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Against a backdrop of freezing rain, flurries, and a biting wind off the banks of the Humber, combined with a determined Hull City side fighting for a top-flight place, this presented all the ingredients of a challenging evening’s work for Chelsea.

"We could have added to our tally but Hull are a strong team and it was a tough fixture; I’m very pleased with the performance," he said. "This club is very special to me so it was nice to get a good reception from both sets of supporters. The application of the players was superb."

Liam Chelsea manager holds this city dear to him, considering part of his relatives hail from Hull and his enjoyable period in management of the Championship club. His happy association continued with a magnificent display from his team, who ultimately sauntered into the next round of the FA Cup.

Clinical Finishing Seals Comprehensive Victory

Seventy-two hours after surrendering a 2-0 lead in the Premier League, there was a sniff of vulnerability about them going into this potentially tricky cup clash. The capacity Hull support evidently sensed it too, but the London side handled the task with ease.

Rosenior made alterations, making multiple of them to his XI. The tie might and perhaps ought to have been settled long before it actually was, with both the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap at fault for missing excellent opportunities to put their side ahead in the first half.

But, fortunately for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a much more ruthless frame of mind. He opened the deadlock with a spectacular distance strike, which proved to be the spark for his team to assume control of the match. By full time, they had four, with the forward netting a trio of them for a brilliant hat-trick.

Delap's Redemption and Impact

The home side displayed great fight throughout, but the clearer chances consistently came Chelsea’s way. Estêvão ought to have opened the deadlock when he rounded goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably shooting over. The striker then had a similar horror incident in front of goal against his old team.

He deflected a Phillips's kick which bounced off the crossbar, and Delap started to celebrate believing the ball had gone over the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's defenders had responded to avert the danger.

Delap had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was immensely instrumental from there on out, providing 3 key passes. The opening was for the opening goal as his through ball set up his teammate to score from outside the box. Six minutes after the restart, it was 2-0 as the forward's set-piece went straight in through Phillips's legs.

Tie Sealed and Attention Shifts

Soon after the second goal, the tie was put beyond doubt as a magnificent dribble from the forward laid on his teammate to slide into an unguarded goal. Neto then finished his treble as Delap once again delivered the decisive ball for the striker to coolly convert past a helpless Phillips.

By that stage, the work Hull had done in the first thirty minutes had been erased. Their focus must now switch back to achieving a promotion to the top division under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested a number of first-choice individuals with that goal in mind.

"In my opinion we earned at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a strong position in the Championship," he said. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming games this can be a good example of how we should play."

There was great effort to the end, and they nearly got a consolation when a substitute struck a the upright in injury time. But this was the Blues' night, and another encouraging step forward for their new manager at a place he knows very well.

FA Cup Omens Look Good

The result resulted in an in the end straightforward evening’s performance, and the FA Cup-shaped signs are positive from here for Chelsea. They have played Hull on three previous times in this tournament in the last decade and every single time, they have gone on to make the showpiece. There is still done in that respect, but this was another significant tick for Rosenior.