Chelsea 5-0 Morecambe: Player ratings as Tosin & Felix star in FA Cup rout

A late flurry of second-half goals helped Chelsea eventually ease to a 5-0 win at home to fourth-tier Morecambe in the FA Cup third round on Saturday.

The prospect of an almighty FA Cup upset briefly morphed from a distant impossibility to a faint hope when Christopher Nkunku had his first-half penalty saved. Morecambe goalkeeper Harry Burgoyne had not been overly tested before the tame spot-kick, instead watching Enzo Maresca’s expensively assembled B-team squander the numerous chances they created.

The Blues belatedly took the lead on the cusp of half-time thanks to Tosin Adarabioyo’s heavily deflected long-range strike.

After a hardly convincing first half, Maresca made three changes at the break, introducing the in-form Jadon Sancho, Malo Gusto and Marc Cucurella. The Spanish full-back – whose £55m transfer fee is roughly five times the valuation of the entire club Morecambe FC – burst into the box shortly after coming off the bench, firing a low cut-back for Renato Veiga to take aim. The Portugal international’s shot was saved, but fell for Nkunku to make it 2-0.

Morecambe, so defiant, so determined, so dogged for the opening 70 minutes, were dismantled during a seven-minute burst. Tosin converted a second strike from outside the box before Joao Felix notched a brace of his own in little more than 100 seconds. After converting a crisp counter-attack, the elfin attacker picked out the top corner with Chelsea’s 27th effort of the afternoon.

The Blues emphatically sealed their spot in tomorrow’s fourth round draw, while Morecambe return to the everyday slog of a relegation scrap at the foot of England’s professional football league.

Reece James made a rare start for Chelsea on Saturday afternoon / Clive Rose/GettyImages

*Ratings provided by FotMob*

Subs not used: Robert Sanchez (GK), Josh Acheampong, Levi Colwill, Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez, Nicolas Jackson

Player of the match – Tosin Adarabioyo (Chelsea)

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