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The main talking points from The Valley as Liam Rosenior's Chelsea debut ended in victory and his new team booking a place in the fourth round of the FA Cup
A Championship side away from home, under the lights, FA Cup third round - Saturday evening had all of the ingredients to be a tough first game in charge of Chelsea for Liam Rosenior.
The 41-year-old, who was confirmed as the Blues' new head coach earlier in the week, was in the dugout for the first time at The Valley as his new team progressed into the fourth round of the FA Cup.
The game took a while to get going with both sides quite passive at the start. The match was then temporarily brought to a stop because of a medical emergency in the crowd. The game was paused for just over five minutes before it eventually resumed.
A first-half of very few opportunities for either side ended with Chelsea taking the lead. Jorrel Hato's fantastic strike into the top corner was his first goal for the Blues since signing for the club in the summer and also the first goal of the Rosenior era.
Early in the second-half, Chelsea doubled their lead. Tosin Adarabioyo headed past Will Mannion to give Rosenior's side even more control in the cup tie. However, Charlton replied not long later through Miles Leaburn's strike.
The Blues restored their two-goal lead five minutes later when Marc Guiu scored the rebound after Buonanotte's shot was blocked.
Shape under Rosenior
Many expected Estevao Willian to start this evening, but interestingly the Brazilian was named on the bench. Perhaps with Wednesday night's Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg with Arsenal in the back of Rosenior's mind.
It was unsurprisingly a host of changes from the side that were beaten at Fulham. Rosenior made eight alterations to the XI, with Andrey Santos, Tosin Adarabioyo and Moises Caicedo the only players to keep their place in the line-up.
Similarly to what we witnessed under Enzo Maresca, Chelsea set up with a back three while in possession and a back four whenever Charlton had the ball. Jorrel Hato's starting position was at left-back but he would move into the left-sided No.10 role when the visitors had the ball at The Valley.
It was essentially a 3-2-2-3 in possession. Josh Acheampong, Tosin and Benoit Badiashile at the back, Caicedo and Santos as the two midfielders in front of them, with Hato and Facundo Buonanotte as the No.10s, while Jamie Gittens, Alejandro Garnacho and Guiu made up the most advanced three.
The two No.10s, Hato and Buonanotte, linked up well around 15 minutes in. Buonanotte found his teammate with a delightful dink but Hato was unable to meet it with the right power and it was fairly comfortable for Will Mannion in the Charlton goal.
Chelsea, while having the ball for the majority, were unable to create too many opportunities in the first-half. Charlton, playing a back five, were able to frustrate the visitors. Every touch, header and tackle were being cheered by the Charlton supporters. It had a proper cup tie feeling to it.
Though with just minutes left of the opening period, Chelsea finally had the lead. Caicedo's cross was headed away, but not safe, and Hato met it on the bounce. The Dutchman's strike left the Addicks goalkeeper with no chance.
It ended a fairly bland half but there were some positive signs considering this Chelsea side tend to struggle against a back five.
Chelsea nearly doubled their lead at the start of the second-half. Buonanotte was ready to pounce on a loose ball in the box but Lloyd Jones did well to stop the Argentine, who moments later set up the Blues' second of the game.
Buonanotte's free-kick delivery was on point and Tosin was at the near post to head past in front of the 3000-plus Chelsea supporters that made the short trip to Charlton.
Charlton, though, halved the deficit not long after. Leaburn, who used to play at Chelsea's academy, scored at the second time of trying to give the hosts hope. That did not last for long, though, with Guiu on hand to restore Chelsea's cushion and put the game beyond any reasonable doubt.
Pedro Neto added Chelsea's fourth in stoppage time and Enzo Fernandez struck a penalty in to make it 5-1 to the Blues.
Two stars shine
Hato shone for the Blues. Even before his goal, the Dutchman was taken up some really dangerous positions alongside Buonanotte between the Charlton midfield and defence.
It is nothing new in terms of seeing a full-back move into the No.10 role. It's something we saw time after time again under Maresca, but it is interesting to see Rosenior's style in action.
It was Hato's 12th appearance for Chelsea. Maresca did not seem to trust the 19-year-old but he will be hoping that is different under Rosenior. Based on Saturday evening's performance, Rosenior and Hato is a relationship that could work really well for the west Londoners.
Elsewhere, Gittens looked really bright on the right-hand side for Chelsea. The 21-year-old has shown glimpses of his talent since signing from Borussia Dortmund but is yet to explode at Stamford Bridge.
Gittens is never afraid to run at a man, even if it doesn't work every time. The way he plays, it is not always going to come off and that may frustrate some supporters but there is no doubting his willingness and determination to become a success.
Hopefully Gittens, and Hato, can both see more in terms of minutes under Rosenior.
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