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Amid sleet, snow, and a biting wind from the banks of the Humber Estuary, alongside a determined Hull City side fighting for a top-flight place, this had all the ingredients of a difficult night's task for the visitors.

"We could have added to our tally but Hull are a good team and it was a tough tie; I am delighted with the display," he said. "Hull City is very special to me so it was great to get a good welcome from the fans of fans. The attitude of the players was excellent."

Liam Chelsea manager has this place dear to him, considering part of his family are from Hull and his enjoyable period in charge of the Tigers. This positive connection was extended with a commanding display from his team, who ultimately strolled into the fifth round of the famous old competition.

Clinical Edge Secures Comfortable Victory

Three days removed from letting slip a 2-0 lead in the Premier League, there was a sniff of vulnerability about them going into this intriguing cup clash. The capacity home crowd evidently sensed it too, but the London side navigated the task with ease.

The manager made alterations, enacting multiple of them to his XI. The tie might and perhaps should have been decided earlier than it actually was, with both Estêvão Willian and the forward guilty of missing glorious opportunities to put Chelsea ahead in the first half.

But, fortunately for the away team, their Portuguese attacker was in a much more ruthless frame of mind. He broke the deadlock with a spectacular distance strike, which acted as the spark for his team to take command of the match. By the final whistle, they had four, with the forward scoring a trio of them for a brilliant hat-trick.

Delap's Response and Impact

Hull displayed plenty of spirit all game, but the better opportunities always came Chelsea’s way. The winger ought to have broken the scoring when he rounded goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before inexplicably shooting over. The striker then had a comparable nightmare moment in front of goal against his former club.

He deflected a the goalkeeper's clearance which bounced back from the bar, and Delap began to celebrate believing the ball had gone over the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he realised, Hull's defenders had responded to clear the danger.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was hugely influential from that point onward, registering three assists. The opening was for the opening goal as his through ball teed up his teammate to score from range. Shortly after the restart, it was 2-0 as Neto's set-piece went straight in through the keeper's legs.

Contest Sealed and Focus Shifts

Seven minutes after the second, the tie was put beyond doubt as a magnificent run from the forward laid on Estêvão to slide into an unguarded goal. Neto then completed his hat-trick as Delap once again played the crucial ball for the attacker to coolly convert by a stranded goalkeeper.

At that point, the effort Hull had put in in the opening thirty minutes had been forgotten. Their focus must now switch back to securing a return to the Premier League under their manager, who rested several first-choice individuals with that goal in mind.

"I think we earned at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a very good situation in the league," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next games this can be a positive lesson of how we should play."

There was plenty of endeavour to the final whistle, and they almost claimed a late goal when Lewis Koumas struck a post in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another positive stride for their recently-appointed manager at a stadium he knows intimately.

Cup History Look Good

The result made for an ultimately routine night's work, and the cup competition signs are positive from here for Chelsea. They have played Hull on three other occasions in this tournament in the last decade and on each occasion, they have gone on to reach the final. There is still done in that respect, but this was another significant tick for the Chelsea boss.