Pedro Neto Scores Hat-Trick as Chelsea Provide Liam The Boss with Happy Homecoming to Hull City

Against a backdrop of freezing rain, snow, and a biting wind from the banks of the Humber, combined with a determined home side fighting for a top-flight place, this had all the ingredients of a difficult night's work for the visitors.

"We might have added to our tally but Hull are a strong team and it was a difficult tie; I’m delighted with the display," the manager stated. "This club is very special to me so it was great to get a positive welcome from both sets of supporters. The attitude of the players was superb."

Liam Chelsea manager holds this city dear to him, given some of his relatives hail from Hull and his successful period in management of the Championship club. This positive association continued with a commanding performance from his squad, who in the end sauntered into the next round of the famous old competition.

Deadly Edge Seals Comfortable Win

Seventy-two hours after surrendering a two-goal lead in the Premier League, there was a hint of fragility about Chelsea going into this potentially tricky cup clash. The packed Hull crowd evidently felt it too, but the London side navigated the task perfectly.

Rosenior made alterations, enacting seven of them to his starting lineup. The match might and maybe ought to have been decided long before it actually was, with both Estêvão Willian and the forward at fault for spurning glorious opportunities to put their side in front in the first half.

But, fortunately for the visitors, their Portuguese attacker was in a far more clinical mood. He broke the deadlock with a spectacular long-range strike, which proved to be the catalyst for his team to assume control of the match. By full time, they had 4 goals, with Neto netting a trio of them for a brilliant hat-trick.

The Forward's Redemption and Impact

Hull displayed plenty of spirit throughout, but the better opportunities always fell Chelsea’s way. The winger ought to have broken the deadlock when he rounded keeper the Hull stopper before unbelievably shooting over. Delap then had a similar nightmare moment in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a Phillips's clearance which came off the bar, and Delap started to run away thinking the ball had gone over the line. It had not, and by the time he understood, Hull's backline had reacted to clear the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was hugely influential from there on out, providing 3 assists. The first was for the first goal as his pass set up his teammate to score from range. Shortly after the second half began, it was two as Neto's set-piece went directly in through the keeper's legs.

Contest Sealed and Focus Turns

Seven minutes after the second goal, the match was put beyond doubt as a dazzling run from the forward laid on Estêvão to slide into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then completed his treble as the provider again delivered the crucial ball for the attacker to coolly convert by a stranded Phillips.

At that point, the effort Hull had done in the first half-hour had been forgotten. Their priority must now return to achieving a promotion to the top division under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested several key players with that aim in mind.

"In my opinion we earned at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a very good position in the league," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming games this can be a good lesson of how we must play."

There was great endeavour to the final whistle, and they almost got a late goal when a substitute hit a post in stoppage time. But this was the Blues' night, and another encouraging stride for their recently-appointed manager at a stadium he knows intimately.

Cup Omens Look Promising

The result made for an ultimately routine evening’s performance, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are good from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three other occasions in this tournament in the last decade and on each occasion, they have progressed to make the final. Much remains to be work in that respect, but this was another huge positive for the Chelsea boss.