Chelsea v Man City player ratings

Chelsea had little trouble seeing off a young Manchester City side to move into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. Here’s how we rated the Blues players in their 5-1 victory at Stamford Bridge.

Thibaut Courtois: 6
The Belgian made one decent near-post block early on but had no chance for City’s goal and was able to rest easy for the most part thereafter. Caught well and used the ball effectively.

Cesar Azpilicueta: 7
Confident, calm and untroubled. Covered well for City’s goal and was unfortunate to see the ball rebound into the net, but had he used his left foot, the ball would most likely have been cleared.

Gary Cahill: 7
Had a testing start against Kelechi Iheanacho and David Faupala but soon got to grips with the enthusiastic and talented City front duo and his nous and experience told in the second half with a dominant display. He also took his goal superbly and, thankfully, shrugged off a worrying first-half moment when he seemed to tweak a muscle in his leg.

Branislav Ivanovic: 7
Like Cahill, he was slow to grow into the game but he quickly sussed things out and was solid and influential in his more natural central role. Still has a worrying tendency to stick his arms behind his back when fearful of conceding penalties, thereby losing balance and giving his opponents the edge in one-on-ones.

Baba Rahman: 6
Brings vital balance to the side and a natural desire to go forward and overlap. His energy constantly created space for his team-mates, but the Ghanaian gave the ball away with alarming regularity and he needs to do far better in possession.

John Mikel Obi: 8
Another fine performance in the vital holding role, using the ball with pace and constantly looking to attack with incisive passing, rather than simply keeping possession. The increase in pace with his distribution continues to be one of the main reasons for Chelsea’s improvement as it allows the midfield trio so much time to cause havoc before the opposition are able to get set.

Cesc Fabregas: 9
Sublime stuff from the Spaniard, who bossed the match. He dropped deep to instigate proceedings, drifted forward to find gaps and set up numerous chances with his deft passing, classy flicks and sharp football brain. A majestic display – albeit against a weakened City side.

Pedro: 8
Like his fellow Spaniard Fabregas, Pedro was excellent and is beginning to show what all the fuss was about. Played with all the confidence of a man who was so impressive in his previous match, providing a threat throughout with his movement, direct running and ability to take on defenders. Desperately unlucky not to score at least once.

Willian: 8
His finish for the crucial second goal, after bursting forward from his own half, was near perfection and typified a bustling display full of his normal trickery, quality on the ball and defensive work. He is now finally getting some help from his fellow midfielders in attack after shouldering the burden for the majority of the season.

Eden Hazard: 8
Ended up with three assists and a goal but that didn’t seem likely after an unconvincing opening half-hour when he was struggling to find his sharpness. The wonderful cross for the first goal lifted him and he began to play with his usual swagger and quality.

Diego Costa: 7
Gave the sort of quietly efficient display that never seemed likely before Guus Hiddink arrived as manager, going about his work without courting controversy or getting needlessly involved in off-the-ball niggles. Scored a decent goal and made a solid contribution.

Oscar: 6
The Brazilian was clearly eager to impress after coming on and cannot be faulted for his running and desire to get on the scoresheet. But he took a very average penalty to mar his efforts.

Bertrand Traore: 7
Scored his third Chelsea goal – the third time he has grabbed the fifth in a 5-1 win – and was bright and dangerous during his 20-minute run-out. He also hit the post and won the penalty in an exciting, crowd-pleasing cameo.