Chelsea Ease Past Blackburn To Book Place In Quarter Finals

It is no wonder Mauricio Pochettino spends most of his time watching Chelsea on the edge of the touchline with his hands clasped tightly in his pockets and a tense expression on his face.

Even with his side 2-0 up and cruising against Blackburn thanks to goals from Benoît Badiashile and a rejuvenated Raheem Sterling, the Chelsea manager was a bundle of nerves throughout what turned out to be a comfortable victory in the end.

But while the lack of cutting edge that has become a hallmark of the Todd Boehly-era in west London still looms large as he prepares for his first return to table-topping Tottenham on Monday night, Pochettino could take heart from Cole Palmer’s brilliant performance as the former Manchester City forward helped to dispatch Jon Dahl Tomasson’s inexperienced side.

Blackburn certainly managed to cause problems for Chelsea even after the hosts made their intentions clear straight from the kick-off when Nicolas Jackson forced a corner when his shot was blocked. Travis was very lucky not to concede a penalty when he slid in against Sterling after 10 minutes, with no VAR to overrule what looked like a clear and obvious error from the referee Tim Robinson.

It took a good save from Leopold Wahlstedt to deny James but Blackburn then enjoyed a good period of possession in their opponents’ half. James was inches away from breaking the deadlock midway through the first half but his shot just eluded the far post before Enzo Fernández forced Wahlstedt to palm away his effort soon afterwards.

Almost 15 minutes had passed by the time Fernández had Chelsea’s first effort of the second half. Palmer came closer from a tight angle but, having cleared the ensuing corner, Blackburn shot themselves in the foot as they tried to play out. Brittain’s pass was intercepted by Palmer and Sterling curled home from the edge of the area to give Pochettino some welcome breathing space. Jackson should have made it even more comfortable but blazed over from close range before the post denied the outstanding Palmer a goal with a deflected shot.

Sterling could and probably should have added to his tally after finding space in behind Blackburn’s defence on more than one occasion in the closing stages. But it was Palmer who was afforded a standing ovation when he was withdrawn at the end as Chelsea’s supporters celebrated only their fourth home win of the season – three of them in this competition.