Chelsea 7-0 Port Vale: Strong Blues side cruise to FA Cup semi-final | OneFootball

Seven different scorers helped Chelsea dismantle Port Vale 7-0 at Stamford Bridge to reach the FA Cup semi-final, ending the League One strugglers’ best run in the competition since 1954.

Jarrell Hato took just two minutes to open proceedings from a corner, before a strike from Joao Pedro and own goal from Jordan Gabriel put the eight-time winners in cruise control prior to half time.

Goals from Tosin, Andrey Santos, Estêvão, and Alejandro Garnacho completed the rout after the break to respond emphatically to their poor run of form leading up to the international break.

As it happened

Any nerves of another huge upset this tournament were quashed inside two minutes when Hato was on hand to smash the ball home after Vale goalkeeper Joe Gauci didn’t get enough on the punch clear the game’s first corner.

The visitors had their first sight of goal not long after when New Zealand international Ben Waine went close to getting something on a low drive by Rhys Walters that was heading wide of goal, after good hold up play by teenager Martin Sherif.

Vale would soon realize the gravity of that miss when Liam Gordon got himself in a twist, allowing Pedro Neto to race in behind on the right and square the ball to Pedro who calmly turned and slotted the ball into the bottom left corner.

A smart one-two between Pedro and Malo Gusto allowed the right-back to test Gauci yet again inside the box, and he could only parry the effort right to Palmer and the England international’s tap in deflected off of the unfortunate Jordan Gabriel.

Estêvão was unlucky not to score as quick build up play carved through Port Vale five minutes into the second half, with his side footed effort striking the post and rolling wide.

But the Blues got their fourth through a powerful header by centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo to meet Gusto’s clipped cross from the right, the short corner routine catching League One’s bottom side off guard.

Estêvão would then hit the post for a second time after using his pace to get around the last defender, but bagged an assist from a corner with just over 20 minutes remaining when Brazilian midfielder Andrey Santos headed home to make it five.

A lengthy VAR check eventually rewarded the lively Estêvão with his goal, as he latched onto the rebound of substitute Garnacho’s shot after the Argentine struck the woodwork.

Garnacho added a seventh in second-half stoppage time from the penalty spot after he was fouled carelessly by Tyler Magloire, as Rosenior’s side met expectations in a dominant victory and Port Vale never looked like troubling Robert Sánchez.

Chelsea analysis: why did Rosenior use such a strong team?

Liam Rosenior’s line up was a strong one, considering they were competing for an FA Cup semi-final place. But they were three goals up at half time and not once looked in real jeopardy, despite the competition’s reputation for surprise results. So, did it need to be quite so strong to beat League One’s bottom club, Port Vale? A team whose entire squad value amounts to just north of £9m, while Chelsea’s starting 11 alone were valued at £533m or roughly 59 times that figure.

There were cases for players trying to find fitness after spells on the sidelines such as Estevao and Romeo Lavia, but fellow young talents Josh Acheampong, Mamardou Sarr, and Ryan Kamuva-McQueen, who all would’ve benefitted from valuable minutes on the pitch given that more senior members will be called upon for the semi-final at Wembley and their remaining Premier League matches.

Liam Rosenior assured that winning this quarter final and the tournament as a whole was “about the club being successful now and in the long-term”, rather than his own managerial career, but Chelsea have been on a shaky run and a shock exit here wouldn’t help his cause at an early yet important stage in his stint in charge.

However, it perhaps reflected Chelsea’s need for financial gain than anything else, in order to account for having announced the biggest pre-tax losses of any club in Premier League history on Wednesday, a £262.4m deficit, despite also recording a record revenue of £490.9m. Winning the Club World Cup last summer was a big contributor to their income, with the FA Cup winners set to earn £4.5m in total.

But Rosenior would have taken any opportunity to get team cohesion up after struggling as of late, losing four matches in a row including their disasterous two-legged defeat to Paris Saint Germain in the Champions League, leaving the world’s most famous cup competition their only chance of silverware in what’s been a fast-moving season with much change throughout.

What next for Chelsea and Port Vale?

Next up for Chelsea is a challenging home tie against fellow FA Cup semi-finalists Manchester City, who stormed to a 4-0 win over Liverpool earlier today. The contest will likely prove crucial for the Blues’ bid to remain in the Champions League.

As for Port Vale, they host Rotherham United next Tuesday and face the uphill task of bridging the 15-point gap to Wigan Athletic in 20th place if they are to remain a League One side, with two games in hand due to their memorable cup run.