Football Review | Chelsea 7 - 0 Port Vale

Chelsea eased into the FA Cup semi-finals

They brought Port Vale’s fairytale FA Cup run to a decisive end in the process

Author | Lauren W

Stadium | Stamford Bridge

The visitors arrived bottom of League One and 15 points adrift of safety, yet had captured attention by reaching the last eight for the first time in 72 years, including a notable victory over Sunderland. 

For Chelsea, they desperately needed a big win here. Anything less and serious questions would have started to be asked about their manager.

The gulf in class was stark as Chelsea’s expensively assembled side proved unforgiving against opponents built largely on free transfers and loans.

Any suggestion of another upset was quickly dispelled. Chelsea struck inside 64 seconds when Jorrel Hato converted from close range after Vale failed to deal with a corner. 

Vale briefly rallied, but the contest slipped beyond them midway after 25 minutes

Joao Pedro doubled the lead in the 25th minute, turning Kyle John before finishing past Joe Gauci. The tie was effectively settled before the interval when Cole Palmer reacted quickest after Gauci parried Malo Gusto’s delivery, with the ball deflecting in off Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel.

It became an exercise in containment for Jon Brady’s side, though even that proved beyond them. Tosin Adarabioyo added a fourth with a header from another Gusto cross, before Andrey Santos made it five with a far-post finish from Estevao Willian’s corner.

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Estevao then capped his display with a goal of his own, awarded after a lengthy VAR check following a rebound off the post from Alejandro Garnacho. Garnacho completed the scoring from the penalty spot in stoppage time.

For Chelsea and head coach Liam Rosenior, this emphatic victory carries added significance, halting a run of four damaging defeats and setting up a Wembley appearance. The match also came in the wake of Enzo Fernandez receiving a two-match suspension after publicly casting doubt over his future at the club.