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Against a backdrop of sleet, flurries, and a swirling wind from the waters of the Humber, combined with a resolute home side pushing hard for a top-flight place, this had all the makings of a difficult evening’s task for Chelsea.

"We could have scored more but Hull are a good team and it was a tough fixture; I am very pleased with the performance," the manager stated. "This club means a lot to me so it was great to get a positive reception from both sets of fans. The application of the players was superb."

Liam Chelsea manager holds this city dear to him, considering part of his family are from Hull and his enjoyable period in charge of the Championship club. This positive association continued with a magnificent performance from his squad, who in the end sauntered into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Edge Secures Comfortable Win

Three days removed from surrendering a 2-0 lead in the league, there was a hint of fragility about Chelsea going into this intriguing cup clash. The capacity home crowd clearly felt it too, but the London side navigated the task with ease.

The manager made alterations, enacting multiple of them to his XI. The tie might and perhaps should have been decided earlier than it eventually was, with two Estêvão Willian and Liam Delap at fault for spurning glorious chances to put their side ahead in the opening period.

But, fortunately for the visitors, Pedro Neto was in a far more clinical frame of mind. He opened the deadlock with a spectacular long-range strike, which proved to be the catalyst for Chelsea to take command of proceedings. By the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with the forward scoring a trio of them for a superb hat-trick.

The Forward's Redemption and Influence

Hull displayed plenty of spirit throughout, but the better opportunities consistently came Chelsea’s way. The winger should have opened the scoring when he went past goalkeeper the Hull stopper before inexplicably firing over. The striker then had a similar horror moment in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a the goalkeeper's clearance which came off the bar, and he began to run away believing the ball had crossed the line. It had not, 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 that point onward, providing 3 assists. The opening was for the opening goal as his through ball teed up Neto to score from outside the box. Shortly after the second half began, it was 2-0 as the forward's set-piece went directly in through the keeper's legs.

Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Turns

Seven minutes after Neto’s second goal, the match was effectively ended as a magnificent dribble from Delap teed up his teammate to slide into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then completed his treble as Delap again delivered the decisive pass for the striker to calmly slot past a stranded Phillips.

At that point, the effort Hull had done in the opening thirty minutes had long since forgotten. Their focus must now return to achieving a promotion to the Premier League under their manager, who rested several key players with that goal in mind.

"I think we earned at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a strong situation in the Championship," he said. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next matches this can be a good lesson of how we should play."

Hull showed plenty of endeavour to the final whistle, and they nearly claimed a late goal when a substitute struck a the upright in injury time. But this was Chelsea’s evening, and another encouraging step forward for their new manager at a place he is familiar with very well.

Cup History Look Good

The result resulted in an ultimately straightforward night's performance, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are good from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three previous times in this tournament in the past ten years and every single time, they have gone on to make the showpiece. Much remains to be work in that regard, but this was another huge positive for Rosenior.