Chelsea coasted through to the 4th round of the FA Cup, courtesy of a Pedro double, and goals from Willian and Michy Batshuayi.
The first-half was dominated by Chelsea, and it wasn’t really a surprise when Pedro collected the ball and fainted inside his man before curling a shot into the top corner, to put the Blues in the lead on 18 minutes. Peterborough did have some openings, with Begovic, forced into a few good saves. Pedro then hit the bar from Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s pull back. Belgian striker Michy Batshuayi, who had been trying all half to grab a goal, all but finished off the contest two minutes before the break, as he fired low into the corner from a Ruben Loftus-Cheek knock down.
In front of a packed out away end, Peterborough tried to pull a goal back, but the impressive Loftus-Cheek was the next player to go close, as he placed his shot just wide – when he probably should’ve scored. Before Willian curled home from 18 yards to make it 3-0 to Chelsea.
The returning John Terry was then rightly sent off for bringing down Lee Angol when he was breaking through on goal. Tom Nichols tapped home just three minutes after Terry’s sending off, to send the away fans into raptures.
Five minutes after Nichols had brought it back to 3-1, Pedro scored once again, shooting under Posh keeper Luke McGee.
Asmir Begovic - 6
Made some smart saves from Peterborough forwards Nichols and Angol.
Branislav Ivanovic - 5
Much like Terry his age and lack of pace has come back to haunt him, as he was not able to get forward and back with the same fluidity and ease of Victor Moses. His crossing was also poor.
Kurt Zouma - 6
Looked a bit rusty, but became more confident as the game wore on.
John Terry - 5
A disappointing match from Terry, showing Conte that his lack of pace does not suit the high energy play style needed to successfully deploy the 3-4-3 formation.
Gary Cahill - 5
Kept playing Begovic into trouble with his indecisiveness on the ball, and his passing overall was disappointing.
Pedro - 8
Despite operating as a makeshift left-wing back, Pedro managed to score twice and assist once, as he controlled the game.
Cesc Fabregas - 6
His passing was direct and accurate, a creative force but not quite as adept in the tackle.
Nathaniel Cahlobah - 7
Chalobah continues to impress me. The game was open and expansive, which allowed the Englishmen to display both his defensive and attacking traits.
Willian - 7
Scored a wonderful goal, and held on to the ball well in tight areas.
Michy Batshuayi - 7
His persistence paid off when he scored his goal. The Belgian also assisted Pedro’s second goal. While still a raw talent, the young forward clearly has an eye for goal.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek - 8
Power, pace and precision. It was an energetic performance from Loftus-Cheek, assisting Pedro’s first goal, and coming close to scoring on several occasions.
Showed his quality to Conte, and will be hoping that he can get some more minutes as a result.
Subs
Cesar Azpilicueta – 6, despite conceding shortly after coming on, Azpilicueta solidified Chelsea’s defence overall after Terry’s red card.
Ola Aina – 6, won some important tackless and got into good areas going forward. Will have been frustrated not to have started.
N’Golo Kante – 6, helped Chelsea retain possession, as they slowed the game down late on