Chelsea reach FA Cup last 8

FA Cup holders Chelsea shrugged off the absence of captain John Terry to cruise into the quarter-finals with a 4-1 win over Championship side Cardiff in the fifth round on Saturday.

They were joined in the last eight by crisis-club Portsmouth, who beat Southampton by an identical scoreline, while Manchester City were held to a 1-1 draw by Stoke.

With Terry granted time off to fly to Dubai to be with his wife as he deals with allegations of an affair, Ashley Cole sidelined after ankle surgery and Petr Cech and Nicolas Anelka rested, Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti sent out a slightly unfamiliar line-up at Stamford Bridge.

The Italian's team was still strong enough to kill off Cardiff.

In the second minute, Didier Drogba ran onto Jon Obi Mikel's long pass and fired past Cardiff goalkeeper David Marshall for his 23rd goal of the season.

Cardiff forward Michael Chopra stunned the hosts when he punished poor marking to head the equaliser from Chris Burke's 34th minute cross.

But Chelsea finally subdued Dave Jones's side and regained the lead in the 51st minute thanks to Michael Ballack's cool finish from Drogba's pass.

Young striker Daniel Sturridge added the third goal when he fired through Marshall's legs in the 69th minute and Salomon Kalou, heading in Paolo Ferreira's cross, completed the rout with four minutes left.

"Our team was changed but we took quality out and quality came back in. It is the professionalism of our players that shines through," Chelsea assistant manager Ray Wilkins said.

"Some people might have thought this was going to be a bit of an easy game for us but those guys took it by the throat and pulled us through when we were not playing particularly well." Stoke's Rory Delap caused more havoc with his infamous long throw as Tony Pulis's side earned a replay at Manchester City.

Shaun Wright-Phillips put City in front in the 11th minute when Stoke goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen and defender Ryan Shawcross failed to deal with Stephen Ireland's long pass.

Shawcross, who had stumbled to the turf, kicked the ball off his own head as he tried to clear and Wright-Phillips was able to tap into the empty net.

But Stoke set up a replay in familiar fashion as Ricardo Fuller headed home a trademark rocket throw from Delap in the 57th minute.

Portsmouth lifted the gloom around Fratton Park with a 4-1 win at local rivals Southampton.

Avram Grant's team sit bottom of the Premier League and face the threat of bankruptcy as they battle debts of 60 million pounds (69 million euros) and a winding up order over unpaid Customs and Revenue tax bills.

But Pompey, FA Cup winners in 2008, were able to put their off-field problems to one side for 90 minutes as they won the first meeting of these old enemies for five years.

Quincy Owusu-Abeyie came off the bench to give Portsmouth the lead with a fine finish in the 66th minute.

Rickie Lambert headed Southampton level four minutes later, but the visitors' extra class killed off their League One opponents in the closing stages.

Ivory Coast forward Aruna Dindane put Portsmouth back in front in the 75th minute and Algeria defender Nadir Belhadj slotted home the third in the 82nd minute.

There was still time for Jamie O'Hara, on loan from Tottenham, to rub salt into Southampton's wounds with a fine strike in the closing moments.

"It's good for the club and the fans. Since the draw everyone has only spoken about this game like there's no league so it is very important for everybody," Grant said.

Elsewhere, Birmingham's Liam Ridgewell scored in the last minute as Alex McLeish's side came from a goal down to beat Championship side Derby 2-1 at Pride Park.

The Rams went ahead when Jay McEveley's long-range effort deceived Joe Hart in the 55th minute.

But Scott Dann equalised with his first goal for Birmingham in the 73rd minute and Ridgwell popped up with the dramatic 90th-minute winner.

Giant-killers Reading, who had defeated Liverpool and Burnley in the competition this season, were held to a 2-2 draw by West Bromwich Albion at the Madejski Stadium.