FA Cup holders Chelsea began the defence of their trophy in style as a vibrant display overwhelmed Watford. Daniel Sturridge gave Chelsea a fifth-minute lead when he stabbed home a John Terry volley from close range. A John Eustace own goal doubled Chelsea's lead before a Yuri Zhirkov effort went in off Florent Malouda. Frank Lampard made it four with a thunderous drive from distance, and another neat finish from Sturridge completed Watford's misery. Chelsea's irresistible attacking performance was all the more impressive for the fact that they were unable to call on either the injured Nicolas Anelka or top-scorer Didier Drogba, who recently joined Michael Essien, Salomon Kalou and John Obi Mikel on Africa Cup of Nations duty. Watford manager Malky Mackay had hoped to contain Chelsea by opting for a five-man midfield, but the Championship side were rocked by Sturridge's early opener and found themselves three goals down inside 22 minutes, the tie effectively decided. The build-up to the game was largely overshadowed by the fallout from an interview in French magazine L'Equipe in which Malouda reportedly expressed frustration at playing second fiddle to Lampard. But there was no evidence of disharmony on the pitch as Chelsea moved smoothly through the attacking gears to leave Watford chasing shadows from the outset. Watford have come through some testing times since losing to Chelsea in the fifth round of the Cup last February. Financial turmoil has seen a host of players leave Vicarage Road, and last month the club came perilously close to administration before majority shareholder Lord Ashcroft agreed to repay a £4.88m loan to former chairman Jimmy Russo. But if Watford harboured hopes of starting the new year on a brighter note by causing the day's second major Cup upset, they were rapidly dispelled. The cheers that greeted news of Manchester United's shock defeat against Leeds were still echoing around the Stamford Bridge rafters when the Blues took the lead. Alex nodded a Frank Lampard corner to John Terry, the England captain volleyed into the six-yard box, and Sturridge turned in at the back post to claim his first goal since his summer arrival from Manchester City. Things got worse for Watford when Malouda fizzed in a vicious cross which was slammed back into the danger area by Joe Cole before cannoning in off Eustace. Starved of possession and in defensive disarray, Watford fell further behind on 22 minutes when Zhirkov's long-range effort deflected off Malouda, wrong-footing Scott Loach. There was a brief period of respite for the beleaguered Watford keeper either side of half-time, but shortly after the hour Lampard capped an influential performance with a trademark pile-driver from 25 yards. And four became five when Ashley Cole combined superbly with Zhirkov on the left flank before crossing for Sturridge, who controlled neatly before slipping the ball beyond Loach. Source: BBC