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Played
January 8, 2012 10:00 AM EST
Stamford Bridge — London
Referee: A. Taylor
Attendance: 41529
January 8, 2012 10:00 AM EST
Stamford Bridge — London
Referee: A. Taylor
Attendance: 41529
Top of the Match
Ramires
Chelsea
Chelsea
Fernando Torres
Chelsea
Chelsea
Flop of the Match
Aaron Mokoena
Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Stephen Henderson
Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Goal.com Rating 
Fans' Rating Chelsea 4-0 Portsmouth: Mata, Ramires and Lampard on target as late flurry sees Villas-Boas' men progress
Three second half goals somewhat flattered Andre Villas-Boas' side in what was not exactly a convincing performance against the Championship outfit at Stamford Bridge.
By Joe Doyle
Getty Images
LONDON - The scoreline failed to tell the whole story as Chelsea made hard work of progressing into the fourth round of the FA Cup in a 4-0 victory over Portsmouth.
Juan Mata opened the scoring just after halftime with a close range finish, before Ramires added two late goals and Frank Lampard grabbed another to ensure the home team's name was in the hat for the next round.
Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas was clearly taking the match extremely seriously, as shown by his vastly experienced starting lineup, with John Terry passing a fitness test on Saturday that allowed him to take his place at the center of defense.
There were no real absentees for the home side and Portsmouth also fielded a strong lineup in a 4-4-2 formation with Marko Futacs and Dave Kitson up front.
It was Kitson who almost opened the scoring for the away side in the opening 30 seconds, latching onto a flick on by his giant partner and rolling a shot just wide of Petr Cech's post.
However, Chelsea was generally on top during the opening stages and its first chance of the afternoon came just after the 10th minute when Florent Malouda's cross was headed goalwards by Fernando Torres, only to be denied by a great save from Stephen Henderson in the Portsmouth goal.
Portsmouth was next to get an effort in, with Aaron Mokoena heading over from a Liam Lawrence corner.
From then on it was a rather quiet game, with Chelsea holding much of the possession, but Portsmouth was restricting the team to long shots that failed to test Henderson.
Just after the half hour mark Ashley Cole breathed a sigh of relief as he played a blind pass that left Portsmouth with a three-on-two situation, but David Norris' shot was just wide of Cech's post again.
The visiting side looked to be coping well, and Futacs was causing problems with his hold up play and quick feet.
But it was Chelsea which came close next, as Mata and Malouda combined to send Lampard through, but the ball just escaped the 33-year-old and Henderson came out to take the it at his feet.
Just before halftime, Lampard had another opportunity after Malouda was felled outside the box by Kitson, but he spooned his free kick over the bar and into the Shed End.
The second half started with a bang, as Chelsea went 1-0 up in the opening three minutes thanks to Mata. After Portsmouth's clearance was allegedly batted down with a hand, Malouda took advantage and got to the byline before pulling the ball back for the Spanish winger to convert from six yards.
That really got the fans going but barely five minutes had passed and Pompey were nearly level.
Kitson robbed an otherwise impressive David Luiz in possession and fed Futacs on the edge of the box. His shot was saved by Cech, who spread himself well.
Joel Ward's follow up effort was brilliantly denied by John Terry, running back to clear the header off the line, and colliding with the post in due course. Another driven effort was then stopped by Cech.
Terry was down for a considerable amount of time receiving treatment as he looked to have damaged his knee, but was fit enough to resume.
Chelsea then almost added to the lead with Ramires going close with a header that was easily saved by Henderson.
The next portion the game petered out without too many chances for either side, until the 84th minute. Ramires doubled Chelsea's lead after some good work down the left by Mata led to another close range finish for the home side.
Ramires then added some gloss to the scoreline by brilliantly chipping the ball into the corner on a quick counter attack and Lampard grabbed another to seal Chelsea's progression into the fourth round.
Juan Mata opened the scoring just after halftime with a close range finish, before Ramires added two late goals and Frank Lampard grabbed another to ensure the home team's name was in the hat for the next round.
Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas was clearly taking the match extremely seriously, as shown by his vastly experienced starting lineup, with John Terry passing a fitness test on Saturday that allowed him to take his place at the center of defense.
There were no real absentees for the home side and Portsmouth also fielded a strong lineup in a 4-4-2 formation with Marko Futacs and Dave Kitson up front.
It was Kitson who almost opened the scoring for the away side in the opening 30 seconds, latching onto a flick on by his giant partner and rolling a shot just wide of Petr Cech's post.
However, Chelsea was generally on top during the opening stages and its first chance of the afternoon came just after the 10th minute when Florent Malouda's cross was headed goalwards by Fernando Torres, only to be denied by a great save from Stephen Henderson in the Portsmouth goal.
Portsmouth was next to get an effort in, with Aaron Mokoena heading over from a Liam Lawrence corner.
From then on it was a rather quiet game, with Chelsea holding much of the possession, but Portsmouth was restricting the team to long shots that failed to test Henderson.
Just after the half hour mark Ashley Cole breathed a sigh of relief as he played a blind pass that left Portsmouth with a three-on-two situation, but David Norris' shot was just wide of Cech's post again.
The visiting side looked to be coping well, and Futacs was causing problems with his hold up play and quick feet.
But it was Chelsea which came close next, as Mata and Malouda combined to send Lampard through, but the ball just escaped the 33-year-old and Henderson came out to take the it at his feet.
Just before halftime, Lampard had another opportunity after Malouda was felled outside the box by Kitson, but he spooned his free kick over the bar and into the Shed End.
A degree of comfort | Ramires celebrates giving his side a two-goal cushion
The second half started with a bang, as Chelsea went 1-0 up in the opening three minutes thanks to Mata. After Portsmouth's clearance was allegedly batted down with a hand, Malouda took advantage and got to the byline before pulling the ball back for the Spanish winger to convert from six yards.
That really got the fans going but barely five minutes had passed and Pompey were nearly level.
Kitson robbed an otherwise impressive David Luiz in possession and fed Futacs on the edge of the box. His shot was saved by Cech, who spread himself well.
Joel Ward's follow up effort was brilliantly denied by John Terry, running back to clear the header off the line, and colliding with the post in due course. Another driven effort was then stopped by Cech.
Terry was down for a considerable amount of time receiving treatment as he looked to have damaged his knee, but was fit enough to resume.
Chelsea then almost added to the lead with Ramires going close with a header that was easily saved by Henderson.
The next portion the game petered out without too many chances for either side, until the 84th minute. Ramires doubled Chelsea's lead after some good work down the left by Mata led to another close range finish for the home side.
Ramires then added some gloss to the scoreline by brilliantly chipping the ball into the corner on a quick counter attack and Lampard grabbed another to seal Chelsea's progression into the fourth round.
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Goal
Own Goal
Penalty
Penalty Missed
Yellow Card
Assist
Penalty Save
Penalty Shootout Goal
Penalty Shootout Miss
Yellow Card / Red Card
Red Card
Substitution IN
Substitution OUT
Injury
Goal.com Rating
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Top & Flop Global Ranking
Fans' Man of the Match- Fans' Flop of the Match
Results
Times In EST
Match News
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Jermaine Beckford
Striker Leicester City |
6 | 0 |
|
Darius Henderson
Striker Millwall XI |
4 | 1 |
|
Juan Mata
Striker Chelsea |
4 | 1 |
|
Andy Carroll
Striker Liverpool |
4 | 0 |
|
Ramires
Midfielder Chelsea |
4 | 0 |