KINGSTON UPON HULL: Chelsea eased into the FA Cup fifth round as Pedro Neto’s hat-trick inspired a 4-0 win at Hull on Liam Rosenior’s return to the club that sacked him two years ago.
Rosenior’s side took the lead through Neto’s superb first-half strike before the Portugal forward netted again after the break.
Estevao Willian scored Chelsea’s third and Neto completed his treble to wrap up the fourth round rout at the MKM Stadium.
It was an emotional evening for Blues boss Rosenior as he faced the club that ruthlessly severed their long relationship with him in 2024.
Rosenior supported Hull as a child alongside his season-ticket holding grandmother, played for the club across five years and managed them for two seasons.
He was sacked after narrowly failing to reach the Championship play-offs amid criticism of his team’s conservative tactics.
Despite the painful end to his time at Hull, the 41-year-old said it was an “amazing thing” to return to Humberside and he took full advantage of the chance to show his old club what they had missed out on.
“This club means a lot not just to me but also my family for many reasons,” Rosenior said.
“I do hope they make the Premier League this year, but because of our attitude and application, that is what gave us the platform to win tonight.”
Rosenior has made an impressive start at Chelsea since arriving from Strasbourg to replace Enzo Maresca in January, winning eight out of his first 11 matches in all competitions.
He made seven changes, with Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez and Joao Pedro among those to miss out, but Chelsea were still too strong for the Championship promotion chasers.
“Pedro Neto has been outstanding, he works so hard and has so much quality. I’m delighted to see him get the goals,” Rosenior said.
“The most pleasing aspect was the mentality. It was a really strong performance in terms of the mental application you need to be successful. Everyone worked really hard for each other.”
Chelsea dominated possession to such an extent that it was little surprise when they finally made the breakthrough in the 40th minute.
Liam Delap teed up Neto and he whipped a superb finish into the corner from 20 yards.
Andrey Santos’ towering header was pushed over by Dillon Phillips after the interval and, from the resulting corner, Chelsea doubled their lead in the 51st minute.
Neto’s inswinger caught Phillips flat-footed at the near post, bouncing through his legs without a touch from either team.
Chelsea had blown a two-goal advantage in their 2-2 draw with Leeds in the Premier League on Tuesday.
But there was no chance of a repeat and Estevao grabbed their third with a composed finish from 12 yards in the 59th minute.
Neto made it four in the 71st minute, caressing a low finish past Phillips from Delap’s lay-off.
Wrexham beat fellow Championship side Ipswich 1-0 in Friday’s other fourth round tie.
The Welsh club, owned by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac, are into the last 16 for the first time since 1996-97.
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Al-Sadd will take on table-toppers Al-Hilal over two legs in early March in the next round while Al-Ittihad, who finished fourth in the standings, face off against Al-Wahda from the United Arab Emirates.
Defending champions Al-Ahli, also from Saudi Arabia, will play Al-Duhail from Qatar with Tractor meeting UAE’s Shabab Al-Ahli.
“Today was a very difficult game,” said Al-Sadd goal scorer Rafa Mujica. “The first 20, 25 minutes were very bad for us. We conceded everything.
“But we only have to think about the next game. We are qualified. We will see in the next game.”
Mancini’s team needed to match or better the result recorded by Al-Gharafa but went two goals behind inside the opening 18 minutes when Houssem Aouar and Youssef En-Nesyri struck for the visitors.
A Pedro Miguel own goal in the 33rd minute compounded Al-Sadd’s problems although Mujica gave Al-Sadd a glimmer of hope seven minutes before the interval.
Stephan Keller restored Al-Ittihad’s three-goal cushion when he scored with a close range finish in the 63rd minute as the Saudi side notched up their second comfortable win in a row.
Al-Gharafa’s hopes were erased, however, when their Iranian visitors scored twice in the final 30 minutes to knock Pedro Martins’ team out of the competition.
Mehdi Hashemnejad netted after the Al-Gharafa defense failed to clear in the 61st minute and Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh’s deflected effort into the top corner put the result beyond doubt with nine minutes remaining.
Neto treble fires Chelsea’s FA Cup rout of Hull
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https://arab.news/nxear
Neto treble fires Chelsea’s FA Cup rout of Hull
- It was an emotional evening for Blues boss Rosenior
Mancini’s Al-Sadd advance in Asian Champions League despite defeat
- Al-Sadd will take on table-toppers Al-Hilal over two legs in early March in the next round
- “Today was a very difficult game,” said Al-Sadd goal scorer Rafa Mujica
DOHA: Roberto Mancini’s Al-Sadd suffered a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Saudi Pro League champions Al-Ittihad in the Asian Champions League Elite in Doha on Tuesday but the Qatari club still scraped through to the last 16 of the continental championship.
A 2-0 loss for Al-Sadd’s compatriots Al-Gharafa against Iranian outfit Tractor FC meant Mancini’s side clung on to eighth place in the western league phase standings to claim a spot in the knockout rounds.
Al-Sadd will take on table-toppers Al-Hilal over two legs in early March in the next round while Al-Ittihad, who finished fourth in the standings, face off against Al-Wahda from the United Arab Emirates.
Defending champions Al-Ahli, also from Saudi Arabia, will play Al-Duhail from Qatar with Tractor meeting UAE’s Shabab Al-Ahli.
“Today was a very difficult game,” said Al-Sadd goal scorer Rafa Mujica. “The first 20, 25 minutes were very bad for us. We conceded everything.
“But we only have to think about the next game. We are qualified. We will see in the next game.”
Mancini’s team needed to match or better the result recorded by Al-Gharafa but went two goals behind inside the opening 18 minutes when Houssem Aouar and Youssef En-Nesyri struck for the visitors.
A Pedro Miguel own goal in the 33rd minute compounded Al-Sadd’s problems although Mujica gave Al-Sadd a glimmer of hope seven minutes before the interval.
Stephan Keller restored Al-Ittihad’s three-goal cushion when he scored with a close range finish in the 63rd minute as the Saudi side notched up their second comfortable win in a row.
Al-Gharafa’s hopes were erased, however, when their Iranian visitors scored twice in the final 30 minutes to knock Pedro Martins’ team out of the competition.
Mehdi Hashemnejad netted after the Al-Gharafa defense failed to clear in the 61st minute and Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh’s deflected effort into the top corner put the result beyond doubt with nine minutes remaining.
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