MK Dons 1 Chelsea 5
So much for the volatile nature of the FA Cup. Chelsea's breeze beyond MK Dons ensured all those Premier League clubs pitted against lower-division opposition have made it into the fifth round draw with only a Peterborough-shaped hiccup for West Bromwich Albion offering the underdogs any encouragement. The natural order has been imposed. Those seeking romance have only found mismatches.
This was a brutal reminder of the gulf between the top two divisions, even if Chelsea are lower mid-table and MK Dons, a club relishing a record attendance in this arena, are really more concerned with preserving their status in the second tier. They were outclassed here and must try and put the whole sorry experience behind them. Oscar found the level to his liking, the Brazil international running riot to register his first hat-trick for the league champions before the break. There was even reward for Eden Hazard, from the penalty spot, to end a personal goal drought which had extended for 2,358 minutes and 30 matches since the header nodded beyond Julian Speroni to claim the Premier League title in May: a winner from another era.
Chelsea, now nine games unbeaten, are starting to recall what it is like to be dominant. It was the movement of their forward-thinking players which bamboozled the hosts. A defence which has proved porous in the Championship simply could not cope as opponents poured at them, and through them, almost at will. The six minutes for which MK Dons enjoyed parity up to the midway point in the first half was deceptive given the sheer number of opportunities they were permitting the visitors. David Martin performed heroically for a while, but it was unfair to expect that excellence to be maintained. Eventually, Chelsea would find their range and, as it was, Oscar still departed at the break having claimed the match ball with all prospect of a shock having long since dissipated.
The rat-a-tat of chances had the home centre-halves wheezing. Martin saved wonderfully well from Diego Costa inside the opening four minutes, pushing away the striker’s close-range shot after Hazard and Oscar had combined to liberate the striker just outside the six-yard box. That combination play became a recurring theme, busy players galloping into space with the home ranks outnumbered, outpaced and simply dizzied by it all.
Oscar twice poked just wide when it seemed easier to score, on each occasion the Brazilian’s body shape a little awkward as he struck his attempt, though it mattered little while the opportunities kept coming. All three of his goals came gift-wrapped, the Dons’ indecision contributing to the third – the most eye-catching of the three – which was emphatically dispatched into the corner beyond a shell-shocked Martin with no hint of a defensive block forthcoming after the Brazilian had skipped infield across the edge of the penalty box.
Kyle McFadzean suffered at the first two concessions. The centre-half had collected a throw-in 16 minutes in and attempted a blind pass infield, only to dribble the ball straight to a rampaging Costa. The striker charged into the area and drew the goalkeeper before squaring for Oscar to convert beyond the defender Joe Walsh on the line. Ruben Loftus-Cheek provided the visitors’ second, sliding a pass through the centre for Oscar to collect before McFadzean was aware of his presence, the finish crisply clipped into the far corner from an unkind angle.
Throw in a wonderful save from Martin to turn Hazard's attempt on to the woodwork, and Costa glancing Baba Rahman's centre wide with Oscar perfectly positioned at his side to tap into an empty net and it was hard to fathom how, albeit only for a brief interlude, the Dons had threatened a revival. Encouraged by Rob Hall's early dash to the edge of the Chelsea penalty area, the hosts sensed some vulnerability in the Premier League side's ranks which Darren Potter, courtesy of a decisive deflection from Nemanja Matic's block, exploited to loop the home side level.
Yet that was the hosts’ high point, a brief riposte amid incessant pressure. Hazard’s dart into the box induced a foul from Potter early in the second period, the Belgian picking himself up to convert the penalty. He was soon skipping unchecked to the byline once again and pulling back for the substitute, Bertrand Traoré, to side-foot in his first Chelsea goal. Costa, who had made way for the youngster, was busy signing autographs and taking selfies with the supporters behind the dug-out by that stage. This was that kind of stroll.
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