Chelsea reached the FA Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday, winning a replay 2-0 at Birmingham in its first match since firing coach Andre Villas-Boas.
Juan Mata and Raul Meireles scored second-half goals to take the Premier League club through to a meeting with another second-tier side, Leicester.
Roberto Di Matteo, who has stepped up from his role as Villas-Boas' assistant to lead the team for the rest of the season, left Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Michael Essien and Daniel Sturridge out of his starting lineup.
Although the influence of experienced players was widely cited by British newspapers as being central in Chelsea's poor performances under Villas-Boas, Di Matteo's decision may have been motivated by a desire to keep them fresh for the club's ailing challenge for Champions League qualification.
From: http://ping.fm/mTNcB
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