WOLVERHAMPTON — Second-half goals from Pedro and Diego Costa earned Premier League leader Chelsea a 2-0 win in a difficult FA Cup fifth-round tie at second-tier Wolverhampton Wanderers Saturday.
Pedro headed in after 65 minutes following an intricate build-up involving Costa, Cesc Fabregas and Willian.
Costa sealed a place in the quarterfinals in the 89th minute after defender Matt Doherty inadvertently deflected a pass into his path.
The prolific Chelsea striker had the time and space to easily stroke the ball into the Wolves goal, finally killing off the Championship side’s brave resistance.
Having accounted for the Premier League scalps of Stoke City and Liverpool in previous rounds, Wolves looked in the mood to add the division’s leaders to that list.
In front of Molineux’s biggest crowd for 36 years, the home side Impressed.
The tie had plenty of aggression and a raucous atmosphere, especially when the home supporters claimed Weimann had been brought down by Willian in the area midway through the first half. That appeal was turned down by referee Jonathan Moss, but Wolves maintained the pressure.
Balotelli sent off
Mario Balotelli was sent off on his return to the Nice team but Lucien Favre’s side held on for a 1-0 win at Lorient Saturday which sees them close the gap on Ligue 1 leader Monaco.
Wylan Cyprien scored the only goal of the game in Brittany, collecting Arnaud Souquet’s pass and firing home from inside the area in the 15th minute.
The result allowed Nice to go back above Paris Saint-Germain into second place and close to within three points of Monaco.
Balotelli was sent off after apparently talking out of turn to match referee Tony Chapron midway through the second half.
It was his third red card this season in the French top flight, although his first, also against Lorient back in October, was later overturned.
Elsewhere, Marseille overcame the absence of injured leading scorer Bafetimbi Gomis to beat Rennes 2-0 and boost their hopes of European qualification.
Lille eased their relegation fears with a 1-0 win at fellow struggler Caen in their first game under new coach Franck Passi.
Giant Malian striker Cheick Diabate’s late penalty secured a 1-1 draw for Metz at home to Nantes and Angers beat Nancy 1-0.
Keita strikes the winner
Senegal striker Keita Balde came off the bench to hit a late winner in a 2-1 defeat of Empoli that boosted Lazio’s Europa League hopes Saturday.
Lazio remains in fifth place at 16 points behind Juventus, which saw Paulo Dybala hit a brace in a 4-1 win over former club Palermo Friday to stretch the Turin giant’s Serie A lead over Roma to 10 points.
Empoli’s 13th defeat kept it in 17th, eight points above third-from-bottom Palermo.
Earlier, Atalanta made it three wins on the trot to maintain its dream season and push for a place in Europe next year.
Andrea Conti hit a 48th minute winner for Gian Piero Gasperini’s men. — Agencies
