John Obi Mikel and Oscar netted in the second half at Pride Park as Chelsea progressed in the FA Cup at the expense of Championship promotion contenders Derby County. Rams boss Steve McClaren was forced into making two changes after his side saw their unbeaten run end when Wigan beat them at home on New Year's Day. Goalscoring midfielder Craig Bryson and Johnny Russell both missed out injured, so Simon Dawkins signed permanently from Spurs in the week and Jeff Hendrick started. Blues manager Jose Mourinho rotated his squad once again after making an inspired substitution to win at Southampton last time out. Petr Cech, Eden Hazard, Juan Mata, Fernando Torres and John Terry were all rested on the bench. Germany attacker Andre Schurrle did not travel. Michael Essien, Samuel Eto'o, David Luiz, Oscar, Mark Schwarzer and Willian all came into the XI. Despite keeping openings to a minimum in the first half, Derby were undone from set plays in this cup tie. Mikel headed in a near post free kick and Oscar sealed victory when the home defence were not alert to a simple throw in. Who caught the eye of the WhatCulture sports team here? Click next to read our player ratings, starting with County.
Jamie Clark is a qualified Web Journalist after undergoing professional training at the University of Sheffield. A prolific and accredited sports writer, he also enjoys classic comedy, historic fiction, 80s music and heritage.
