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Chelsea had a stress free evening in the FA Cup as they comfortably dispatched Middlesbrough 2-0 to qualify for the semi-finals.
Goals from Romelu Lukaku and birthday boy Hakim Ziyech gave the visitors a straight forward win at the Riverside stadium.
For the hosts, it’s sadly the end of the road and the possibility of securing a hat trick of upsets proved to be too difficult of a task.
In previous rounds they shocked Manchester United and Tottenham beating United on penalties, before securing an impressive 1-0 win over Spurs.
Whilst in no way did they embarrass themselves in front of a packed out crowd, Chelsea’s class was telling, particularly with their goals.
The first, a fine counter-attack after Hakim Ziyech played a ball down the line to Mason Mount who then produced a low ball into the six yard box for Romelu Lukaku to tap in.
There was no question in the quality of the goal, but commentating on the match for talkSPORT, Trevor Sinclair thinks Boro’s high defensive line didn’t help.
“That’s exactly what can happen, it was a high line from Middlesbrough, excellent ball from Mount and it’s a tap in for Lukaku,” he said.
Even though the Belgian isn’t have the best of seasons since becoming Chelsea’s record signing, he has found comfort in the cup.
According to Squawka, that’s now 16 goals in 23 FA Cup appearances and his last two goals for Chelsea have both come in this competition.
The goal certainly was a fair reflection of the match, and as the visitors’ dominance grew, so did the score line.
Midway through the second half, Ziyech got the best birthday present anyone could ask for by smashing the ball into the bottom left corner from 20 yards out.
Again, Mount was heavily involved, but Sinclair believes a Boro player should have prevented him from having so much space in midfield.
“Look at Mason Mount’s position, everyone was working hard but there were no red players near him,” Sinclair explained.
The strike though was pure class from the Moroccan, and one that gave Joe Lumley no chance.
At 2-0 the tie was effectively finished, and it was nearly game over a few minutes later when Lukaku’s shot was cleared off the line by Anfernee Dijksteel.
For much of the second half the hosts could not get back into the tie and a shot from Folarin Balogun summed up the hosts’ game when he sent his effort into the stands.
Chelsea though – given how much turbulence they are dealing with right now – will be delighted to have won another game.
They will be in the pot for the semi-finals and will hope they can get their hands on the elusive trophy having lost the previous two finals.
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