Olivier Giroud and Willian helped Chelsea thrash Hull City to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals – and boss Antonio Conte says they have given him “good doubts” about his team to face Barcelona on Tuesday.
Willian was fantastic throughout against the Championship strugglers and scored the opener with a curling effort from outside the box.
Pedro scored the second when he slipped the ball under David Marshall after latching onto Cesc Fabregas’ excellent halfway line pass.
Willian then scored his second from 25 yards after playing a one-two with Giroud.
The France striker then scored his first goal since his move from Arsenal – a smart finish from close range following debutant Emerson Palmieri’s left-wing cross.
Hull improved slightly after the break and David Meyler had a penalty saved by Willy Caballero.
Willian almost wrapped up a first career hat-trick late on, but he hit the post from 20 yards.
Chelsea will discover their next FA Cup opponents on Saturday at 20:00 GMT.
After that comes Tuesday’s Champions League last-16 first leg at home to Barcelona.
Conte told BBC Sport: “It was a positive night, Olivier Giroud got his first goal and Willian had an impressive performance.
“For sure when I go home, I have many good doubts because I have to try to make the best decision for Tuesday and to have many options is good for me and good for the team.”
Conte’s Premier League champions are 19 points off leaders Manchester City, and face the La Liga leaders in the Champions League – so the FA Cup is probably their best chance of winning a trophy.
The Italian again rested regular starters such as Eden Hazard, N’Golo Kane and Cesar Azpilicueta – although he still named a strong team, who had too much ability for the Tigers to cope with.
Willian’s first came after Kevin Stewart lost the ball to Giroud. He then set up Fabregas with a bit of skill, but the Spaniard’s shot was saved by David Marshall.
Chelsea were dominant – Giroud shot over from Pedro’s scooped pass, before Willian and Pedro both forced saves.
Fabregas then set up Pedro brilliantly with an aerial pass from the centre circle to add their second.
They were cruising, and Willian started a move and then finished it from 25 yards via the post after loaning the ball to Giroud.
Giroud, an £18m January signing from Arsenal, then stubbed the ball home from six yards after being set up by Emerson – another January recruit.
They did concede a penalty when Fabregas fouled Harry Wilson but Caballero made his fifth penalty save from the last eight kicks he has faced, excluding shootouts.
Willian had a chance for his hat-trick but was denied by a Jackson Irvine block, and Davide Zappacosta forced a good save from the rebound.
Willian went even closer when he crashed the ball off the outside of the post with two minutes left after some good footwork to lose two defenders.
The Tigers are only one point clear of the Championship relegation zone as they bid to avoid back-to-back drops from the Premier League to League One.
They were without a host of first-team players, including three different ineligible defenders on loan from Chelsea. Midfielder Ryan Mason had to retire this week because of a fractured skull he suffered against Chelsea last year.
The odds were always against them at Stamford Bridge, but realistically they never gave themselves a chance, starting from the moment Stewart needlessly gave the ball away within 90 seconds for the Blues’ opening goal.
Meyler missed a chance to pull one back from the spot soon after the break, and to make matters worse Wilson had to go off with a shoulder injury suffered while winning the penalty.
City were better in the second half and Irvine, Nouha Dicko and Jon Toral forced saves.
The FA Cup was a nice distraction for Tigers boss Nigel Adkins, who replaced Leonid Slutsky in December and has won four of his 14 games to date, but their final 15 league games are much more pivotal for their future.