Chelsea v Stoke player ratings

Oscar’s brilliant 30-yard free-kick took Chelsea into the FA Cup fifth round, where they will face Manchester City. Here’s how we rated the players in their 1-0 win against Stoke.

Mark Schwarzer: 6
Would have been beaten had Stephen Ireland got a shot just inside the near post, but otherwise had nothing to do.

Branislav Ivanovic: 6
Typically solid when challenging, but still prone to some odd positional decisions – nothing serious but could easily get exposed against better sides. Effective and fully committed but still does not look a natural full-back.

David Luiz: 7
Didn’t put a foot wrong and almost scored with a ferocious late free-kick. Curbed his cavalier instincts and along with Gary Cahill laid the platform for victory.

Gary Cahill: 7
Another seemingly effortless and effective defensive performance. Goes about his business with the minimum of fuss, but like Luiz he didn’t have oodles to do.

Ashley Cole: 7
Faultless defensively and supported well in attack. He knows when to go and when to stay and was never troubled defensively.

Nemanja Matic: 8
Dominant. A huge physical presence but showed good mobility and deft touch. Played like a new and improved version of John Mikel Obi. Brings the same authority, but has greater ability on the ball, looks to play at a greater tempo and is more forward thinking. To put it another way, Matic is Mikel with bells and whistles. Hugely impressive.

Frank Lampard: 7
Could have ended up with a couple of goals on a steady return after injury. Had one excellent effort saved, blazed over from the edge of the box and nearly got on the end of an Eden Hazard cross.

Andre Schurrle: 7
Industrious, willing and did an effective job for the team but didn’t really influence the game in the same way as Oscar, Matic and Hazard. Unlucky though when his second-half effort hit the woodwork.

Oscar: 8
A truly magnificent free-kick settled the game. He also hit the post with a decent low strike and curled a fine shot just wide. Always involved and continues to demonstrate why it’s hard to argue he does not deserve to be Chelsea’s first-choice number 10.

Eden Hazard: 9
Another inspired performance from the breathtakingly brilliant Belgian. Set up numerous chances, was strong in possession, hardly gave the ball away and scared the life out of Stoke throughout. Has been consistently superb this season.

Samuel Eto’o: 6
Worked tirelessly but never reached the heights of his match-winning efforts against Manchester United. A few too many fluffed passes in the final third, but contributed enough in an impressive team display. Almost scored early on. Should have scored in the second half but contrived to poke wide from close range.

Ramires: 6
Brought on for the final 20 minutes to freshen things up and did exactly that.

Stoke
Displayed all the edge and bite you would expect from a team managed by Mark Hughes, but had hardly any goal threat in open play. Ireland was their most likely source of a goal but otherwise the midfield was predictable and static. Played like a team lacking in confidence and scared of getting thrashed. Always posed a threat from set-pieces but otherwise it was all pretty comfortable for Chelsea.

Man of the match: Hazard

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