Chelsea strolled past Preston North End in impressive fashion to move into the FA Cup fifth round with victory at Deepdale.
Darren Ferguson - in his first home match since taking over as Preston manager - harboured hopes of starting his reign by producing a shock against the FA Cup holders.
But Carlo Ancelotti’s side contained too much style and steel for their Championship opponents as the holders demonstrated that they fully intend to keep their hands on the trophy they won against Everton at Wembley last May.
Nicolas Anelka’s low drive put Chelsea ahead after 37 minutes and Daniel Sturridge slammed in a second just after the restart to ensure their comfortable passage into the next round.
Preston’s big opportunity came and went shortly after Anelka gave Chelsea the lead, and Darren Carter will have nightmares about how he somehow failed to hit the target from point-blank range with keeper Hilario out of position.
The only worry for Chelsea came with a second-half injury to Frank Lampard, while Preston boss Ferguson can now concentrate on his main business of moving Preston up the Championship table.
