Willian takes centre stage as Chelsea turn on style to destroy Hull

Quite what the Barcelona scouts dispatched to this corner of south-west London to cast their eyes over next week’s opponents would have gleaned from this thrashing is anyone’s guess. Chelsea’s passage into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup was achieved without mustering up much of a sweat, with Hull City of the second tier deflated and defeated over an embarrassingly one-sided first half.

The hosts could ease their way to the final whistle, progress into the last eight achieved courtesy of Willian’s early effervescence – the Brazilian was denied a hat-trick late on as he clipped the woodwork from distance – and the visitors’ desperate deficiencies. This tie was devoid of the drama so craved by the FA Cup but, with Antonio Conte’s mind already drifting to Barça and how to check La Liga’s unbeaten leaders, the locals were hardly complaining. They know a far tougher contest than this awaits on Tuesday night.

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