Terry sent off in resounding Chelsea win
Chelsea 4 Peterborough 1
Pedro scored twice as Chelsea booked their fourth-round place with a resounding FA Cup win at Stamford Bridge, where John Terry was sent off.
Michy Batshuayi and Willian also found the net before Terry, back in the Chelsea side along with the fit-again Kurt Zouma, was red-carded after bringing down Lee Angol midway through the second half.
Tom Nichols pulled a goal back with 20 minutes remaining, but Pedro removed any prospect of a Peterborough comeback when he netted his second five minutes later.
Pedro’s first came when pounced after Nathaniel Chalobah’s 18th-minute shot had been parried by keeper Luke McGhee.
Batshuayi fired home two minutes before half-time after Branislav Ivanovic’s ball in from the right was cushioned into the Belgian striker’s path by Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
And when Pedro collected Cesc Fabregas’ pass and found Willian early in the second half, the Brazilian rifled a low shot into the far corner.
Peterborough were always competitive – and scored a deserved goal within a few minutes of Terry’s dismissal.
Michael Smith’s low cross was nudged on by Angol towards Nichols, who applied the finish from close range.
But Chelsea’s three-goal advantage was quickly restored by Pedro, who drove the ball in from near the edge of the penalty area after exchanging passes with Batshuayi
League One side Peterborough gave a more than decent account of themselves and caused Chelsea some problems in the early stages.
Angol had a great chance but lacked composure when failing to connect firmly with Marcus Maddison’s cross, allowing keeper Asmir Begovic to make the save.
The visitors continued to attack and Maddison sliced a shot wide following a nice move, and Peterborough defender Ryan Tafazolli sent a header wide.
At the other end, Terry brought a fine save from McGhee with a first-time shot from Willian’s right-wing corner.
When McGhee produced another save, this time to deny Chalobah, Pedro was first to the loose ball and skipped inside Chris Forrester before firing into the top corner of the net to open the scoring.
Chelsea might then have been awarded a penalty when Tafazolli appeared to bundle over Batsuayi.
And Pedro was guilty of an astonishing miss when he shot against the bar after being teed up by Loftus-Cheek for what looked like being a simple tap-in.
But the Spaniard’s overall performance was excellent and his second goal underlined his class.
Chelsea: Begovic, Zouma, Terry (c), Cahill (Aina 57), Ivanovic, Fabregas, Chalobah, Loftus-Cheek (Azpilicueta 69), Pedro, Batshuayi, Willian (Kante 73).
Subs not used: Eduardo, Moses, Hazard, Costa.
