Chelsea eased into the fifth round of the FA Cup by beating Brentford 4-0. Here’s how we rated players in the derby at Stamford Bridge.
Made a couple of routine second-half saves, but was a virtual spectator for large chunks of the tie and had few real chances to shine.
A wild, sliced effort late on drew rapturous acclaim from home fans who love his terrifying physical presence and commitment. A formidable barrier with his towering headers.
No FA Cup red card for the skipper this time. Probably the easiest afternoon as he has had in a long time, with no Scott Hogan to deal with for the first hour.
A very comfortable afternoon for the defender. Had Romaine Sawyers in his pocket and remained unruffled and dependable throughout. Made way for Kenedy 20 minutes from the end.
The Bees could not get near him. Seemed always to operate in a huge bubble of private space and was able to show off his great range of passes.
A good afternoon’s work. Went about his business efficiently, but did pick up a late yellow card for a foul on Ryan Woods.
Won the first half free-kick which resulted in Willian’s opener. His trickery out on the right flank set the tone for the home side’s decisive early attacks and he provided the assist for the third goal.
Stunning free-kick set the ball rolling for the Blues. Almost added a second with a shot just over and brilliant mazy run almost set up a goal for Loftus-Cheek. A class act as usual.
Very assured on the left flank. Looked polished and confident on his return.
Two full-blooded drives tested keeper Dan Bentley in the first half. His strength on the ball and willingness to burst forward in possession always threatened damage. Clipped the bar after a great Willian run.
Scoring a late penalty and an assist for Pedro’s goal could not quite mask the flaws. Once again he was mostly unconvincing as Diego Costa’s understudy. Seemed too anxious to impress and often looked hurried.
Scored soon after coming on for William just past the hour – rattling in after Pedro had fed him in a breakaway. Fitting moment if it turns out to be his final appearance for the Blues.
Got a hand to the Ivanovic drive that beat him for the third goal but had little chance with the first-half goals which effectively killed the tie.
Chelsea’s varied lines of attack and pace nullified his aerial strengths. Never shirked and at least gave as good as he got against Batshuayi.
Put in one great block to deny Loftus-Cheek and produced a wholehearted shift alongside his skipper.
A predictably tough afternoon for the defender, who at times had Pedro, Willian and Loftus-Cheek bearing down on him.
Gave a good account of himself. Always looking to get involved and spark attacks, even in a cause which looked forlorn from very early on.
Excellent effort from the midfielder. He will not have a much harder afternoon this season but his head never dropped and he never stopped hunting down the ball.
Eager to make an impression against his old club but found it hard against Chelsea’s vaunted stars and was taken off for the final quarter of an hour.
Went close to scoring after wriggling past two defenders inside the area following great work from Woods. But he was unable to prevent the Bees from being frequently overrun in midfield.
Did his best to get forward whenever possible. Fired one fierce drive at Begovic in the first half but mostly had his hands full tracking back to deal with Pedro, and gave away a late penalty.
Struggled to get into the game and made way for Hogan in the second half. An afternoon to largely forget.
Maybe unlucky to give away the free-kick for the opening goal after Pedro rolled him on the edge of the box. Had one chance early in the second half but dithered and was smothered by Begovic.
Replaced Vibe after 64 minutes. A few attempted dribbles and his arrival lifted the away fans at the Shed End. Clipped one free-kick onto the roof of the net.
First outing for some while and made little impression after surprisingly coming off the bench just past the hour – hardly surprising given the uncertainty surrounding his future.
This post was last modified on 29/01/2017