DAILY MAIL 🔵 Chelsea 5-0 Morecambe: Rampant Blues run riot as Joao Felix and defender Tosin Adarabioyo score twice in thumping win, as Christopher Nkunku nets after controversial missed penalty
- Chelsea secured comfortable win against Morecambe in the FA Cup third round
- Both Tosin Adarabioyo and Joao Felix netted braces for the Blues on Saturday
- LISTEN to It’s All Kicking Off! Why Manchester United may have to sell Kobbie Mainoo or Alejandro Garnacho
For 39 minutes Morecambe had themselves a fun time in the land of giants and then they outstayed their welcome. Poor fellas must have hit all 87 rungs of the ladder on their fall down from Chelsea.
But we should be clear that whatever tales are told by the scoreline, there was no disgrace in how the 91st-ranked club pyramid handled themselves against the fourth.
They did all those things we love in these engagements, which is to say they chased, blocked, hacked clear and broke a couple of lines on the counter. They even had one of those dreamy moments, at 0-0, when Harry Burgoyne, released Shrewsbury in the summer, saved the penalty of a £52million striker in Christopher Nkunku.
Joao Felix.
Three were hit from outside the box, one from a yard inside, so it was a good show.
For Derek Adams, the Morecambe manager, it was concussive proof of a message that needed no reinforcing about the quality in Enzo Maresca’s reserves. The latter had made 10 changes to the side last used in the Premier League and was still in a position to field £270million worth of signings.
As Adams put it after the game: ‘Our wage bill is just over a million, they have spent a billion. It doesn’t take Einstein to work out the gap is huge.’
Of those who came in for Chelsea, Reece James started for the first time since November and had a strong first half before being withdrawn.
Pedro Neto was also lively and Felix finished superbly on this rare excursion out of Cole Palmer’s shadow, though you can only ever judge so much from these uneven fixtures, or those in the Conference League for that matter.
Maresca, who explained Noni Madueke’s absence was down to illness, said: ‘It is an important competition and since the start we are treating all competitions the same way.’
Within quarter of an hour, this bombardment was well established – Axel Disasi and James had both gone close and Tosin headed against a post.
A surreal penalty then followed when Yann Songo’o’s raised his arms in protest for a goal kick and the upshot was that Joao Felix’s cross hit one of them.
Burgoyne, whose career has featured loan adventures from Lowestoft to Falkirk to Corby Town, saved Nkunku’s kick and produced another excellent block from Felix a few minutes later.
Breaking through was proving tough for Chelsea, but eventually they squirmed one in when Tosin’s shot from 25 yards hit the backside of Callum Jones and took a wicked change of direction, leaving Burgoyne with no options.
As for Morecambe’s attacks, they were limited – the shot count for the half favoured Chelsea 15-2. However, Ben Tollitt had some success in his battle with Renato Veiga and their fans got a point across with their 19th minute protest against the cub’s ownership.
Maresca’s half-time measures included three changes, with Reece James brought off after his first start since November, and Neto, his best player in the first 45 minutes, also hooked for Jadon Sancho.
A second goal was quick in arriving, with Nkunku burying the rebound after Burgoyne blocked a drive from Veiga, and the third came from Tosin, picking out the top corner from the same distance as his opener.
The fourth and fifth were the work of Felix, one a low roller from outside the area and the next the sweetest of dippers from just inside.