Chelsea got off to a winning start under new head coach Liam Rosenior as four second-half goals helped them to a 5-1 win over Charlton Athletic.
The Blues had no trouble reaching the FA Cup fourth round in the end, but it was not always easy on the eye and their slender one-goal advantage at half-time was earned late on in the half when Jorrel Hato slammed the ball into the roof of the net with an unerring finish.
Tosin Adarabioyo doubled Chelsea’s lead after the interval, only for Miles Leaburn to cut the Charlton deficit in half.
Chelsea then pulled away, Rosenior undoubtedly pleased about the threat his side possessed on the break as they scored goals three, four and five through Marc Guiu, Pedro Neto and, from the penalty spot, Enzo Fernandez.
Winning start to Rosenior era
Performances are important, but not so much as getting the job done when your first match in charge is against lower league opposition.
Facundo Buonanotte kicked off the Rosenior era at the Valley, where the new head coach spent most of his time stood at the edge of his technical area applauding his players’ every tackle and block.
Stutter at the start though they did, Chelsea made a winning start under Rosenior.
It was far from a vintage display from the Blues, but that was, in fairness to Charlton, partly because of their hosts’ tight defensive formation. Hato’s sweet finish just before the break calmed any nerves within Rosenior’s newly-assembled backroom staff.
Further goals after the interval by Tosin, the tireless runner Guiu and substitute Neto and Fernandez were enough to grant progression into the fourth round of the cup and left something of a gloss on the scoreline, despite the fact Charlton had been in the game right up until stoppage time when Chelsea took it away from them.
Squad players impress
Even though this was Rosenior’s first match in charge, he was always expected to make changes from Calum McFarlane’s line-up from the midweek defeat Fulham, as much because of Chelsea’s jam-packed January schedule as anything else.
In total, Rosenior made eight changes, and many of the lesser-used first team players handed the chance to impress took it.
Teenager Jorrel Hato, signed from Ajax in the summer, has had a very encouraging week, after good contributions at Manchester City and then at Craven Cottage. At the Valley, he ramped things up a notch, firing into the top corner to give Chelsea lift-off.
Perhaps the Blues’ most effective player was striker Guiu, not only in assisting that Hato goal but also in linking play, holding the ball up responsibly, and even getting himself on the scoresheet after the interval.
There were also goals for Tosin Adarabioyo and substitutes Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez, while Andrey Santos was Chelsea’s conductor in the middle of the park and Josh Acheampong a real attacking outlet at right-back. Rosenior will have been delighted.
Chelsea overcome testing conditions
Charlton, 19th in the Championship, were sturdy opponents and battled well. They were not, however, the only challenging aspect of Chelsea’s Saturday night’s hard work.
The match took place in freezing-cold conditions, one-degree temperature at kick-off having dropped to minus one by the time the match ended. And the final 15 minutes or so took place in very difficult visibility as a thick mist took hold over the Valley.
It was barely possible to look from one side of the stadium to the other at its worst, but Chelsea stuck to the task and passed their first test of the Rosenior era.
