Pedro Neto Fires Hat-Trick as Chelsea Provide Manager The Boss with Joyous Return to Hull

Against a backdrop of freezing rain, flurries, and a biting breeze off the waters of the Humber, combined with a resolute home side pushing hard for a top-flight place, this presented all the ingredients of a challenging evening’s work for Chelsea.

"We could have added to our tally but Hull are a strong team and it was a difficult fixture; I’m very pleased with the performance," he said. "Hull City means a lot to me so it was great to get a positive welcome from both sets of supporters. The attitude of the players was excellent."

Liam Chelsea manager holds this city close to his heart, considering part of his relatives hail from Hull and his successful spell in management of the Tigers. This happy connection continued with a magnificent display from his squad, who ultimately sauntered into the next round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Finishing Seals Comfortable Victory

Seventy-two hours removed from letting slip a 2-0 lead in the league, there was a sniff of fragility about Chelsea going into this intriguing cup clash. The packed Hull support clearly sensed it too, but Rosenior's men handled the task with ease.

Rosenior rang the changes, enacting multiple of them to his starting lineup. The match could and maybe ought to have been decided earlier than it actually was, with two Estêvão Willian and the forward at fault for spurning glorious opportunities to put Chelsea in front in the opening period.

But, fortunately for the away team, their Portuguese attacker was in a far more clinical mood. He broke the scoring with a marvellous long-range effort, which acted as the catalyst for his team to assume control of proceedings. By full time, they had 4 goals, with Neto scoring a trio of them for a brilliant three-goal haul.

Delap's Response and Influence

Hull displayed great fight all game, but the better chances consistently came Chelsea’s way. The winger ought to have opened the deadlock when he went past goalkeeper the Hull stopper before inexplicably shooting over. The striker then had a comparable nightmare moment in front of goal against his former club.

He deflected a Phillips's kick which came back from the crossbar, and he began to run away believing the ball had gone over the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he realised, Hull's backline had reacted to clear the danger.

The player had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was hugely influential from there on out, providing 3 assists. The opening was for the opening goal as his through ball teed up his teammate to finish from range. Six minutes after the restart, it was 2-0 as the forward's set-piece went directly in under Phillips's legs.

Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Attention Turns

Seven minutes after the second, the match was effectively ended as a dazzling run from the forward laid on his teammate to tap into an empty net. Neto then finished his hat-trick as Delap again played the decisive ball for the attacker to calmly convert past a stranded goalkeeper.

By that stage, the work Hull had put in in the first thirty minutes had been forgotten. Their priority must now return to achieving a promotion to the Premier League under their manager, who left out a number of first-choice players with that goal in mind.

"I think we deserved at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a very good position in the league," he said. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming matches this can be a good example of how we must play."

There was plenty of effort to the final whistle, and they nearly claimed a consolation when Lewis Koumas struck a the upright in injury time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another encouraging step forward for their recently-appointed manager at a place he knows very well.

Cup History Look Promising

That resulted in an ultimately straightforward night's work, and the FA Cup-shaped signs are good from here for the winners. They have played Hull on three other times in this tournament in the last decade and every single time, they have progressed to make the showpiece. There is remains to be work in that regard, but this was another huge positive for the Chelsea boss.