Chelsea are through to the fourth round of the FA Cup after a convincing 4-1 win over Peterborough United.

Blues manager Antonio Conte made nine changes to his side, but the rotation did not affect his side’s performance.

Spanish winger Pedro bagged a brace with Michy Batshuayi and Willian scoring the other goals either side of half-time.

Tom Nichols grabbed a consolation for the Posh with 20 minutes remaining, three minutes after returning Blues captain John Terry received a straight red card.

Terry was dismissed for a clumsy challenge on Peterborough forward Lee Angol.

This was only the third ever meeting between the two sides – all three have come in the FA Cup.

Chelsea have won on all three occasions, scoring 14 goals and only conceding once inside the trio of cup meetings at Stamford Bridge.

The Premier League leaders are now into Monday night’s fourth round draw, which will commence at 7:10pm.

Shoot! looks at the five major talking points from Sunday afternoon’s match in South West London…

Back to winning ways

Conte’s side returned to winning ways after losing their previous fixture 2-0 to London rivals Tottenham on Wednesday evening.

Prior to their White Hart Lane defeat, the Blues were on a phenomenal winning streak.

Their winning record lasted for 13 league matches and despite their blip against Spurs, the Blues were back at their best against the Posh.

The victory gives Conte’s side confidence after their loss to Tottenham.

It also gave him the chance to rest some of his first-team players ahead of two tricky away fixtures in the league.

The current league leaders face vital away trips to both current Premier League champions Leicester City and Liverpool this month.

From Posh to Peasant 

The League One side were simply outclassed by the seven-time competition winners at Stamford Bridge.

Nichols’ ninth goal of the season was merely a consolation, as the visitors briefly took advantage of the hosts being down to ten-men.

For the rest of the match, Chelsea looked comfortable both on and off the ball. The hosts were also noticeably playing in second gear for nearly the entire duration of the match.

With the Posh being 53 league places below Chelsea in the football pyramid, it was no wonder that they were defeated 4-1.

Successful Rotation

Italian manager Conte made nine changes to his side on Sunday, with only Gary Cahill and Pedro retaining their places.

Many players on the fringes of the side such as Branislav Ivanovic and Michy Batshuayi (Pictured) were given chances to impress Conte against the Posh.

Conte also experimented with youth, giving 90 minutes to Nathaniel Chalobah, 70 to Ruben Loftus-Cheek and just over half an hour to Ola Aina.

All three of the academy products performed very well.

With teams such as AFC Bournemouth having backfiring squad selection at the weekend, Conte used his squad well and clearly got the correct balance of youth and experience.

Good support

This weekend’s FA Cup third round has been overshadowed by poor attendances at certain grounds.

This was not the case on SW6, as the Posh’s visit to London was sold out.

Over 41,000 fans attended the fixture with Peterborough supporters taking up just under 6,000 seats.

The League One side’s support was fantastic throughout the match. They may have conceded four, but that did not stop Posh fans from singing their hearts out for the duration of the game.

Kurt Zouma’s return

After an 11 month absence from the side, French international Kurt Zouma returned to the Chelsea starting line-up.

The defender ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee against Manchester United last February and has not featured for the Blues since.

Zouma was given a fantastic reception from the home crowd at Stamford Bridge, the fans chanted his name every time he was involved in the game.

His reception shows just how much of a fan favourite he is for Chelsea. Fans of the Blues will be delighted to see him back in the first-team.