A dull game, lit up briefly by two classically taken goals, ended with the drama of a rare red card for Gianluca Vialli and a penalty shoot-out won 4-1 by Chelsea. The winners play Southampton at home in the next round.
Vialli was sent off after 14 minutes of extra-time for apparently felling the Rovers defender Stephane Henchoz off the ball. The Italian striker argued unsuccessfully with the referee and linesman that the Swiss had made something of a meal of the confrontation, which followed an incident minutes earlier when Vialli had gone down as if shot in an off-the-ball ruck with the Frenchman Patrik Valery, who was only booked for his efforts - much to Vialli's disgust.
Blackburn missed their first two penalties, leaving Chelsea to sail through when the 20-year-old Mark Nicholls scored their fourth. Goals from Billy McKinlay and Roberto Di Matteo had sent the tie into extra-time.
After Tuesday's controversial appearance of Manchester United and Arsenal reserves in this competition, both the sides here wore less of a below-strength look. But Chelsea gave first starts of the season to the goalkeeper Kevin Hitchcock, the Nigerian winger Celestine Babayaro and a stylish centre-back with dreadlocks and an imperious bearing. Ruud Gullit also used the game to give the midfielder Eddie Newton his first outing since the FA Cup final.
The obdurate streak which has lifted Rovers to third in the Premiership was very much in evidence. Vialli flashed a 30-yard free-kick a whisker wide and Di Matteo just failed to connect properly with Babayaro's cross, but otherwise the Rovers tactics acted like a damp cloth on a frying pan.
As ever when playing away, the dour Lancastrians were happy to pick up any attacking scraps going, their best chance before the interval being fashioned by Gary Flitcroft's left-wing cross to the back post where the defender Tore Pedersen shot just wide.
Within two minutes of the restart, though, they went ahead. Chris Sutton fed Damien Duff down the left and the Republic of Ireland youth international winger hoisted over a cross. Frank Leboeuf's headed clearance looped only to the edge of the area where McKinlay volleyed the ball past the rooted Hitchcock.
The second half also saw the exit of Gullit and the arrival of David Lee, playing his first senior game in a year after a broken leg. On 61 minutes, Leboeuf, this time showing his strength as a defender, played a wonderful long ball forward which set Di Matteo free of the offside trap, and with a run and a jiggle the little Italian calmly slotted the ball past Tim Flowers.
Chelsea's Gustavo Poyet is out for the season after rupturing cruciate knee ligaments in training.
