Chelsea captain John Terry was sent off as the Premier League leaders beat Peterborough 4-1 in the FA Cup third round at Stamford Bridge.
Terry, making his first start since the EFL Cup exit at West Ham in October and first appearance since November, was adjudged to be last man when he fouled Lee Angol and was shown a straight red card by referee Kevin Friend.
Chelsea were already 3-0 up through goals from Pedro, Michy Batshuayi and Willian before Terry’s dismissal.
An afternoon to forget for John Terry as he sees red on his return to the @ChelseaFC starting XI. #EmiratesFACup https://t.co/BXhxQcrJs7
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) January 8, 2017
Tom Nichols pulled a goal back for the League One visitors, but Pedro struck his second as Chelsea responded from their 13-game winning run ending in defeat at Tottenham last Wednesday.
Only Gary Cahill and Pedro were retained in the starting XI which began the loss at Spurs, with Terry among those hoping to press their claims for more regular action. He now faces a suspension.
Despite the changes, head coach Antonio Conte maintained his high demands and Chelsea responded with a high intensity from the start.
Loftus-Cheek cushioned Branislav Ivanovic's cross for Batshuayi to simply finish
— Matt McGeehan (@mattmcgeehan) January 8, 2017
Terry forced Luke McGee into a sharp save when meeting a low cross from an early corner.
McGee could only parry a Chalobah drive as far as Pedro, who paused, brought the ball back on his right foot and curled in.
Pedro cut inside to spurn another opportunity before Batshuayi benefited from a selfless team-mate. Loftus-Cheek cushioned Branislav Ivanovic’s cross for Batshuayi to simply finish low into the net.
It was the £33million summer signing from Marseille’s first goal since the EFL Cup defeat of Bristol Rovers in August.
Not even Bradford came back from 3-0 down. QB Fabregas found WR Pedro who played inside for Willian to show Loftus-Cheek how to shoot
— Matt McGeehan (@mattmcgeehan) January 8, 2017
A shock did not look likely, although two years ago in the fourth round Bradford came back from 2-0 down.
Conte put on a blue baseball cap and white cagoule for the second half due to the persistent rain.
The Blues had their third when Fabregas played a long ball wide for Pedro to chase.
Pedro cut inside again, but found Willian to finish well.
Conte will be pleased with the way his team responded to a difficult spell in this second half, plenty of good performances. #CFCLive
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 8, 2017
Kurt Zouma failed to intercept a long ball aimed at Angol, sliding on a wet pitch.
Terry was covering and went to ground in front of the Posh striker, who tried to hurdle the defender but was brought down. Friend showed him the red card.
Peterborough pulled a goal back when Angol helped on Michael Smith’s cross and Nichols turned the ball in at the far post.
Chelsea had a fourth when Pedro curled in from the edge of the area, but both he and Batshuayi might have had one more each in the closing moments.
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte (on Terry’s sending off) said: “I think it wasn’t right, this decision from the referee. He didn’t take the opponent and also the second reason was because behind John there was Ivanovic to cover John. You have to respect the referee decision, but in this case maybe we will do an appeal for this situation.”
Peterborough boss Grant McCann said: “The difference in the game was they were clinical, we weren’t. I don’t think we came here and disgraced ourselves. We could’ve come here and defended deeper and tried to frustrate them. But I thought we may as well come here and give it a go. I thought we did that.”
PA