The FA Cup is a great cup competition, and the fifth round draw pitting Manchester City against Chelsea, and Arsenal vs Liverpool, brings games that will draw attention from all over the world. However, the Premier League is the dominant competition in this country, and both managers will have had an eye on their midweek matches. Chelsea host West Ham, and Stoke have the aforementioned trip to Sunderland. One is chasing the title, another has concerns about survival. As a result, both sides did not truly bust a gut in this match. Both teams will have taken the result Mark Hughes said he was pleased that his team stayed in the game for so long, although Mark Schwarzer had very little to do in the Chelsea goal and both can take positives from the game, but Stoke will not be upset about their exit, and Chelsea will not be that upset if they are beaten by City in the next round. Mourinho said after the game that 'Chelsea had nothing to lose'. The last thing either team wanted was a replay shoehorned into their busy schedules. As a result the spectators and the competition were left a little short changed.
