Chelsea ease past Preston to book place in FA Cup fourth round

Chelsea booked their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Saturday as they eased past Championship side Preston North End with four unanswered second half goals at Stamford Bridge.

Forward Armando Broja opened the scoring in the 58th minute with a superb header after he rose highest in the Preston box to divert Malo Gusto's cross in off the post before Thiago Silva quickly doubled Chelsea's lead when he nodded in Cole Palmer's corner at the front post.

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Raheem Sterling put the result beyond doubt just three minutes after Silva's goal with a free kick that arced over the Preston wall and out of goalkeeper Freddie Woodman's reach.

The home side didn't have things all their own way in the first half as a lacklustre Chelsea performance presented Will Keane and Milutin Osmajic with opportunities to give the 6,000 travelling fans hope of a famous win.

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Broja's opener, though, seemed to instantly dispel any belief that Preston had in their ability to get a result as Chelsea dominated the remaining minutes, eventually adding a fourth when Enzo Fernandez's goal was eventually awarded after a lengthy VAR check for offside.

Preston manager Ryan Lowe highlighted the impact that the Chelsea substitutes had in the second half as his team lost to top-tier opposition in the FA Cup for the 18th time in 19th games.

"[I'm] disappointed with a couple of the goals of course, but they've got quality all over the pitch and when you bring the subs on, they just make it a little bit harder for you and they've got those moments.

"I always say in the Championship you can maybe make one or two mistakes and maybe get away with it. In the Premier League against Premier League players, you can't make any mistakes because you'll get punished. And that's what we did.

Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino praised the contribution of Palmer who backed up his two goals against Luton on Saturday with an assist here.

"I think he arrived the last day of the transfer window and of course he is performing after six months incredible and I think we are so happy today.

"But of course he's still young and he needs to improve. He needs to improve in different areas, not only inside of the pitch [but] outside. You need to understand also many, many things but I think in the way that's improving a lot and of course he's a very good player for us and I think he's doing fantastic."

Pochettino's team will find out the identity of their opponents in the next stage of the competition when the FA Cup fourth round draw is held on Jan 8.