Chelsea 5-0 Morecambe: Tosin, Felix at the double as Blues cruise

Chelsea beat Morecambe 5-0 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday as Enzo Maresca’s side showed their class with a powerful second half display.

Christopher Nkunku had an early penalty kick saved but Tosin’s deflected shot had Chelsea ahead at the break. A triple sub at half time saw Gusto, Cucurella and Sancho come on and that made a big difference.

Nkunku finished well, Tosin scored in a beauty and then Joao Felix scored two great goals in two minutes late on to add extra gloss on the scoreline.

Morecambe had chances and hung in there but in the end Chelsea’s incredibly strong squad was too much for them to handle as the Blues cruised into the FA Cup fourth round.

Chelsea vs Morecambe score: 5-0

Tosin 39', 70', Nkunku 50', Felix 75', 77'

Chelsea vs Morecambe live updates!

Felix scores a beauty — Chelsea 5-0 Morecambe

The Portuguese international is flowing now and he’s scored two goals in two minutes. Brilliant curling finish this time.

Joao Felix gets in on the act — Chelsea 4-0 Morecambe

This is starting to get out of hand now, which is a shame as Morecambe have given this a real go. Felix sneaks home a low shot after nice play from the youngster George out wide.

Tosin curls home a stunner! — Chelsea 3-0 Morecambe

He’s a goalscoring machine! Tosin gets the ball on the edge of the box again and this time he curls a stunner into the corner. Chelsea cruising and center back Tosin has two of their three goals.

Nkunku makes no mistake this time — Chelsea 2-0 Morecambe

Cucurella, Gusto and Sancho came on at half time for James, Lavia and Neto and Cucurella had a big hand in Chelsea’s second goal. He surges down the left and although Burgoyne makes a fine save to deny the first shot, the ball drops straight to Nkunku who slams home. Chelsea cruising now.

Half time: Chelsea 1-0 Morecambe

Total domination from Chelsea but they’re only 1-0 up. Nkunku’s penalty was saved heroically by Burgoyne but they eventually broke through with Tosin’s deflected shot. Chelsea have had 15 attempts at goal to Morecambe’s 2, but there’s still hope for the fourth-tier outfit heading into the second half.

Tosin’s long-range shot flies just wide

Chelsea are well on top now and they’re going to just keep giving the ball to center back Tosin! This time he smashes a shot on goal from distance but pulls it just wide. That was close.

Tosin’s deflected shot flies in — Chelsea 1-0 Morecambe

Chelsea finally take the lead and there was a real stroke of luck about it. Tosin’s shot from outside the box takes a huge deflection and goes in. Relief among the home fans at Stamford Bridge!

Harry Burgoyne with another great save

Joao Felix works it onto his right foot and has a low shot from outside the box which is going in. But Burgoyne makes a fine save.

Penalty to Chelsea after a handball... but Nkunku’s effort is saved!

Brilliant double save from Burgoyne as he first denies Nkunku’s penalty kick with a great save, then saves the rebound. Replays show he was way off his line, but there’s no VAR. It’s still level and the Morecambe fans behind the goal are going absolutely bonkers. Scenes!

Tosin hits the woodwork with a header

A corner finds Tosin and he almost heads home but his the frame of the goal. It’s all Chelsea early on...

Chelsea lineup

Jorgensen; James, Tosin, Disasi, Veiga; Lavia; Neto, Nkunku, Felix, George; Guiu

Morecambe lineup

Burgoyne; Hendrie, Williams, Stott, Tutonda; White, Jones; Tollitt, Songo’o, Edwards; Dackers

Chelsea team news, focus

Losing Wesley Fofana to injury is a big blow and Chelsea’s defensive unit doesn’t look as solid when he’s out. Romeo Lavia has been missing in recent weeks which is a blow to their defensive structure too. Maresca will start the likes of Nkunku, Madueke, Felix, Tosin, Veiga, Jorgensen, Disasi and Guiu which is a ridiculous set of players to have as a ‘reserve squad’ for cup games like this. Club captain Reece James may also get a run-out as he continues to make his return from injury.

OUT: Wesley Fofana (hamstring), Mykhailo Mudryk (suspension), Benoit Badiashile (undisclosed), Kieran Dewsbury-Hall (knock), Omari Kellyman (thigh) | QUESTIONABLE: Romeo Lavia (undisclosed), Carney Chukwuemeka (illness)

Morecambe team news, focus

A couple of Morecambe players to look out for include forwards Hallam Hope and Ben Tollitt, while central defender Rhys Williams is on loan from Liverpool and will be key if they can limit Chelsea’s chances. Morecambe keep things tight and don’t concede many goals, but they are the fourth-lowest scorers in League Two with just 22 goals in 24 games so far this season.

Chelsea vs Morecambe prediction

This should be a very straightforward win for whichever team Chelsea puts out there. Plenty of players have a chance of getting into Maresca’s first team given Chelsea’s recent results and they’ll be looking to prove a point. Chelsea 5-0 Morecambe.

Chelsea vs Morecambe preview

Enzo Maresca’s side had a tough festive period in the Premier League, going four games without a win as they slipped from likely title contenders to top four hopefuls. Still, it’s been a much better season than most expected so far for the Blues and the likes of Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo and Marc Cucurella have been consistently excellent. Chelsea will likely play their UEFA Conference League team and rest plenty of stars for this FA Cup game, but Maresca still has so many talented players to call on and plenty of them now have a chance of getting into the first team.

Meanwhile Morecambe are in a totally different situation as they sit second from bottom in League Two and are in the relegation zone. The Shrimps are in serious danger of being relegated out of the Football League and are four points from safety. But they have won two of their last three games to drag themselves closer towards safety. This will be a great day out for Morecambe’s players and fans and manager Derek Adams will be hoping a positive performance can give them fuel to help their bid for League Two survival.

How to watch Chelsea vs Morecambe live, stream link and start timeKick off time: 10am ET Saturday (January 11)

Venue: Stamford Bridge — London

TV Channel/Streaming: ESPN+