Chelsea reached the Carabao Cup quarter-finals as goals from Benoit Badiashile and Raheem Sterling were enough to beat Championship side Blackburn Rovers at Stamford Bridge.
French centre-back Badiashile, making his first start for Chelsea since May, opened the scoring on the half-hour mark after Rovers keeper Leopold Wahlstedt palmed Conor Gallagher’s cross from a short corner straight to him inside the area.
Sterling doubled the lead with nearly an hour gone when he ran on to Cole Palmer’s interception and curled the ball into the far corner.
Blackburn’s best chance came in the final moments, when substitute Arnor Sigurdsson was played through but denied by a fine Robert Sanchez save.
Chelsea have struggled in the Premier League this season, sitting 11th in the table with just three wins from 10 games, but their Carabao Cup performances have been a positive and moving one step closer to some silverware will be a timely boost for Mauricio Pochettino’s side.