Chelsea have taken the lead against Preston North End during Saturday afternoon’s FA Cup Third Round tie at Stamford Bridge.
Despite being the tie’s clear favourites, the Blues had struggled to break down Ryan Lowe’s Championship side.
Going into the halftime break all square at 0-0, Chelsea’s squad would have been expecting a tough team talk from manager Mauricio Pochettino.
And whatever the Argentine said worked because just 13 minutes after the break, striker Armando Broja got on the end of a cross and glanced a brilliant header home.
Broja rises ??
Broja scores ?A top header from the @ChelseaFC man#EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/X0ZNFr9Yjj
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 6, 2024
And things got even better for the home team after Thiago Silva added a second just 12 minutes later with Raheem Sterling converting a free kick moments after that.
Thiago Silva heads in for @ChelseaFC ?#EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/txYMZFp3c9
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 6, 2024
An emphatic 11 minutes from Pochettino’s men has put them within touching distance of the competition’s Fourth Round.