MX23RW : Thursday, January 31 08:07:44

Result: Chelsea stroll to victory over Sheffield Wednesday in FA Cup fifth round

Chelsea earn a place in the FA Cup fifth round with a routine 3-0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday in Sunday's clash at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea have recorded a comfortable 3-0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday in Sunday's FA Cup fourth round clash at Stamford Bridge.

Willian opened the scoring with a first-half penalty and after Callum Hudson-Odoi added a second, Willian wrapped up the win with a well-taken third in the closing stages.

The result caps off an excellent 72 hours for Chelsea after they reached the EFL Cup final in midweek, while Wednesday now begin a new era with Steve Bruce due to take over the reins in the dugout next week.

Wednesday have struggled goals over the past month, but the Owls created an opportunity within two minutes of kickoff with Adam Reach sending a weak effort towards Willy Caballero after advancing into the penalty area.

However, Chelsea soon began to dominate possession, although it took until the 18th minute for Gonzalo Higuain to make any impact with the debutant seeing a shot from 10 yards deflected well wide of the post.

Willian celebrates scoring for Chelsea against Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup on January 27, 2019.© Reuters

The referee awarded Wednesday a penalty shortly before the midway point of the first half, but VAR overturned the decision after it was deemed that Ethan Ampadu had played the ball when challenging Joey Pelupessy.

Chelsea were given a spot kick of their own soon afterwards when Sam Hutchinson - formerly of the Blues - made contact with Cesar Azpilicueta's ankle, and it left to Willian make no mistake from 12 yards out.

The remainder of the opening period was uneventful, with Wednesday's strategy of sitting on their own 18-yard line gifting Chelsea time and space on the ball.

Chelsea continued to control proceedings after the restart, although the visitors did hit the post when Reach's cross from the right struck the outside of the woodwork.

Callum Hudson-Odoi after Chelsea's FA Cup win over Sheffield Wednesday on January 27, 2019.© Reuters

The near-miss reminded Chelsea that they could not afford to get complacent and after 10 minutes of sustained pressure, Hudson-Odoi netted what could ultimately prove to be a farewell goal amid persistent interest from Bayern Munich.

Andreas Christensen picked out the winger with a floated pass and after cutting inside the defender, the 18-year-old forced the ball inside the near corner from 12 yards out.

Higuain had provided little threat in the final third before being substituted by Olivier Giroud, but the Juventus loanee did send a glancing header wide of the far post after meeting Ampadu's cross.

Giroud needed just two minutes to make an impact with the substitute being involved in a one-two with Willian, leaving the latter to send a first-time shot into the far corner from 16 yards.

The Frenchman sent an overhead kick wide of the post before Willian wasted a chance of a hat-trick by firing wide from the edge of the area, but Maurizio Sarri will be delighted that his side were able to reach the last 16 without coming close to reaching top gear.

CHELSEA (4-3-3): Caballero; Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Christensen, Alonso; Barkley (Jorginho 84'), Ampadu (Loftus-Cheek 65'), Kovacic; Willian, Higuain (Giroud 82'), Hudson-Odoi

SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY (4-5-1): Westwood; Palmer, Lees, Thorniley, Fox; Hutchinson, Bannan, Pelupessy (Forestieri 69'), Reach, Boyd (Nuhiu 75'); Fletcher (Joao 76')

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New Chelsea signing Gonzalo Higuain waves to the crowd ahead of the EFL Cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur on January 24, 2019
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Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool24194155144161
2Manchester CityMan City24182463194456
3Tottenham HotspurSpurs24180650242654
4Arsenal24145550331747
5Chelsea24145540231747
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd24136548351345
7Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2410593031-135
8Everton249693533233
9Watford249693334-133
10Bournemouth24103113742-533
11Leicester CityLeicester2495103030032
12West Ham UnitedWest Ham2494113037-731
13Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2475122736-926
14Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2466122132-1124
15Crystal Palace2465132433-923
16Southampton2458112641-1523
17Burnley2465132545-2023
18Cardiff CityCardiff2454152046-2619
19Fulham2445152553-2817
20Huddersfield TownHuddersfield2425171341-2811

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