Chelsea ease to victory over Manchester City’s second string

Chelsea 5 Manchester City 1: Guus Hiddink’s unbeaten record in the FA Cup remains intact. Yet while the odds of Manchester City halting the Chelsea manager’s run lengthened dramatically the moment Manuel Pellegrini dismissed this meeting as “not a real game”, Hiddink could hardly have anticipated this tie would provide one of his most routine victories in the competition.

Held at the break by a City side that included four teenagers making their full debuts, Chelsea progressed comfortably towards a sixth-round visit to Everton after finding their momentum in the second half to establish a comfortable margin of victory that would have been even greater had Oscar not seen his penalty saved by Willy Caballero.

Pellegrini’s decision to place this competition a distant third as he prioritised his side’s three fixtures this week — City visit Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League on Wednesday and return to face Liverpool in Sunday’s Capital One Cup final — effectively gifted Hiddink the chance to successfully negotiate the latest obstacle in the Dutchman’s bid to salvage Chelsea’s season.