Despite spending a lot of money last summer, Chelsea's performances have been up and down, with an early declaration that the league title was hopeless, and a cup game will have to be broken to break the embarrassment of the big four. On matchday, Chelsea host Preston North End in the third round of the FA Cup, who are only in the bottom half of the Championship, which is a huge boon for the Blues. After the game began, Chelsea were in a point of embarrassment, with Palmer squandering a single shot. However, back in the second half, Armando Broja, Thiago Silva and Raheem Sterling scored three goals in 11 minutes as Chelsea made a splash and Enzo added the icing on the cake as the Blues won their opening game of the new year 4-0 and progressed to the next round.
Chelsea is worth as much as 1 billion euros, while Preston is only 41 million, but in order to ensure promotion, Pochettino did not dare to rotate the lineup on a large scale, in the 4-2-3-1 formation, Petrovic continued to serve as the starting goalkeeper, Gusto, Disassi, Gilchrist and Colwill formed a defensive quartet, Mr. Sangu sat in the midfield, Enzo and Caicedo were two midfielders, Mudryk, Palmer and Sterling lined up, and Armando Broja played as a single arrow.
As soon as the referee's whistle blew, Chelsea took advantage of home advantage to form a press, but the attacking thunder was heavy and the efficiency in front of goal was unbearable. In the 6th minute, Raheem Sterling broke through on the right and then fell in the box in an exaggerated manner, and the referee did not react at all.
In the 22nd minute, Enzo showed the quality of a World Cup winner, sending a precise long ball over the top, Palmer's stop was quite dashing, but it was a pity that the one-handed shot went wide of the post.
In the 27th minute, Gilchrist's long pass was instigated, and Sterling again went down to cross the opponent's heel to form a refraction, and Enzo cut in the header too much, and missed a great opportunity again. In the first 45 minutes, Chelsea enjoyed 64 per cent possession, created five shots, three of them on target, and wasted two chances before going back to the dressing room with a 0-0 scoreline.
After returning to the pitch, Chelsea still scored first: in the 58th minute, Mudryk struggled to counter-attack and knocked back, Gusto made a precise cross, Armando Broja shook his head into the far corner, 1-0! In the 60th minute, Mudryk cut in from the left and crossed, and it was Broja's header that hit the crossbar and popped up.
In the 66th minute, Palmer's cross from a corner was just right in power and on target to give Thiago Silva a header to give Chelsea a 2-0 lead. The 21-year-old, who has struggled to get regular playing time at Manchester City, has finally shone after joining Chelsea for $47 million this season, scoring eight goals and providing seven assists in 20 games and being directly involved in 15 goals, arguably the Blues' most valuable transfer operation in recent years.
In the 69th minute, Chelsea won another set-piece in front, Sterling played a world wave, bypassed the human wall and hung in the upper left corner, and the score became 3-0!
In the 71st minute, Armando Broja singled past the goalkeeper and then pushed the ball, and Hughes cleared the ball in front of the goal line. However, the game was won and lost, and Pochettino also called in to withdraw Palmer and Broja. In the 85th minute, Chelsea played a smooth game, Sterling's shot in front of goal was blocked, Enzo followed up with a follow-up shot, and the referee signalled for offside at first, but VAR signalled that the goal was established, and Chelsea led 4-0.
In the 92nd minute, Caicedo went straight into the penalty area, Madueke's shot from the right was saved, and Golding's follow-up shot was not kicked with power.
A 4-0 win over Preston North End gave Chelsea a flying start to 2024 and progressed to the fourth round of the FA Cup. Despite their disappointing performance in the Premier League, the Blues are still in contention for a double.