ENGLAND, Nov 9 (SW) – The favourites all secured their passage into the next round, although Tottenham were forced into extra time against Port Vale.

Chelsea 4 – Aston Villa 0

Chelsea put in a commanding performance for a crushing 4-0 victory over Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge.

The hosts went 1-0 up thanks to a Frank Lampard goal after 32 minutes, with a fit-again Andriy Shevchenko adding a second not long after the hour.

The floodgates opened in the final 10 minutes, with Michael Essien (82) and Didier Drogba (85) rounding off the scoring in a match that Chelsea well and truly controlled.

Birmingham 0 – Liverpool 1

Liverpool are through to the quarter finals, despite some dogged resistance from Birmingham.

The Reds were forced to work for their victory, and were 1-0 up on the stroke of half time thanks to a Dan Agger strike.

Craig Bellamy could have made the night a little more comfortable for Rafa Benitez’s men, but the Welshman missed a penalty in the 64th minute and another easy chance later on.

Birmingham created a handful of chances, but the quality between the two sides eventually told, with the men from Anfield continuing their march in the competition.

Everton 0 – Arsenal 1

A battling performance from The Toffees wasn’t enough as Arsenal left Goodison Park with the victory to progress to the next round.

Everton were dealt a blow with under-fire referee Graham Poll reducing the hosts to 10 men following a red card to attacker James McFadden after only 18 minutes.

Given the controversy surrounding Poll’s handling of the Spurs-Chelsea match at the weekend, he is likely to face more questioning for sending off the Evertonian, claiming the player called him a cheat. McFadden has denied such remarks.

Emmanuel Adebayor scored the only goal of the game in the 85th minute to secure the tie.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger would be delighted with the win after having made eleven changes to his starting lineup.

Tottenham 3- Port Vale 1

Tottenham escaped from jail with a dramatic 3-1 victory over Port Vale in extra time.

Despite fielding a weakened team, many had expected Spurs to win this match comfortably, but it was not to be at White Hart Lane.

Port Vale took a shock lead in the 64th minute thanks to Leon Constantine, with Spurs relying on a late Tom Huddlestone effort to level things in the 80th minute.

The Spurs defender found the back of the net again in the 99th minute before Jermain Defoe secured the victory with a third after 107 minutes.