Cole humiliated as Drogba routs Cardiff

Chelsea 4 Cardiff City 1: Half-time substitution hits midfielder's World Cup prospects but Ivorian's power carries Chelsea into quarter-finals

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Being substituted at half-time is always a humbling experience for any player. But when you are an established England international, and your star-studded team is struggling against opposition from the division below, then the embarrassment is all the more acute.

Carlo Ancelotti, the Chelsea manager, showed little mercy to Joe Cole when he replaced him with Salomon Kalou here yesterday. It was a bold decision but one that was fully supported by the evidence of the first 45 minutes, as Cole was awful. Although it came as a surprise, it was not a shock. His old manager Jose Mourinho would probably have hooked him after 20 minutes. Not the kind of thing to impress England coach Fabio Capello with the World Cup less than four months away.

Cole joined Ashley Cole and John Terry in a trio of England players missing, for varying reasons. Terry was in Dubai busy saying sorry to wife Toni for his infidelities. And he left behind him a message in the match day programme that contained two further apologies, for messing up for both goals in the midweek defeat at Everton, and for failing to acknowledge the Chelsea supporters at Goodison Park on Wednesday.

Terry wrote: "Both Everton goals were my fault. I'm big enough to take responsibility for that. Also, speaking to the lads afterwards, I know no one went over to our fans so, on behalf of everyone there, I apologise."

The message from his manager was very much, "Wish you were here." With Terry missing, along with Ashley Cole who will be absent for three months with a broken ankle, the Chelsea rearguard looked confused and hesitant in the first half. Terry was poor against Everton but his return to the club this week will certainly be a welcome one for Ancelotti.

In the absence of the captain, Didier Drogba rose to take up the role of team leader, even though it was Frank Lampard who wore the armband. Chelsea went ahead in only the second minute of the game, when John Obi Mikel played in Drogba and the Ivorian finished emphatically for his 23rd goal of the season. However, Cardiff rallied with bags of character and no little skill, and thoroughly deserved their equaliser.

Their goal, in the 34th minute, was the one occasion the Championship side were able to capitalise on the frailties at the heart of the Chelsea defence. The Cardiff winger Chris Burke delivered an impeccable ball between the Chelsea centre-backs and Michael Chopra made the most of the space afforded him by scoring with a stooping header. The 5,800 visiting fans massed in to the Shed Stand made the most of the moment.

Ancelotti responded during the break by replacing Cole with Kalou, and the impact was immediate. Chelsea's assistant manager, Ray Wilkins, afterwards described the decision as "tactical". "Joe was not injured," Wilkins said. "We have a squad full of quality and the manager will change this as he sees fit. When you have had a long lay-off with injury like Joe has it can be a shock to the system and it can take time to get back to top form."

The substitution, coupled with a few strong words from Ancelotti, turned the match in the FA Cup holders' favour. Drogba caused the Cardiff defence to have a collective panic attack every time he touched the ball, and not without reason. In the second half he stamped his authority on the game. It was his superb ball that set up Chelsea's second goal, for the excellent Michael Ballack who scored with typical assurance.

Drogba also made space for Daniel Sturridge to add a third goal on 69 minutes as Chelsea began to take a grip on the game, and Kalou rounded things off with a wonderful header into the top corner from a deep cross by Paulo Ferreira.

Dave Jones, the Cardiff manager, bemoaned the injustice of the scoreline. "It looks like it was a bit of a drubbing but it was far from that," he said. "We decided to come here and have a go, and we have worked our socks off. I thought it gave us a lot of credit when he [Ancelotti] brought on his big guns."

Attendance: 40,827

Referee: Andre Marriner

Man of the match: Drogba

Match rating: 7/10