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Against a backdrop of sleet, flurries, and a biting breeze from the waters of the Humber, alongside a resolute home side pushing hard for promotion, this had all the makings of a difficult night's task for the visitors.

"We might have scored more but Hull are a strong team and it was a tough tie; I am very pleased with the display," he said. "This club is very special to me so it was great to get a good welcome from the fans of fans. The application of the players was excellent."

The Chelsea manager has this city close to his heart, given some of his relatives hail from Hull and his successful spell in charge of the Championship club. His happy connection was extended with a commanding performance from his squad, who in the end strolled into the next round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Finishing Seals Comprehensive Win

Three days removed from letting slip a 2-0 advantage in the league, there was a hint of vulnerability about them going into this intriguing tie. The packed Hull support clearly sensed it too, but the London side navigated the challenge perfectly.

The manager made alterations, making multiple of them to his starting lineup. The tie might and maybe ought to have been settled earlier than it actually was, with both Estêvão Willian and Liam Delap guilty of spurning excellent chances to put their side in front in the first half.

But, luckily for the visitors, Pedro Neto was in a far 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 the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with the forward scoring three of them for a superb hat-trick.

Delap's Response and Influence

The home side displayed great fight all game, but the clearer chances consistently came to the visitors. The winger ought to have broken the scoring when he rounded goalkeeper the Hull stopper before unbelievably shooting over. Delap then had a comparable nightmare moment in front of goal against his old team.

He blocked a the goalkeeper's clearance which bounced off the bar, and he started to run away believing the ball had crossed the line. It had not, and by the time he realised, Hull's defenders had reacted to clear the threat.

Delap had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was immensely instrumental from that point onward, providing 3 assists. The first was for the opening goal as his through ball teed up Neto to score from range. Shortly after the restart, it was 2-0 as Neto's corner went straight in through Phillips's legs.

Contest Sealed and Attention Shifts

Seven minutes after Neto’s second, the match was effectively ended as a dazzling run from the forward laid on his teammate to slide into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then completed his treble as the provider once again delivered the decisive ball for the striker to coolly slot past a stranded Phillips.

At that point, the work Hull had put in in the first half-hour had long since forgotten. Their priority must now return to securing a promotion to the Premier League under their manager, who rested a number of key players with that aim in mind.

"In my opinion we earned at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a strong position in the league," he said. "Never surrender, maybe in the next games this can be a good lesson of how we should play."

Hull showed great effort to the end, and they nearly got a late goal when Lewis Koumas struck a the upright in injury time. But this was Chelsea’s evening, and another encouraging stride for their new manager at a stadium he is familiar with very well.

FA Cup Omens Look Promising

The result resulted in an ultimately straightforward night's performance, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are positive from here for the winners. They have played Hull on three other occasions in this competition in the last decade and every single time, they have gone on to make the showpiece. Much remains to be done in that regard, but this was another significant tick for the Chelsea boss.