Demba Ba scored two goals in his Chelsea debut to help the Blues to a comfortable 5-1 win over Southampton in the third round of the FA Cup, as Manchester City and Tottenham also posted easy victories, but Newcastle United were upset by Championship side Brighton and Hove Albion for the second straight year.
Southampton, who started the better side, opened the scoring in the 22nd minute through Jay Rodriguez. The striker latched onto a nice pass from winger Jason Ouncheon, to slot home past Ross Turnbull.
Rafa Benitez, not one to make the same mistake twice, named a strong side with the likes of Eden Hazard, Mata and Ashley Cole back in the starting lineup, with Ba given his first game in the blue of Chelsea.
The former Newcastle man equalized for his new side, just a day after officially signing on a three-and-a-half year deal. The Senegalese international was on hand to poke the ball home from a yard out, after Juan Mata's shot was partly saved by Saints goalkeeper Artur Boruc in the 35th minute.
The defending champions took the lead through Victor Moses, who made no mistake in finding the target off a pass from Cole on the stroke of halftime.
The game was wrapped up seven minutes into the second half, with Branislav Ivanovic powering home a header off a cross from Mata.
Ba earned his second goal, coolly slotting past Boruc after some nice initial work from Hazard just past the hour.
Frank Lampard, who else, then got his customary goal via the penalty spot to add the icing on the cake, after a spotkick was awarded for handball inside the box.
At the Etihad, goals from Carlos Tevez, Gareth Barry and Marcos Lopez sealed a comfortable victory for Manchester City, with Mario Balotelli in their lineup, over Watford.
Spurs also ran out 3-0 winners, with Clint Dempsey grabbing two goals and Gareth Bale adding the other over League One side Coventry at White Hart Lane.
There was one clear upset though, with Brighton scoring a 2-0 win over 10-man Newcastle. Andrea Orlandi scored a wonderfully taken goal in the 33rd minute to put Brighton ahead against a flat Newcastle side.
The Magpies, despite a better second half performance, found themselves down to ten men just past the hour mark, with Shola Ameobi given his marching orders for a second yellow card.
Embattled Newcastle went hard in search of the equalizer, which would have at least forced a replay, but Brighton hit them on the counter through Wil Hoskins, who made no mistake after being put through on goal.
Results: Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0 Newcastle United; Crystal Palace 0-0 Stoke City; Tottenham 3-0 Coventry City; Wigan Athletic 1-1 Bournemouth; Fulham 1-1 Blackpool; Aston Villa 2-1 Ipswich Town; Charlton Athletic 0-1 Huddersfield Town; Macclesfield Town 2-1 Cardiff City; Barnsley 1-0 Burnley; Manchester City 3-0 Watford; Leicester City 2-0 Burton Albion; Millwall 1-0 Preston North End; Derby County 5-0 Tranmere Rovers; Crawley Town 1-3 Reading; Aldershot Town 3-1 Rotherham United; Middlesbrough 4-1 Hastings United; Oxford United 0-3 Sheffield United; Southampton 1-5 Chelsea; Queens Park Rangers 1-1 West Bromwich Albion; Peterborough United 0-3 Norwich City.
