Posted on: 04:45 Mon, 22 Feb 2016



Chelsea interim boss Guus Hiddink insists the FA Cup must be treasured after his Blues demolished a youthful Manchester City side to advance to the quarterfinals on Sunday.

City made nine changes and fielded six
teenagers — five of them making their full
debuts — in the 5-1 Chelsea thrashing.

Manuel Pellegrini’s men play Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League on Wednesday and the Capital One Cup final with Liverpool next Sunday, so the City boss delivered on his promise to make wholesale changes.

However Hiddink, who defeated quarterfinal opponent Everton in the 2009 tournament final, insists he is not taking the competition for granted.

“Winning the FA Cup is beautiful. We must be careful not to devalue this,” said Hiddink.

“I had good memories of that time, but that’s
the past. Some might be still in that team and
they go for their revenge.

“They gave us a difficult time here [a 3-3 draw
in January]. We hope to maintain our FA flow
a bit when we play them. Not easy.”

With the Blues languishing in 12th place in the
Premier League, the FA Cup and Champions
League are now Hiddink’s priority.
“There’s not much left in the league for
Chelsea, to be honest,” Hiddink said.

Hiddink extended his 100 percent record in the competition to six games and has now lost just one of 13 games in all competitions since succeeding Jose Mourinho in December.

Chelsea appear in good health, with Cesc
Fabregas influential and Hazard performing well in a second successive 5-1 home win following the Premier League defeat of Newcastle.

Hiddink, who described the concession of the equaliser as “sloppy,” said: “Of course it’s a boost for the confidence of the players. It’s good to see that.”