Chelsea are hoping that Saturday’s 7-0 thrashing of lowly Port Vale in an FA Cup quarterfinal draws a line under a dismal run of form and internal upheaval that has threatened to ruin the season of the big-spending Londoners.
The build-up to the tie had been dominated by Chelsea coach Liam Rosenior’s announcement on Friday that club vice captain and record signing Enzo Fernandez would be suspended for two games after suggesting he might leave.
Chelsea have been enveloped in a sense of crisis since their 8-2 aggregate drubbing in the Champions League by European champions Paris St Germain and domestic league defeats to Newcastle United and Everton over a fraught 10 days in March.
So Saturday’s goal bonanza – albeit against a struggling Port Vale side who look certain to be relegated to the fourth tier of English football soon – at least managed to restore some smiles to the faces of Chelsea’s players and fans.
“When you go through a difficult moment that we did in that 10-day period, you come out of it and once you analyse it, you come back stronger and you know where you want to fix it,” Rosenior told reporters.
He said the recent international break and Saturday’s big win could lift the mood after he was plunged into a hectic schedule when he took over in January following Enzo Maresca’s unexpected departure from Stamford Bridge.
“I’ve got a group of players who still believe, as I do, that we can have an outstanding season in terms of winning an FA Cup, in terms of qualifying for the Champions League,” Rosenior said.
Asked about Fernandez’s reaction to his suspension, Rosenior said it was “brilliant” to see the Argentine in attendance at Saturday’s game.
A sterner test than Port Vale will come next Sunday in the Premier League when Chelsea – sitting sixth in the table – host second-placed Manchester City who will be seeking to keep alive their chase of table-toppers Arsenal, a game for which Fernandez will still be absent.
Chelsea had failed to score a goal in over 300 minutes of play in all competitions before Saturday but it took them only 64 seconds against Port Vale when Dutch defender Jorrel Hato fired them ahead after the visitors failed to clear a corner.
Brazil striker Joao Pedro wrong-footed his marker with a clever dummy before making it 2-0 in the 25th minute and the Blues were 3-0 up before the break when Port Vale’s Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel deflected a Cole Palmer shot into his own net.
The eight-time FA Cup winners extended their lead with headed goals by Tosin Adarabioyo and Andrey Santos before Brazil winger Estevao reacted quickest to an Alejandro Garnacho shot that hit the post in the 82nd minute.
A late Garnacho penalty finished off the rout.
Port Vale, who are bottom of England’s third tier but had beaten Premier League Sunderland in the previous round, were roared on throughout by 6 000 of their fans, who took over the entire Shed End of Stamford Bridge, despite failing to have a shot on target for the entire game.
