Chelsea stormed into the FA Cup semi-finals, bringing Port Vale’s fairytale run to a ruthless end at Stamford Bridge.
Despite sitting bottom of League One and 15 points adrift of safety, Port Vale had defied the odds to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in 72 years, including a memorable victory over Premier League side Sunderland. However, this proved a step too far against a dominant Chelsea side.
The hosts wasted no time asserting control, opening the scoring after just 64 seconds when Jorrel Hato bundled home from close range following a poorly cleared corner.
Backed by 6,000 vocal supporters in the Shed End, Vale showed brief resilience after the early setback. But the contest was effectively decided in the 25th minute when Joao Pedro beat his marker before calmly finishing past goalkeeper Joe Gauci.
Chelsea extended their lead three minutes before the break, as Gauci parried Malo Gusto’s cross into danger and Cole Palmer’s follow-up effort deflected in off Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel.
Any hopes of a comeback faded further in the second half. Tosin Adarabioyo made it four in the 57th minute, heading in from another Gusto delivery. As Vale’s resistance crumbled, Andrey Santos added a fifth with a far-post header from Estevao Willian’s corner.
Estevao then capped an impressive display by scoring Chelsea’s sixth eight minutes from time, finishing after Alejandro Garnacho struck the post, with the goal confirmed following a VAR check.
Garnacho rounded off the emphatic victory in stoppage time, converting from the penalty spot to complete a resounding win for Chelsea.
