Chelsea scored three times in 11 second-half minutes to ease into the fourth round of the Emirates FA Cup with a 4-0 win over Preston North End at Stamford Bridge.
A frustrating showing from Mauricio Pochettino’s side, in which they hogged the ball throughout the first half but carved few openings, burst to life 13 minutes after the break with Armando Broja heading in his second goal of the season from Malo Gusto’s cross.
That was followed by two in rapid succession, first from substitute Thiago Silva, who nodded in from Cole Palmer’s corner, then another when Raheem Sterling whacked a free-kick beyond the dive of goalkeeper Freddie Woodman, as Preston’s accomplished first-half defensive showing faded into memory.
Enzo Fernandez tapped in right at the end from a yard out, a final reminder of the gulf to Ryan Lowe’s side who are 14th in the Championship.
VAVEL considers the four things we learned from this Saturday afternoon fixture:
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Gilchrist impresses on full debut
Chelsea gave an opportunity to youngster Alfie Gilchrist from the start against Preston having made a couple of appearances off the bench recently and the 20-year-old local lad certainly impressed during his hour on the pitch.
It is not an easy situation to be thrust into, in a game where you’re not only expected to win but win comfortably, but he rose to the occasion with some fantastic bits of defending and looked composed on the ball.
He looks like another player from Chelsea’s academy who could go onto have a great career in the game.
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Preston first half display is something to build on
With only one victory in the last five matches in the league for Preston, being organised and resilient at the back against a top premier league side should give the manager hope that they can turn around their fortunes in their upcoming fixtures.
Of course, their hard work was undone after the 57th minute mark and Chelsea never looked back, but until that point, Preston were very much in the game something that Ryan Lowe will certainly take as a positive.
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Broja shows his quality
With Nicolas Jackson away at the Africa Cup of Nations and Christopher Nkunku still getting up to speed after a long injury lay-off, there is more pressure on Armando Broja to contribute with goals if Chelsea are to improve on a disappointing first half of the season.
It is certainly an encouraging sign to see him bury his first real chance of the game in the second half with a brilliant flicked header from Malo Gusto’s cross to put the Blues ahead. Admittedly, while his overall performance was nothing special, his clinical finishing was and set his side on the path to victory.
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Whiteman shines for away side
Ben Whiteman completed the most tackles in the match for either side (4). The English midfielder was influential for the visitors. All their good build-up play started with him, and if he can keep producing performances in that vain for the remainder of the Championship season, he may be on the move in the summer.
