Chelsea eased the pressure on manager Mauricio Pochettino with a commanding 3-1 win over Aston Villa on Wednesday to advance to the FA Cup fifth round, while Nottingham Forest will face Manchester United. Conor Gallagher, Nicolas Jackson, and Enzo Fernandez scored for the Blues at Villa Park, erasing memories of their 4-2 home defeat to the Wolves on Sunday.
Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez scored their third goal with a free kick. (REUTERS)
Chelsea’s furious home fans booed them off at the weekend after Wolves’ 4-1 defeat of Liverpool the week before. With Pochettino’s team wallowing in eleventh place in the Premier League, an early
The FA Cup exit would have increased the strain on the Argentine
Pochettino claimed on Tuesday that he would not lose his hair due to job stress, and he was rewarded for making some bold team selection decisions. Thiago Silva was demoted to the bench just hours after his wife apologized for a social media rant in which she demanded “change” at the club.
Raheem Sterling was also excluded on a night when several of Chelsea’s costly young players stepped up to be counted.
“I think (it) was one of the best or maybe the best performance of the season,” he Said. “It arrived at a very good moment for us.”We have a youthful team. It is about being solid. and constant, which is the most challenging task in a young club.”
Gallagher, one of the club’s academy graduates, opened the scoring with a close-range shot for his first goal of the season. Jackson was guilty of missing some clear chances early in his Chelsea tenure, but he was lethal with a downward header from Malo Gusto’s cross to increase his team’s advantage.
Villa had not lost in 17 home Premier League games in nearly a year before Newcastle won at Villa Park a week ago. However, Unai Emery’s side has exited both domestic cup tournaments haplessly at home this season.
Fernandez’s magnificent free-kick made it 3-0 before the hour mark, putting the game away. Rumors in Recent reports imply that the Argentine World Cup winner may be seeking an exit, just over a year after leaving Benfica with a then-British transfer record.
But Fernandez gestured to indicate that he is staying put after curling past international teammate Emi Martinez into the top corner. Pochettino has the opportunity to cap off a challenging first season in charge with his first title in English football when Chelsea face Liverpool in the League Cup final on February 25.
they will be hopeful of reaching the FA Cup
And they will be hopeful of reaching the FA Cup quarter-finals when they face second-tier Leeds in the fifth round. Villa scored a consolation goal in stoppage time when Moussa Diaby blasted in off the post, but it was too late for This is the home side.
Forest gained the opportunity to host United in the last 16, but they required penalties to defeat Bristol City in the Championship. Divock Origi gave Forest an early lead, but Jason Knight immediately equalized for the visitors.
City were then left to rue squandering numerous opportunities to win the game before extra time, and they paid the price from the penalty spot, with Sam Bell the only man to fail to score in the shootout.
