Chelsea 5 Watford 0:IF ONLY life without Didier Drogba were always this comfortable. Chelsea's first fixture since their African contingent departed for Angola proved a stroll, with Championship opponents hopelessly outclassed. Trickier afternoons than this lie ahead but, given the third round has already inflicted notable casualties, it felt as if the holders' grip on this trophy had been strengthened.
This was a mismatch to spark their defence. Watford had arrived bullish and were bellowed on by the massed ranks of yellow and red, but they merely froze when confronted by blanket home possession. Chelsea were allowed to build momentum without enduring any early discomfort.
When the visitors finally stirred they were already a condemned side and their defending hardly improved at any point.
This became more of a training exercise aimed at pepping Chelsea’s confidence. Daniel Sturridge gained most from the occasion, scoring his first goals for the club since his controversial summer move from Manchester City to suggest that Drogba and Salomon Kalou might not be missed quite so much.
“This performance was important for him,” said manager Carlo Ancelotti. “It’ll improve his confidence and we need him in good condition with Drogba away. He has a lot of potential and great quality and he can show that on the pitch in January.”
The fee for the 20-year-old’s services will be decided by a transfer tribunal later this month and City might expect to generate rather more in the wake of this display.
The Premier League defences he must unlock over the next month – Hull, Sunderland, Birmingham and Burnley – will prove less accommodating than that of Watford, but there was bite to his play here that bodes well.
His was a predatory finish to turn in John Terry’s wayward volley after barely five minutes, a setback from which the visitors never recovered. His second, arriving at the far post to collect and convert Ashley Cole’s centre, was impressive in its execution.
Yet, in truth, this was an afternoon on which all of Chelsea’s attackers revelled. The hosts conjured 10 corners in the opening half-hour and three goals in the first 22 minutes.
Frank Lampard thrashed in a trademark goal from distance just after the hour, Terry was twice denied from close range by timely blocks and Florent Malouda took out his frustration at a bit-part role lately on panicked opponents.
The Frenchman had sought out Ancelotti before the recent game at St Andrew’s to express his disappointment at not starting regularly. His case was not helped when he was subsequently sent off in that game at Birmingham but he flourished here in combination with Ashley Cole and Yuri Zhirkov.
It was his cross which provoked a goalmouth ricochet that culminated in John Eustace’s desperate own-goal, and his touch that deflected in the Russian’s optimistic 25-yard drive to make it 3-0. If an interview with L’Equipe, in which he had suggested Lampard’s position in the team was wrongly untouchable, had soured the mood in the build-up, then Malouda at least departed this arena content he had stated his case for future inclusion.
“I spoke with Malouda before the Birmingham game and I explained my position,” said Ancelotti. “He explained his. For me that was it, finished. After that he spoke in the French press but there is no problem. For me Malouda is an important player for us.”
The key to the Frenchman’s happiness will presumably be whether he is selected against Arsenal on February 7th, the first occasion Chelsea would hope to have their African players back.
“I think they’ll manage to scramble together 11 players in the meantime to maintain their Premier League challenge,” said the Watford manager, Malky Mackay.
For them, this season’s FA Cup has proved nothing more than a harsh lesson and a much needed payday. Chelsea’s ambitions are considerably higher.
