FA Cup: Chelsea 5-1 Manchester City - 5 Talking Points
Chelsea reached the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 5-1 win over Manchester City at Stamford BridgeIt wasn’t exactly a classic FA Cup tie at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea ran out 5-1 winners over Manchester City on Sunday evening. Diego Costa had opened the scoring in the first half only for City to equalise through David Faupala.However, the Blues lifted their performance up a couple of gears in the second half as Willian, Gary Cahill, Eden Hazard and Bertrand Traore scored to take the Blues into the quarter-finals of the competition.Here are the major talking points of the game
#1 Pellegrini fields young and inexperienced squad
“This is not a real game. I wouldn’t pay for a ticket. That’s why we told the fans one week ago that we are going to play with a young team.”
Manuel Pellegrini lived up to his promise and fielded a team with players even casual Manchester City fans would not have known. As many as five players were handed a senior debut at Stamford Bridge while Guus Hiddink put out a strong side at home. With the FA Cup being Chelsea’s realistic shot at a trophy this season, the Dutch manager wasn’t taking any chances.
It was a case of completely different priorities for both clubs. Pellegrini’s excuse was that with the fixture pile up (City travel to Dynamo Kyiv in the Champions League in midweek and then play the Capital One Cup final against Liverpool on Sunday) and the long injury list, he simply couldn’t afford to play his senior players.
With the Sky Blues also struggling in the Premier League, the FA Cup became the Chilean manager’s sacrificial lamb. Ultimately, in spite of an equaliser in the first half, City were no match for the star-studded Chelsea lineup who have been slowly getting back to their best in recent games.