Thiago Silva booked Chelsea a place in the FA Cup semi-final as Thomas Tuchel's side waltzed back to west London 2-0 victors over Middlesbrough. The 37-year-old played a pivotal role in the Blues' opener, planting the seed to a blossoming attack.
The Brazil international won his aerial duel to retrieve possession completed a suave one-two to evade the press before releasing Hakim Ziyech. The Moroccan offloaded possession to Mason Mount, who swept an excellent ball into the feet of Romelu Lukaku.
Silva's performance at the Riverside Stadium typified the metrics of an all-encompassing modern centre-half, proving - once again - why Paris Saint-Germain was wrong to surrender his services with such reluctance. Frank Lampard's decision to sign the veteran, who has featured 69 times since swapping Les Parc des Princes for Stamford Bridge, grows more poignant game by game.
