Pedro Neto treble fires Chelsea’s FA Cup rout of Hull

LONDON – Chelsea eased into the FA Cup fifth round, as Pedro Neto’s hat-trick inspired a 4-0 win at Hull City on Liam Rosenior’s return to the club who sacked him two years ago.

The Blues took the lead through Neto’s superb first-half strike before the Portugal forward netted twice after the break, with Estevao Willian also on the scoresheet at the MKM Stadium on Feb 13.

It was an emotional evening for Chelsea boss Rosenior, as he faced the second-tier club that ruthlessly severed their long relationship with him in 2024.

He supported Hull as a child alongside his season ticket-holding grandmother, played for the club across five years and managed them for two seasons.

He was fired after narrowly failing to reach the promotion play-offs to the English Premier League amid criticism of his team’s conservative tactics.

Despite the painful end to his time at Hull, the 41-year-old said it was “amazing” to return to Humberside as he showed his old club what they had missed out on.

“This club means a lot not just to me but also my family for many reasons,” Rosenior said of the Tigers, who are fourth, one of the promotion play-off spots, after just avoiding the drop last season.

“I do hope they make the Premier League this year, but because of our attitude and application, that is what gave us the platform to win tonight.”

Rosenior has made an impressive start at Chelsea since arriving from Strasbourg to replace Enzo Maresca in January, winning eight and drawing one of his first 11 matches in all competitions.

He made seven changes, with Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez and Joao Pedro among those to miss out, but Chelsea were still too strong.

“Pedro Neto has been outstanding, he works so hard and has so much quality. I’m delighted to see him get the goals,” Rosenior said.

“The most pleasing aspect was the mentality. It was a really strong performance in terms of the mental application you need to be successful. Everyone worked really hard for each other.”

Chelsea dominated possession to such an extent that it was little surprise when they finally made the breakthrough in the 40th minute.

Liam Delap teed up Neto and he whipped a superb finish into the corner from 20 yards.

Andrey Santos’ towering header was pushed over by Dillon Phillips after the interval and, from the resulting corner, Chelsea doubled their lead in the 51st minute.

Neto’s inswinger caught Phillips flat-footed at the near post, bouncing through his legs without a touch from either team.

Chelsea had blown a two-goal advantage in their 2-2 draw with Leeds in the Premier League on Feb 10. But there was no chance of a repeat and Estevao grabbed their third with a composed finish from 12 yards in the 59th minute.

Neto made it four in the 71st minute, caressing a low finish past Phillips from Delap’s layoff.

“We came here with one task and that was to win. We showed we can battle and also play some good football, so we are happy,” Delap told TNT Sports after his hat-trick of assists.

“Pedro Neto is an incredible player. He is playing in a position he is not even used to (behind the striker) but he showed his quality.”

Wrexham beat fellow Championship side Ipswich 1-0 in the other fourth-round tie on Feb 13.

The Welsh club, owned by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, are into the last 16 for the first time since 1996-97. AFP