Chelsea 4 Peterborough 1: WATCH HIGHLIGHTS – John Terry sent off as Pedro, Michy Batshuayi and Willian see Blues into FA Cup fourth round

JOHN TERRY saw red on his first start since November as Chelsea made it comfortably through to the FA Cup Fourth Round.

Goals from Pedro, Michy Batshuayi and Willian had put the Blues 3-0 up and safely into tomorrow night’s draw, which will make Antonio Conte all the more fuming that his captain needlessly brought down Lee Angol in the 67th minute.

Spanish midfielder Pedro beat a Posh defender to beautifully curl the Premier League leaders’ first into the top corner.

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And he should have made it 2-0 when he somehow hit the bar from inside the six-yard box.

But Michy Batshuayi made no mistake as he grabbed Chelsea’s second with a low drive on the stroke of half time.

Willian then ended the match as a contest with a side-footed effort on 52 minutes.

In Peterborough’s first attack of the second half, Terry was left one-on-one with pacey striker Angol.

The former England captain once captured the hearts of the nation when he dived like a salmon in an attempt to head away a Slovenia attack in the 2010 World Cup.

But there isn’t a coach in the country who would instruct him to perform a similar dive at an opposition striker’s feet when he’s the last man and his team is 3-0 up.

Referee Kevin Friend rightly showed the red card, which encouraged Peterborough back into the game.

On 70 minutes, Lee Nichols scored a tap-in to give the six thousand travelling fans what they came for.

But Pedro rounded things off five minutes later with a right footed strike into the bottom corner from outside the area.

FACTS, STATS, GOALS AND LOLS

• SIX THOUSAND Peterborough fans travel to Stamford Bridge and pump up the atmosphere against a Chelsea B-team.
• CHELSEA make nine changes from the team which lost 2-0 at Tottenham last Wednesday.
• IT includes French defender Kurt Zouma making his first team return since suffering a serious knee injury last February.
• LEAGUE ONE Posh go close to taking the lead when Lee Angol just fails to connect properly to a cross from Marcus Maddison but still draws a great save from keeper Asmir Begovic.
• POSH showcase teenage prodigy Leo Da Silvas Lopes who has been compared to Manchester United legend George Best by his own chairman Barry Fry.
• AFTER a couple of scares Pedro calms the nerves by curling in a classy goal on 18 minutes to put the Premier League leaders ahead.
• PEDRO then hits the bar from three yards out after rounding defender Ryan Tafazolli and keeper Luke McGee.
• MICHY BATHSUAYI scores his first Chelsea goal since two at Bristol Rovers in EFL Cup in August with a 45th minute low shot into the bottom corner of the net.
• WILLIAN makes it 3-0 with low drive from the edge of the box in the 52nd minute.
• CHELSEA captain John Terry gets straight red card in his first game since late October for taking down Boro striker Lee Angol in the 66th minute.
• TIM NICHOLS then scores against ten man Chelsea to liven up the last 20 minutes.
• PEDRO restores the three goal advantage with a curling shot from just outside the box to make it 4-1.

BIG PICTURE

WHAT THEY SAID

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte: “I am pleased, when you change nine players it is never easy to play a good game and to be a team.

“Today we showed we were a team. I’m pleased for those who have played less as they have showed me good form.

“I think the decision [to send Terry off] wasn’t right.

“Firstly, he didn’t take the opponent and secondly behind John was [Branislav] Ivanovic to cover. It’s a pity when this happens.

“John played a really good game. For me, in this season he has shown me great ability.”

Peterborough manager Grant McCann: “I thought we were excellent. I thought we had two or three really good chances. I couldn’t believe Begovic saved from Angol.

“The biggest difference is how clinical they are. It is something we need to work on. I thought the boys were outstanding and in the second half we matched them.”