Brentford were comprehensively beaten 4-0 at Stamford Bridge with two goals in either half by the home side.

Despite fielding an under-strength side, which did happen to include the returning john Terry and Kurt Zouma, Antonio Conte was not about to let the Bees take the back-page headlines.

Scott Hogan made his first appearance since the Bees 3-1 win at Birmingham earlier in the month and received a fantastic reception for what is sure to be his last appearance in a Brentford shirt.

Had he started and had his side’s chances fell to him perhaps things would have panned out differently, but the visitors lacked the penetration to go with their inevitable desire and determination.

Their resistance lasted a quarter of an hour before a bit of Brazilian magic was required to penetrate what was looking a dogged and well organised defence.

Lasse Vibe

Willian, whose strikes last term anointed him as the team’s set piece specialist, added yet another dead ball goal to his collection. A free kick just right of centre and 20 yards out allowed him to get the ball up and over the Brentford wall and past the helpless John Bentley who was guarding the opposite side of the goal.

The second came shortly after when Michy Batshuayi’s diagonal pass was too strong for its intended target Ruben Loftus-Cheek but, ironically, had the perfect weight to find the on rushing Pedro who coolly slotted past Bentley.

Loftus-Cheek stung the hands of Bentley who was having, as expected, a busy afternoon as he went in search of his first goal of the season. His powerful drive from 25 yards had to tipped over by the Brentford keeper as he tried to ensure a glimmer of hope remained for his travelling side.

Asmir Begovic was tested just before the interval when Yoann Barbet hit a sweetly struck volley from the left but, with the angle always against him, he couldn’t half the deficit before the break.

Nevertheless, Dean Smith’s side came out fighting in the second half and created two chances in as many minutes. First Lasse Vibe was unable to finish past Begovic after out muscling Terry and then, after reaching the byline, Barbet’s cut back evaded all in red and white.

Nico Yennaris goes close

The energetic Nico Yennaris missed the best chance to turn the game back into a contest in front of the travelling support when his excellent turn on the edge of the box put him one-on-one with Begovic. The Bosnian, however, was quick off his line and left Yennaris little to aim at to preserve Chelsea’s clean sheet.

The Premier League leaders then hit Brentford with a sucker punch midway through the second period and assured their passage into the fifth round. Ivanovic looked to be lacking in both space and options but a quick give and go with Pedro set the pair tearing down the Brentford left. Pedro carried the ball with intent and timed his pass perfectly to allow Ivanovic a strike that Bentley could only palm into his own net.

A foul by Barbet on Ivanovic then gifted Chelsea a chance to ensure some unfortunate déjà vu for the Brentford fans who saw Chelsea knock four past the Bees back in 2013. Batshuayi sent Bentley the wrong way to score his second goal in as many FA Cup outings this term.

Bentley, Bjelland, Dean, Egan, Colin, Yennaris, McEachran (Kerschbaumer), Woods, Barbet, Sawyers (Hogan), Vibe (Jota).

Subs (not used): Bonham, Field, Clarke, Hofmann.