Daijiworld Media Network - London
London, Jan 11: Chelsea began life under new head coach Liam Rosenior in emphatic fashion, thrashing Charlton Athletic 5-1 away from home to book their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Rosenior, appointed on Tuesday following the departure of Enzo Maresca, had limited time to work with the squad and oversaw his first training session only on Thursday. Despite that, Chelsea produced a commanding display, dominating possession and pinning Charlton deep inside their own half for much of the contest.
The breakthrough finally came deep into first-half stoppage time when Jorrel Hato fired in his maiden goal for the club. Chelsea struck again shortly after the interval as Tosin powered home a header to double the lead. Charlton briefly threatened a comeback when Miles Leaburn pulled one back, but Marc Guiu restored Chelsea’s two-goal cushion minutes later.
The visitors sealed the rout in injury time, with Pedro Neto adding a fourth before Enzo Fernandez calmly converted from the penalty spot to complete the scoring.
Elsewhere in the competition, defending champions Crystal Palace suffered a historic exit, crashing out to non-league Macclesfield FC in one of the FA Cup’s most remarkable upsets. The National League North side overturned a 117-place league gap to defeat Palace, becoming the first non-league team in 108 years to eliminate the reigning holders.
Paul Dawson’s commanding header and a sublime flick from Isaac Buckley-Ricketts secured Macclesfield’s place in the history books. The result marked the widest league disparity ever seen in an FA Cup upset and the first time since 1939 that a non-league team scored twice against the cup holders.
Manchester City, meanwhile, ran riot against Exeter City, hitting double figures in a staggering 10-goal performance. New signing Antoine Semenyo made an immediate impact on his debut, scoring once and setting up Rico Lewis. The feat made Semenyo the first City player since Sergio Aguero in 2011 to both score and assist on his debut.
It was also the first time a top-flight side had scored 10 or more goals in an FA Cup match since Tottenham Hotspur’s 13-2 demolition of Crewe in 1960, underlining a dramatic and unforgettable round of cup action.