Chelsea stroll past Middlesbrough into FA Cup semis

London: Chelsea continued to make light of their off-pitch turmoil with another impressive display on it as they reached the FA Cup semi-finals with a 2-0 victory at Middlesbrough on Saturday.

First-half goals by Romelu Lukaku and Hakim Ziyech knocked the stuffing out of second-tier Middlesbrough, who had eliminated Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in previous rounds.

Lukaku tapped in Mason Mount's low cross after 15 minutes before Ziyech fired home 16 minutes later.

Middlesbrough were given raucous support inside the Riverside Stadium but never really looked capable of troubling the visitors who were always in control.

Chelsea, the object of several buyout bids, are operating under a special licence from the British government after Russian owner Roman Abramovich was hit with sanctions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Only a few hundred Chelsea fans were inside the stadium - a consequence of restrictions on them selling tickets - but they could at least celebrate their team reaching the semis for the fifth time in six seasons.

Since Abramovich announced that he was putting the European champions up for sale on March 2 after 19 trophy-laden years, it has been very much business as usual on the pitch.

They have won all six fixtures since, the latest win coming the day after a deadline for bids to buy the club. 

Also read: Barcelona to face Frankfurt in Europa quarters, West Ham get Lyon

Also watch: