Half-time: MK Dons 1 Chelsea 3 – Oscar’s first-half hat-trick puts Blues in control

Oscar’s hat-trick gave Chelsea a deserved half-time lead in a thrilling fourth-round FA Cup tie.

Diego Costa made the most of a terrible Kyle McFadzean backpass to lay on a simple opener for Oscar.

And although MK Dons levelled against the run of play through Darren Potter’s deflected long-range strike, Oscar’s tidy finish and sumptuous curler put Chelsea in control.

Eden Hazard, on his first start since limping off early in the 3-0 win over Crystal Palace, was the key man in a dominant Chelsea display.

He helped create three early chances, once for Costa via Oscar that produced a good save from keeper David Martin, and then twice teeing up Oscar, who miscued from 12 yards on both occasions.

Rob Hall and Jake Forster-Caskey’s pace posed a few problems for the away side, but Chelsea controlled possession and created opportunities at will.

Branislav Ivanovic had a shot blocked, Costa then made it 1-0, while Ruben Loftus-Cheek also had a strike saved after a swift break – all inside the opening 20 minutes.

But the Championship strugglers levelled when Potter’s strike from the edge of the box took a huge deflection off Nemanja Matic and looped over Thibaut Courtois.

Hazard then squandered a glorious one-on-one opportunity, hitting the post when totally in the clear, while Costa slid in ahead of Oscar to prevent the midfielder scoring a simple tap-in.

But a clever Loftus-Cheek pass put Oscar clear inside the box and he finished tidily across Martin to make it 2-1.

And the Brazilain completed his treble with his best effort just before the break, running across the box and curling home a stunning strike.