10th January, 2016
Chelsea moved into the fourth round of the FA Cup with a professional victory over League One side Scunthorpe United.
The hosts took an early lead when Branislav Ivanovic’s right-wing cross was diverted in by Diego Costa, under pressure from two Scunthorpe defenders.
Excellent goalkeeping from Scunthorpe’s Luke Daniels saw him tip over powerful efforts from Cesc Fabregas and Pedro.
But Chelsea ended the Iron’s resistance when Ruben Loftus-Cheek steered in Cesar Azpilicueta’s low cross for 2-0.
-FA Cup the priority?-
With Chelsea 14th in the Premier League, 19 points behind leaders Arsenal, and facing a tricky tie against Paris St-Germain in the last 16 of the Champions League, the FA Cup could represent the Blues’ best chance of winning a trophy this season.
Interim boss Guus Hiddink, who lifted the FA Cup in 2009 in his last spell at the club, showed how seriously he was taking the competition with a near full-strength team against a side 45 places lower in English football’s pyramid.
Chelsea lost to League One Bradford 4-2 in the fourth round of last year’s competition, and, despite moving ahead on 13 minutes, had to work hard to get past a well-organised, hard-working Scunthorpe side.
-Scunthorpe battle hard-
The 2014-15 Premier League champions threatened to overrun their opponents as Fabregas and Pedro were denied by Daniels, with Oscar firing another chance just wide.
But Hiddink’s side men not have it all their own way as Scunthorpe ended the first half strongly, with the dangerous Luke Williams only denied by a last-ditch covering challenge from Kurt Zouma after an error from fellow centre-half Gary Cahill.
The visitors thought they had won a penalty when Kevin van Veen was clipped by Ramires but referee Craig Pawson dismissed their appeals.
However, the home side’s superior quality showed as Azpilicueta got to the byeline to pull the ball back for 19-year-old midfielder Loftus-Cheek to score his first Chelsea goal and end the match as a contest.
But there was still time for Jordan Clarke to hit a 25-yard effort that was pushed on to the post by Blues goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.