Chelsea produced an impressive display at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, deservedly beating League One side Peterborough United 4-1 to move into the fourth round of the FA Cup. However, on a day when a number of reserve players impressed in front of Antonio Conte, veteran John Terry saw red on his return to the Blues’ starting line-up.
Peterborough started well but failed to add the requisite cutting edge to their good early play. Then, on 18 minutes, Pedro, playing in a left wing-back role, opened the scoring via a fine effort.
Michy Batshuayi doubled the hosts’ lead just before the break, firing home after an assist from Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who was superb throughout.
Antonio Conte’s side, with nine changes from their previous game, continued to dominate in the second period, with Willian making it 3-0 on 52 minutes courtesy of superb finish.
Blues legend Terry was making just his eighth appearance of the season and it was all going to plan until the 67th minutes, when the 36-year-old was sent off for fouling Lee Angol while in a last-man position.
Terry may not have actually made contact with the Posh striker, but he clearly impeded his opponent who was heading towards the Chelsea goal.
Soon after Terry’s dismissal, Tom Nicholls got one back for Grant McCann’s side.
However, Chelsea still looked dangerous going forward and made it 4-1 when Pedro netted his second of the game with 15 minutes to go.
Conte will no doubt be delighted by the performance of his side, with Kurt Zouma also impressing in his return from a long-term injury.
Despite the result, Peterborough produced some good football which was just lacked the clinical edge of their Premier League opponents.