Chelsea 3-0 Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup fourth round
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FA Cup: Chelsea 3-0 Sheffield Wednesday highlights
Holders Chelsea comfortably beat Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup with Callum Hudson-Odoi scoring 24 hours after handing in a transfer request.
Winger Hudson-Odoi, 18, showed the type of poise which has led to a £35m bid from Bayern Munich by collecting Andreas Christensen's diagonal pass and cutting inside before firing past Keiren Westwood for his second goal of the season.
Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri was rewarded for handing Hudson-Odoi a sixth start of the season as his goal put the result of a feisty game beyond doubt.
Earlier, Willian scored the first of his two goals from the penalty spot, before making it 3-0 after a smart one-two with Olivier Giroud, who replaced debutant Gonzalo Higuain.
The opener, Willian's 50th goal for Chelsea, came in controversial circumstances after the visitors had earned their own spot-kick 162 seconds earlier, only for it to be overturned by VAR.
VAR plays its part again
The use of VAR in the FA Cup has caused controversy this weekend, not least because it is only being used where the technology exists at Premier League stadiums.
That led Everton boss Marco Silva to say "it did not make sense" that it was unavailable during his team's 3-2 loss at Millwall on Saturday, when Jake Cooper appeared to score an equaliser for the Championship side with his arm.
But Sheffield Wednesday will have cursed its availability at Stamford Bridge.
They thought they had a golden opportunity to take the lead, with referee Andre Marriner awarding the visitors a penalty after Ethan Ampadu felled Joey Pelupessy, but once replays showed the Chelsea midfielder got the ball first, the decision was correctly rescinded.
The mood of 6,000 visiting fans worsened when Sam Hutchinson, a former Chelsea player, caught Cesar Azpilicueta's ankle and Marriner pointed to the spot again.
The decision was reviewed once more but deemed right this time, and Willian ended the drama with a cool finish to Wednesday keeper Westwood's left.
Hudson-Odoi makes his point
'Fabulous goal' - Hudson-Odoi doubles Chelsea's lead
Hudson-Odoi's inclusion was a surprise, coming a day after he had given the strongest hint yet he believes his future lies elsewhere.
Choosing to leave for German giants Bayern Munich could prove a brave move for the player, who has been with Chelsea since he was eight.
But his composure on the ball for his goal showed he is a special talent who does not lack confidence, jinking past the Wednesday defence for his second goal of the season to underline his belief that he is worthy of a regular starting place.
His goal aside, however, he found it hard to break down a compact Wednesday defence, although he showed some nice touches before scoring, leading to more chants from Chelsea fans of "We want you to stay".
And, for all the talk of Hudson-Odoi's future, it was Brazil's Willian who was Chelsea's best player.
Higuain made his debut after joining on loan from Juventus to reunite his partnership with Sarri, for whom he scored a record 36 goals in the 2015-16 season while the pair were at Napoli.
The Argentine put himself about the pitch, was well received by fans and made some clever runs across the visiting defence, who were well marshalled by former Blue Hutchinson.
But he will need time to forge an understanding with his new team-mates and two minutes after coming on, Giroud showed Higuain how to play the perfect front man, his cushioned layoff setting up Willian to put Chelsea in the hat for the fifth round.
Man of the match - Willian (Chelsea)
Ten of Willian's 51 goals for Chelsea have arrived in the FA Cup
'VAR decisions correct but surely it's a corner' - what they said
Chelsea assistant boss Gianfranco Zola told BBC Sport: "It's certainly a good result, we're very happy. We know how difficult these cup ties can be. Everyone made a really good effort.
"We performed very well against Spurs and again today after the first few minutes.
"We are pleased with Gonzalo Higuain's performance, he was trying to find the space and get on the ball. It wasn't easy as they had a lot of players round him."
Sheffield Wednesday caretaker boss Steve Agnew to BBC Sport: "We're obviously disappointed to lose 3-0. Credit to the players, they gave everything. We had a gameplan but unfortunately we couldn't create that chance."
On the penalty that was overturned: "It's crazy. Obviously the VAR decisions are correct but what baffled me was surely it's a corner if it came off their player. The referee gave a drop ball, and a minute later they have a penalty.
"We'd been done by a penalty, which happens. The attitude and the work-rate is something to build on. We'll continue with that for the rest of the season."
On the imminent arrival of new boss Steve Bruce: "Steve will be here this week and we're looking forward to him joining us."
Willian's FA Cup goal streak - the stats
Chelsea have lost just one of their past 38 home FA Cup matches (W32 D5), with that coming against Bradford in 2014-15.
Sheffield Wednesday have not won any of their past 20 FA Cup games against Premier League opponents (D6 L14), since beating Sheffield United in the 1992-93 semi-final.
Sheffield Wednesday had the first shot on target in this match after just 72 seconds, but did not manage another one in the entire game.
Chelsea scored with all three of their shots on target in this match.
Willian scored his 50th and 51st goals in all competitions for Chelsea. Ten of his strikes for the Blues have come in the FA Cup, more than any other player for the club in that time.
Callum Hudson-Odoi has been directly involved in five goals in his last five starts for Chelsea in all competitions (two goals, three assists).
What's next?
Chelsea travel to Bournemouth in the Premier League on Wednesday, 30 January (19:45 GMT) while Sheffield Wednesday resume their duties in the Championship at Ipswich on Saturday, 2 February (15:00 GMT)