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Amid freezing rain, flurries, and a biting breeze from the banks of the Humber Estuary, combined with a resolute home side fighting for a top-flight place, this presented all the ingredients of a challenging night's task for the visitors.

"We could have scored more but Hull are a strong team and it was a tough tie; I’m delighted with the performance," he said. "Hull City means a lot to me so it was nice to get a good welcome from both sets of fans. The application of the lads was superb."

Liam Rosenior has this city dear to him, given part of his relatives are from Hull and his successful spell in management of the Tigers. This positive connection continued with a magnificent performance from his squad, who in the end sauntered into the next round of the famous old competition.

Deadly Finishing Secures Comprehensive Victory

Three days after letting slip a 2-0 lead in the Premier League, there was a hint of vulnerability about Chelsea going into this intriguing tie. The packed home crowd clearly sensed it too, but Rosenior's men handled the challenge with ease.

The manager made alterations, enacting seven of them to his XI. The tie might and maybe ought to have been settled earlier than it actually was, with two the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap guilty of missing glorious opportunities to put their side ahead in the first half.

However, fortunately for the visitors, their Portuguese attacker was in a much more ruthless frame of mind. He broke the deadlock with a marvellous distance strike, which acted as the spark for Chelsea to take command of the match. By full time, they had four, with the forward netting a trio of them for a brilliant hat-trick.

The Forward's Response and Influence

The home side showed plenty of fight throughout, but the better opportunities always fell Chelsea’s way. The winger should have broken the scoring when he rounded keeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably firing over. Delap then had a similar nightmare moment in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a Phillips's kick which bounced back from the crossbar, and he began to celebrate believing the ball had crossed the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's defenders had reacted to clear the threat.

Delap had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was hugely influential from there on out, providing three key passes. The first was for the first goal as his pass teed up his teammate to finish from range. Six minutes after the second half began, it was 2-0 as Neto's set-piece went directly in through Phillips's legs.

Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Turns

Soon after Neto’s second, the tie was put beyond doubt as a magnificent dribble from Delap teed up Estêvão to tap into an empty net. Neto then finished his hat-trick as the provider again delivered the crucial ball for the striker to calmly slot by a stranded goalkeeper.

At that point, the effort Hull had done in the opening thirty minutes had been forgotten. Their focus must now return to achieving a promotion to the top division under their manager, who rested several key players with that goal in mind.

"I think we deserved at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a very good situation in the Championship," he said. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next games this can be a positive example of how we should play."

There was great effort to the final whistle, and they almost claimed a consolation when Lewis Koumas hit a the upright in injury time. But this was Chelsea’s evening, and another positive step forward for their recently-appointed manager at a place he knows intimately.

Cup History Look Promising

That resulted in an in the end straightforward evening’s performance, and the cup competition omens are positive from here for the winners. They have played Hull on three previous times in this tournament in the last decade and every single time, they have gone on to reach the showpiece. There is remains to be done in that respect, but this was another significant tick for the Chelsea boss.