FA Cup: Chelsea beat Chesterfield 5-1; Leicester win
Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea hammered minnows Chesterfield 5-1 to progress in the FA Cup. Romelu Lukaku was on the scorecard as the Blues ran riot at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea showed a lot of muscle and depth to thrash their non-League opponents. Meanwhile, FA Cup champions Leicester City beat fellow Premier League side Watford 4-1 to reach the fourth round. Here are further details.
Chelsea score five against Chesterfield
Timo Werner handed Chelsea the lead in the fifth minute. Callum Hudson-Odoi's 20-yard strike saw Chelsea go 2-0 up. Lukaku tapped in the third goal from Lewis Hall's cross to put the Blues 3-0 up inside 20 minutes. Andreas Christensen's header made it 4-0 for Chelsea before the break. Hakim Ziyech scored Chelsea's fifth from the spot before Akwasi Asante scored one for Chesterfield.
Why does it matter?
The third round of the FA Cup lived up to expectations with plenty of interesting results. Premier League sides Newcastle United and Burnley suffered casualties. Meanwhile, last season's finalists Chelsea and Leicester have started in the perfect fashion with emphatic performances. After Manchester City's big win earlier, FA Cup contenders Chelsea and Leicester showed substance. The wins will give them confidence going forward.
Leicester beat Watford
Leicester City are without several first-team players but despite the crisis they found a way to script a crucial win. Youri Tielemans put the Foxes ahead from the spot before James Maddison's cool finish doubled the lead. Joao Pedro pulled one back for Watford to make it 2-1. Harvey Barnes and Marc Albrighton then netted for Leicester to help them win 4-1.
Notable records scripted by the Blues
Chelsea have scored five goals in an FA Cup match for the first time since February 2016 against Manchester City. In that match as well, all five goals were also scored by five different players. This was the first instance since February 2018 against Hull City which saw Chelsea lead by four-plus goals at half-time (all competitions).
Key numbers for the Chelsea players
Werner netted his first goal since the start of December 2021. He has six goals for the Blues this season and 18 overall. Lukaku has now scored in three of the last four games he has played for Chelsea. Hudson-Odoi has been involved in more FA Cup goals than any other Chelsea player (4 goals, 4 assists) since his tournament debut in January 2018.
