Chelsea vs. Brentford, FA Cup Fourth round replay: Final Score 4-0, Blues thump Bees to progress

Chelsea may have got a comfortable win in the end, but they didn't have it all their own way from the start, as a defensively-minded Brentford proved difficult to break down. Nonetheless, they gave an early glimpse of what was to come when shoddy marking from a corner allowed Branislav Ivanovic a free header, but the Serbian directed his effort off-target.

Brentford continued to be thankful for poor finishing from Chelsea, and Frank Lampard uncharacteristically fluffed his lines after receiving a cut-back following a fine run from Victor Moses, only to miscue his shot, with Harlee Dean ensuring Oscar was unable to follow it up. Brentford's goal was leading a charmed life, although it did appear that Chelsea were having yet another of those days when they couldn't seem to get the ball in the net.

Chelsea continued to dominate and press for a breakthrough, but Demba Ba failed to get on the end of Juan Mata's killer ball, before the Spaniard then set up Oscar in the area, only for the Brazilian to send a scuffed effort against the post. Despite their dodgy defending, Brentford had gotten through the half unscathed, and were very close to taking a shock lead as Adam Forshaw was brought down outside the area, only for the referee to blow for a foul and fail to give an advantage after Marcelo Trotta got clear to score.

The Bees were angered by the decision, but having been distinctly second best for the first half, they were fortunate to go in level. After half-time, however, Chelsea appeared to regain their composure in front of goal. It was Juan Mata, the best player on the pitch, who got the breakthrough with a classic route one goal, getting on the end of Demba Ba's flick from Petr Cech's goal-kick, clipping the ball in from outside the area.

That opened the floodgates for the hosts, and Oscar doubled their advantage soon after, getting on the end of Ivanovic's cross with a smart backheeled finish, which slithered it's way into the net via a deflection. Frank Lampard was then the predictable third name on the scoresheet, equally-predictably being teed up by Juan Mata to smash home goal number 199 for the Blues.

That made sure it was game over, although there was still time for John Terry to add a fourth, after a short corner saw Oscar's cross find him in the area to plant a header in at the back post and complete the rout. Hardly a season-changing victory considering the quality of the opposition, but given their rivals Arsenal's woes yesterday, the Blues will be glad to have avoided a potential slip-up in comfortable and professional fashion.