Chelsea 7-0 Port Vale: Blues reach FA Cup semi-finals with a dominant win

Chelsea booked their spot in the FA Cup semi-finals with a 7-0 thrashing of Port Vale at Stamford Bridge.

Match Report

The Blues needed just 64 seconds to take the lead as Jorrel Hato fired in through a crowd of players, after Joe Gauci failed to get any distance on his punch from Pedro Neto's corner.

Port Vale worked their way into the game and started to get a foothold before Chelsea scored a second in the 25th minute, with Joao Pedro showing great composure to take a touch and finish from close range after good work in the build-up from Neto.

And it was 3-0 before the break. Malo Gusto and Joao Pedro combined before the former saw his shot saved by Gauci, though Cole Palmer's rebound was inadvertently turned into his own net by Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel.

Chelsea continued their dominance after the restart and went 5-0 up before the 70th minute, with Tosin Adarabioyo and Andrey Santos heading into the Port Vale goal as the visitors struggled to defend crosses throughout.

Estevao, who hit the post twice earlier in the second half, got his goal in the 82nd minute, firing into an unguarded net on the rebound after Alejandro Garnacho's effort came back off the post, while the Argentine then won and scored a penalty in the 92nd minute.

Data Debrief: Estevao shines in FA Cup rout

After all the noise around Chelsea this week, Liam Rosenior will be delighted with his players' focus against Port Vale. The Blues produced 4.92 expected goals (xG) from 20 shots, compared to their counterparts' 0.12 from just four attempts.

Chelsea became the first team to score 7+ goals in an FA Cup quarter-final game since Liverpool beat Birmingham City 7-0 in 2005-06.

Despite the Blues scoring seven goals, Estevao was the only Chelsea player to directly contribute to more than one (one goal, one assist). The winger registered the joint-most shots (four), the most touches in the box (10) and created the most chances (four) of any player, as well as winning five of his nine duels.

Match Events

0' The match is about to start!

2' GOAL! Hato fires the rebound low into the net! Chelsea 1-0 Port Vale

11' Walters smashes the ball from long range, but his effort sails well wide

25' GOAL! Neto feeds Joao Pedro who fires the ball in the net! Chelsea 2-0 Port Vale

33' Sherif gets the first yellow of the game after a late challenge on Fofana

40' Lavia collects a pass and strikes the ball from far out, but his shot is blocked

43' GOAL! Palmer slams the rebound into the open net! Chelsea 3-0 Port Vale

50' Estêvão gets a beautiful pass inside the box but prods the ball onto the post

51' Palmer meets a delivery on the edge of the box, but his effort is saved

57' GOAL! Adarabioyo heads the ball low into the net! Chelsea 4-0 Port Vale

57' Neto latches on to a precise pass and fires a strike, but Joe Gauci makes a save

64' Garnacho fires a shot high over the bar after latching onto a short pass

66' What a chance that is! Estêvão's effort inside the box hits the post again!

69' GOAL! Andrey Santos plants his header into the net! Chelsea 5-0 Port Vale

82' GOAL! Chelsea 6-0 Port Vale (Estêvão)

Line-ups

Chelsea XI: Adarabioyo, Robert Sánchez, Pedro Neto, Cole Palmer, Wesley Fofana, João Pedro, Gusto, Lavia, Jorrel Hato, Andrey Santos, Estêvão

Subs: Cucurella, Caicedo, Garnacho, Liam Delap, Dário Essugo, Teddy Sharman-Lowe, Mamadou Sarr, Josh Acheampong, Ryan Kavuma-McQueen

Port Vale XI: Funso Ojo, Connor Hall, Cameron Humphreys, Jordan Gabriel, Liam Gordon, Ben Waine, Kyle John, Joe Gauci, Ben Garrity, Martin Sherif, Rhys Walters

Subs: Ben Amos, Andre Gray, Jayden Stockley, Ryan Croasdale, Tyler Magloire, Jordan Shipley, Elijah Campbell, George Hall, Ethon Archer