Chelsea ended another difficult week in their turbulent season on a high by reaching the FA Cup semi-finals with a 7-0 win over Port Vale that eased the pressure on Liam Rosenior.
The head coach sent out a near full-strength XI against the League One strugglers with the notable exception of Enzo Fernandez, suspended internally over his flirtations with Real Madrid but present at Stamford Bridge to see his team book their place at Wembley.
Jorrel Hato and Joao Pedro scored in the first half while Cole Palmer forced an own goal from Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel to make it three by the break. Tosin Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos and Estevao added three more in the second half before Alejandro Garnacho converted a stoppage-time penalty.
Marc Cucurella, who like Fernandez had irked his manager by publicly challenging the Blues' transfer policy, was left on the bench. For Jon Brady's Valiants, all that remains in a bitter-sweet season is for near-certain relegation to League Two to be rubber-stamped.
