Holders of the FA Cup Chelsea had to step up a gear in the second half to reach the FA Cup quarterfinals on Saturday in a 4-1 home victory over Cardiff.
The Premier League leaders were being held 1-1 at halftime after Didier Drogba’s second-minute goal was cancelled out by Michael Chopra.
“They caused us a lot of problems in the first half,” Chelsea assistant manager Ray Wilkins said. “But thankfully we managed to up the tempo in the second half.”
Chelsea took control after the break as Michael Ballack, Daniel Sturridge and Salomon Kalou scored to extend the club’s unbeaten home run to 37 matches.
Also on Saturday, Portsmouth scored three times in 10 minutes as the financially troubled club earned a 4-1 victory against south-coast rivals Southampton.
Chelsea were the only top-four club in action this weekend as Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool had already been eliminated from the FA Cup.
