Duff returns as Chelsea hammer Watford

Chelsea's strikers did their talking on the pitch as they sent a defiant message to owner Roman Abramovich amid the club's on…

Chelsea's strikers did their talking on the pitch as they sent a defiant message to owner Roman Abramovich amid the club's on-going search for yet another top-class forward.

Adrian Mutu scored twice, while Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Eidur Gudjohnsen were also on target as Chelsea completed a routine FA Cup third round replay victory against Watford at Stamford Bridge.

And the trio can only hope that Abramovich was paying close attention.   Four leading forwards might seem enough for one club but, especially with Hernan Crespo injured for six weeks, the Russian may not be able to resist the temptation to enter the transfer market again.

Whether it is eventually Louis Saha, Christian Vieri, David Trezeguet, Adriano or anyone else who now arrives at Stamford Bridge still remains to be seen as the rumour mill does its usual rounds.

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However, the pressure was always set to grow even further on Hasselbaink, Mutu and Gudjohnsen after the apparent interest in Saha had been revealed earlier today.

It was just as well, therefore, that Mutu, who ended a 13-game goal drought at Leicester, struck again after just seven minutes against Watford, with Hasselbaink taking his season's tally to 13.

While Mutu scored again late on, there was also the added bonus of Damien Duff making his long-awaited return from injury as a substitute as he set up Gudjohnsen for Chelsea's late fourth.

All in all, therefore, a satisfying night for Claudio Ranieri as he showed his determination to win the FA Cup by fielding a virtually full-strength line-up against a gallant Watford side.

Elsewhere, Nicolas Anelka paid tribute to David Seaman with his goal celebration as Manchester City booked a place in the FA Cup fourth round tonight.

Anelka capitalised on a mix-up between Leicester's Frank Sinclair and goalkeeper Ian Walker to net the second goal in City's 3-1 win at the Walkers Stadium.

The striker ran off to celebrate in front of the City fans, peeling off his shirt to reveal a `David Seaman, we love you' message on a T-shirt.

Antoine Sibierski and Jon Macken were also on target for City, with Les Ferdinand drawing the hosts level.

Results

Chelsea 4-0 Watford
Leicester 1-3 Manchester City
Scarborough 1-0 Southend

FA Cup fourth round draw

Saturday, January 24th

Arsenal v Middlesbrough                     
Birmingham City v Wimbledon               
Burnley v Gillingham
Coventry v Colchester
Ipswich v Sunderland
Liverpool v Newcastle United                  
Luton v Tranmere
Portsmouth v Scunthorpe
Scarborough v Chelsea                           
Swansea v Preston
Telford v Millwall

Sunday, January 25th

Everton v Fulham                            
Wolves v West Ham                     
Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur
Northampton v Manchester United                 
Nottingham Forest v Sheffield United