Chelsea advanced to the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 2-0 win over Championship outfit Middlesbrough on Saturday night.
Result: Middlesbrough 0-2 Chelsea
Date: 19 March 2022
Venue: Riverside Stadium
Thomas Tuchel made a host of changes following Wednesday's UEFA Champions League win over Lille, as Romelu Lukaku and Ruben Loftus-Cheek got starts while Mateo Kovacic and Hakim Ziyech were recalled.
Boro were looking to claim another Premier League scalp after eliminating Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in the previous rounds.
Lukaku marked his return to the line-up with a goal after opening the scoring in the 15th minute after turning home Mason Mount's cross for his third goal in the competition.
The lead was doubled on 31 minutes as Mount grabbed his second assist on the night by picking out Ziyech, who was gifted time and space to pick his spot from distance.
Middlesbrough, meanwhile, struggled to carve out any openings of their own as Blues goalkeeper Edouard Mendy barely had a save to make in the opening 45 minutes.
Middlesbrough were dealt a blow shortly after the break as defender Paddy McNair was forced off with an injury and replaced by Lee Peltier.
The hosts did manage to carve out an opening 15 minutes after the break as some neat passing on the edge of the box help set up Duncan Watmore, who sent a first-time strike over the crossbar.
Tuchel opted to reshuffle his pack for the final 20 minutes, as Kovacic and Christian Pulisic made way for Timo Wener and N'Golo Kante.
However, the Blues were unable to add to their tally in the latter stages of the second half as the two first-half strikes were enough to seal a spot in the semi-finals.
