Chelsea cruise past Hull as Pedro Neto hits hat-trick

Chelsea F.C. progressed to the fifth round of the FA Cup after a 4-0 victory over Hull City A.F.C. at the MKM Stadium. Pedro Neto scored three goals, while Estevao Willian scored one.This was a return to Hull for Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior, who has played for and managed the club before. Hull City sacked him in 2024 after they failed to make the Championship play-offs. Despite the bitter end to his spell at Hull, the 41-year-old manager has stated that it is "an amazing thing" to be back in Humberside and that he took full advantage of the opportunity to prove to his former club what they had missed out on."This club means a lot not just to me but also my family for many reasons," Rosenior said."I do hope they make the Premier League this year, but because of our attitude and application, that is what gave us the platform to win tonight."Rosenior has won eight of his first 11 matches since joining Chelsea from Strasbourg in January to replace Enzo Maresca. He made seven changes to the team for this match. Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez and Joao Pedro were not included."Pedro Neto has been outstanding, he works so hard and has so much quality. I'm delighted to see him get the goals," Rosenior said."The most pleasing aspect was the mentality. It was a really strong performance in terms of the mental application you need to be successful. Everyone worked really hard for each other."Chelsea dominated possession in the first half and scored in the 40th minute. Liam Delap assisted Neto, who scored from outside the box.Andrey Santos had a header saved by Dillon Phillips in the early minutes of the second half. From the resulting corner, Neto’s cross was scored at the near post to make it 2-0 in the 51st minute.Chelsea had tied 2-2 with Leeds in their earlier match in the week when they were leading by two goals, but this time they maintained dominance. Estevao scored in the 59th minute from close range.Neto finished his hat-trick in the 71st minute after being assisted by Delap.In the other fourth-round match, Wrexham A.F.C. won 1-0 against Ipswich Town F.C. Wrexham are in the last 16 for the first time since the 1996-97 season.