Home12
Away2
Corners
Home8
Away2
Fouls
Home7
Away9

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