That’s all for today – we’ll be back tomorrow for Arsenal v Liverpool, Man City v Huddersfield and all the other FA Cup ties. Goodnight.
Match report: Middlesbrough 0-1 Aston Villa
Tonight’s other results
Middlesbrough 0-1 Aston Villa (Cash 87)
Sheff Wed 4-0 Cardiff (Windass 2, Sawyers og 38, Palmer 40, Wilks 90+1)
Swansea 2-0 Morecambe (Patino 47, Yates 87)
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Full time: Chelsea 4-0 Preston North End
Chelsea continue their excellent home form with an ultimately emphatic win over Preston. They laboured against game opposition until Armando Broja gave them the lead in the 57th minute with an excellent header.
Broja’s goal seemed to drain all the energy from Preston and Chelsea could have scored another seven or eight in the last half an hour. They settled for three, one each for Thiago Silva, the excellent Raheem Sterling and Enzo Fernandez.
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90+6 min Madueke misses an excellent chance to make it 5-0, then Deivid’s deflected shot is headed off the line by Lindsay.
90+4 min Holmes is booked for pulling back Sterling.
90+2 min Golding almost scores within seconds of coming on for his debut! Madueke’s shot was kicked away by Woodman at the near post; Golding was following up but didn’t have enough reaction time and could only poke the ball straight at Woodman.
90 min Eight minutes of added time.
89 min: Substitutions galore Michael Golding, a 17-year-olde midfielder, comes on for his Chelsea debut in place of Enzo Fernandez.
Preston bring on Duane Holmes and Ryan Ledson for Ben Whiteman and Ali McCann.
GOAL! Chelsea 4-0 Preston (Enzo 88)
He was onside, just, and Chelsea have their fourth.
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87 min They’re still checking, not sure why.
Sterling broke into the area after combining with Caicedo. Storey came across to challenge and the ball ricocheted to Enzo, who tapped it into the net from four yards. I think Lindsay was playing him onside.
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85 min Enzo Fernandez has a goal disallowed for offside after a one-two-three between Sterling and Caicedo. Hmm, I think this will be given.
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81 min Gusto, who is back on the right, zig-zags past a defender and whacks a shot from 20 yards that is pushed away by Woodman. It’s been a game of two distinct segments: very even for 55 minutes, totally one-sided thereafter.
79 min Madueke, who plays with such effervescence and confidence, rakes a shot just over the bar from 20 yards.
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77 min Washington almost has an instant impact, diverting a mishit shot from Madueke off target.
76 min: Double substitution for Chelsea Conor Gallagher and the young Brazilian Deivid Washington replace Armando Broja and Conor Gallagher.
74 min A Preston corner leads to a bit of a scramble before Caicedo (I think) clears with an overhead kick.
73 min: Preston substitution Kian Best replaces Andrew Hughes at centre-back.
71 min Chelsea look like scoring with every attack. Broja swerves pats the outrushing Woodman and has a shot cleared off the line by Hughes. Moments later, Sterling’s deflected shot wrongfoots Woodman and goes just wide of the near post.
GOAL! Chelsea 3-0 Preston (Sterling 69)
Raheem Sterling clips the resulting free-kick over the wall and past the diving Woodman. It wasn’t right in the corner but he did well to get it up and down from just outside the area. Woodman may have put his weight on his left foot, which made it harder to spring to his right.
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68 min Whiteman is booked for fouling Palmer on the edge of the D. Preston looks shattered.
Such a simple goal. Palmer whipped a corner to the near post, where Thiago got the run of Evans and powered a header through the hands of Woodman. He is a 39-year-old phenomenon.
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GOAL! Chelsea 2-0 Preston (Thiago Silva 66)
The old man strikes!
65 min Whiteman makes another vital challenge in his own area, this time on Madueke.
64 min: Double substitution for Preston Ched Evans and Emil Riis replace the front two of Will Keane and Milutin Osmajic.
64 min Maybe Preston’s effort in the first half is catching up with them, because Chelsea are threatening to run away with the game. Sterling, on the left now, slaloms into the area and is crucially tackled by Whiteman.
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61 min: Double change for Chelsea Thiago Silva and Noni Madueke replace Alfie Gilchrist, who had a good full debut, and Mykhailo Mudryk.
60 min: Broja hits the bar! He could have scored three in three minutes. He met another flashing cross form the left, this time by Mudryk, and flicked a header off the top of the bar. Woodman was in no man’s land but Broja couldn’t quite get over the ball.
59 min Broja almost makes it two goals in less than 10 seconds of play. The Preston kick-off went straight back to the keeper Woodman, whose clearance hit the onrushing, high-on-life Broja and bounced kindly for Preston. That could have gone anywhere.
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It was a superb finish from Armando Broja. Mudryk nicked the ball on the edge of the Preston area and laid it back to Gusto. He hammered a terrific cross that was met 12 yards from goal by Broja, who used the pace on the ball to steer an accomplished header into the far corner. Woodman had no chance.
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GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Preston (Broja 58)
And just like that, Chelsea take the lead.
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53 min Palmer takes a quick corner to Sterling in the area. He lays it back to Disasi, who blooters over from the edge of the area.
52 min Chelsea keep the ball for a couple of minutes in the Preston half. Eventually Sterling spins Hughes, scurries into the area and drives a low cross that is put behind by McCann.
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50 min A reminder that there are still replays in the third round, so if it stays like this Chelsea will be heading to Deepdale. Alas they’re too late for a trip to Tokyo Jo’s.
49 min Hughes, the left-sided centre-back, wins the ball 25 yards from Chelsea’s goal and squares to Browne. He opens his body and curls over the bar.
48 min A long ball from Fernandez just evades Palmer in the Preston area.
46 min Peep peep! Chelsea begin the second half.
Half-time reading
Half time: Chelsea 0-0 Preston
Chelsea have been frustrated by an excellent defensive performance from Preston, whose supporters are making a helluva racket. Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez missedd decent chances, but they were isolated incidents rather than symptoms of Chelsea dominance.
45 min Gusto commits a needless foul on Potts down the Preston right. The big men all come forward… and Whiteman fails to bet the front man with his free-kick.
44 min Preston’s wide centre-backs are starting to overlap, a reflection of the team’s growing confidence.
41 min Chelsea have been in very good form at home, though you wouldn’t know it from this performance. Sterling tries to take Millar to the byline, but Millar stays with him and Sterling screws his cross behind for a goalkick.
39 min Right now Preston are the better team, and their fans are letting the Chelsea players know it. Every error is greeted with disdainful whistling, and why not.
38 min Whiteman’s corner comes to nothing.
37 min Preston win their first corner. Whiteman jogs over to the left to take…
36 min Chelsea can’t get going at all. Sterling has probably been their liveliest attacker, but even he hasn’t had much success. Mudryk and Broja have struggled and Palmer has been quiet.
34 min Preston are starting to make themselves at home.
33 min Keane turns his man superbly in the centre circle and curls a terrific early pass around Gilchrist to find Millar on the left. He runs at Gilchrist and hits a low cross that takes a deflection and is cleared. That was a majestic bit of play from Keane.
30 min Broja’s shot on the turn is well blocked by Hughes.
28 min A better chance for Fernandez, who heads straight at Woodman from eight yards after Sterling’s low cross looped up invitingly off Hughes. “You’re effing ess!” chant the Preston fans.
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27 min A half-chance for Preston. Woodman’s long kick is inadvertently headed towards his own goal by Fernandez. Osmajic gets behind the defence and drives a low shot across goal from a tight angle. Petrovic gets down smartly to his right to make an ultimately comfortable save.
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26 min Preston are doing very well. Chelsea are not.
22 min: Chance for Chelsea! Enzo Fernandez drops deep to receive possession, turns and floats a lovely pass over the defence towards Palmer. He controls it immaculately near the penalty spot, but by the time he does so Woodman is in his face. Palmer dummies to shoot before scooping the ball over Woodman and just wide.
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20 min A sharp tackle from Fernandez on the edge of the Preston area leads to a bit of a scramble before Sterling whacks a rising drive towards goal from 15 yards. Woodman reacts smartly to tip it over.
18 min At the other end, Kenae’s chest-volley from 20 yards is comfortably saved by Petrovic.
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17 min Gilchrist carpe diems from right-back and plays a nice one-two-three with Sterling, whose shot from 15 yards hits a defender and loops into the arms of Woodman. That was half a chance.
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16 min Petrovic’s pass goes straight to Potts, whose knee seems okay now. Preston keep the ball for a while before Storey’s cross is cleared.
13 min Chelsea’s tempo is a bit too leisurely, and so far they’ve struggled to get Palmer on the ball. Every Preston tackle is being cheered lustily by the away end.
10 min Preston’s back five continue to look relatively comfortable early on. But Potts has hurt his knee after making a challenge on Gusto – it may have got stuck in the turf. He wants to continue but is limping heavily.
6 min Sterling goes down right on the edge of the area after a clumsy challenge by McCann. The referee gives nothing; replays suggest it was probably a foul just outside the area.
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5 min Chelsea are working the ball from left to right, looking for an opening. Thus far, no dice.
2 min The right wing-back Potts nicks possession, gallops forward and tries to curl a pass around Colwill to put Osmajic through on goal. Colwill reads it well and intercepts.
2 min Alfie Gilchrist, who is usually a centre-back, has started on the right with the versatile Malo Gusto on the left.
1 min Preston, in their red change strip, kick off from left to right as we watch.
FA Cup match reports
Chelsea have won the FA Cup eight times, same as Liverpool and Tottenham. Seven of those wins have been since 1997, and for all the greater glory in the Premier and Champions Leagues, this is the trophy they have lifted the most since their ambition went skyward in the mid-1990s.
Those seven FA Cups were won by seven different managers (a bonus point if you get the man who won their first FA Cup back in the day), and Mauricio Pochettino is the latest to attempt to join the list. Today should be a comfortable win against a Preston side who are in freefall after a spectacular start to the season. Although in this competition there are no guarantees, not even when you’re FA Cup royalty.
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FA Cup latest
There are ten 3pm kick-offs in the third round, including another Brighton borefest. Barry Glendenning has the latest.
Team news
The popular, passionate defender Alfie Gilchrist makes his full debut for Chelsea. Thiago Silva, Conor Gallagher and Noni Madueke are among those given a rest.
Just in: today’s Chelsea team news. 👊@ParimatchUK | #CFC | #EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/EHt8bbtgZJ
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 6, 2024
Will Keane and Ali McCann are among the players returning to the Preston starting line-up.
📋 TEAM NEWS: Your North End side taking on @ChelseaFC. 💪#pnefc pic.twitter.com/YL9a5LmwA4
— Preston North End FC (@pnefc) January 6, 2024
Preamble
Hello. We’re running late so let’s cut straight to the team news.
