MK Dons vs. Chelsea: Score, Reaction from 2016 FA Cup 4th-Round Match

Inspired by midfielder Oscar, who scored a hat-trick, Chelsea romped to a 5-1 win over MK Dons during Sunday's FA Cup action.

Oscar opened the score after 16 minutes, and while Darren Potter gave the hosts some hope with a quick equaliser, two more goals from Oscar all but ended the match in the first half. Eden Hazard and Bertrand Traore added to the lopsided scoreline in the second half, with the former scoring his first goal for the club in ages.

Chelsea played some of their best football of the season, and while MK Dons didn't make life hard on the Blues, the visitors deserve credit for their attacking intentions and free-flowing football.

As the club's official Twitter account shared, Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink opted to start a number of stars, including Hazard, who is still looking for his best form and could use the minutes. Ruben Loftus-Cheek was also handed a start, along with Abdul Rahman Baba:

Diego Costa nearly gave the visitors the lead right from kick-off, drawing a fine save from goalkeeper David Martin after some lovely buildup play between Hazard and Oscar.

The Blues were all over MK Dons in the opening stages, with Oscar stealing the show. The Brazilian first fluffed a shot after great work from Hazard before failing to find the target again minutes later. The third time proved to be the charm, as a major defensive error allowed Costa to find his team-mate inside the box, and Oscar easily slotted the ball home.

Bleacher Report UK summarised the action until that point:

The Championship club reacted well to the early setback, however, and tied things up just six minutes later through Potter. His shot took a wicked deflection off Nemanja Matic and left goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois with no chance of making a save.

Hazard then put Martin to work with a stinging drive toward the bottom corner, and Baba teed up Costa with a lovely pass only to watch the Spaniard mess up his touch and take the chance away from himself and Oscar, who was waiting to score his second goal.

He found it in the 32nd minute, blasting the ball into the top corner after Loftus-Cheek had fed him with a cheeky through ball. More from Bleacher Report UK:

Hazard seemed to pick up a knock with 10 minutes left to play in the half and was visibly limping, but the Belgium international managed to power through the pain. Jake Forster-Caskey tried his luck from distance as the hosts grew desperate to find an equaliser before half-time, but his shot flew well over the crossbar.

Instead, the fourth goal of the match fell on the other side of the pitch, and again, it was Oscar who had taken care of business. He cut inside from the left wing before unleashing a thunderous shot into the top corner, well out of the reach of Martin. Former England international Gary Lineker couldn't help himself:

The Blues continued to press forward early in the second half, and MK Dons' unwillingness to put any pressure on the ball made things a lot easier for Chelsea. Loftus-Cheek even tried to go on a marauding run at one point, skipping past a couple of players before he was finally stopped.

Potter brought Hazard down inside the box just 10 minutes into the second half, and Hazard converted the spot-kick to add to the visitors' lead. Per Squawka Football, it was his first goal in some time:

Chelsea were toying with MK Dons by then and made it 5-1 soon after, as Traore easily pushed the ball past Martin after a lovely feed from Hazard. Hiddink took off a number of starters soon after, knowing full well the match was over.

The pace dropped tremendously, as the Blues were happy to just finish out the match. Traore came close to his second goal with just over 10 minutes left to play, diverting a strike from Baba just wide of the post.

Substitute Daniel Powell tried to pull a goal back for the hosts, forcing Courtois into making one more save before the final whistle. 

The Blues should take a lot of momentum from this win ahead of their next Premier League match, a trip to Watford on Wednesday. Oscar and Hazard in particular have to feel good about their performances, and if those two can discover their best form, Chelsea's fortunes could be about to change.

Post-Match Reaction

As shared by football writer Dan Levene, Hiddink didn't want to get too carried away with the result given the quality of the opposition:

He also showed a sense of humour when a reporter told him the Blues would face Manchester City in the next round, saying: "We have Manchester City in the next round? Thanks for letting me know. [Comic pause.] Naaah—I knew already."

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