ANOTHER trophy-less season on Tyneside it is then. No big day out at Wembley, no open-topped bus tour winding its way towards Gallowgate. Just the drudgery of a relegation battle at the foot of the Premier League and the painful reality of following a club that has forgotten what it means to even try to win things.

Rafael Benitez will highlight the need to concentrate on securing top-flight survival, and justifiably bemoan a draw that took Newcastle to Stamford Bridge, a ground where they have now lost by at least two goals on each of their last five visits.

Rarely, though, can a Newcastle side have exited a cup competition with such a whimper. Their attempt at containing Chelsea failed in the first half, with Michy Batshuayi scoring twice to ensure the hosts were effectively home and hosed at the interval, and they didn’t even threaten to stage a recovery as they limped through the second period.

Marcos Alonso curled home a picture-book free-kick to extend Chelsea’s advantage, but having been pushed so hard by Championship side Norwich City in the previous round, it said much about Newcastle’s insipid performance that the Blues were able to win by three goals without ever needing to play with the hand-brake off. Chelsea were little better than functional, yet won by a distance.

Does any of that matter in the grand scheme of things? Probably not. Newcastle’s supporters have been waiting for more than 62 years to celebrate a major domestic trophy, so another 12 months without any silverware is hardly going to feel unusual. Damningly, they have not even made the FA Cup fifth round since 2006.

Nevertheless, this was still an afternoon when the limitations of the current Newcastle squad felt grimly apparent. Devoid of midfield creativity and completely bereft of a goalscoring threat up front, it was easy to see why the Magpies will return to Premier League duty against Burnley on Wednesday just one point clear of the bottom three. Without the addition of a proven goalscorer in the next two days, they will do well to keep their heads above water.

In that context, will Benitez be concerned at his side’s failure to make it beyond the fourth round of the FA Cup for the second season in succession? It seems unlikely. He will, however, be extremely worried about the lack of options available to him.

Today’s starting line-up was not quite as weak as the one that suffered an embarrassing FA Cup exit at the hands of Oxford United last January, but it was not far off. Massadio Haidara made his first appearance of the season, Henri Saivet came in for his second start of the last five months and Chancel Mbemba was handed only a fourth start since the end of September. If Benitez was in a position to be able to sign replacements, he would be willing to sell all three this month.

The Spaniard’s willingness to sacrifice a cup run in order to prioritise his side’s ongoing battle against relegation says much about the way in which the FA Cup – supposedly the biggest and best cup competition in the world – has been degraded in recent years. However, it is also a product of Benitez’s pragmatism. Newcastle’s manager does not like taking chances, and you suspect yesterday’s line-up would not have been too much different even if the Magpies had been sitting comfortably in mid-table. Given the club’s heritage in the cup competitions, that is a real shame.

Tactically, Benitez tried to match Chelsea by playing with five at the back. Mbemba slotted alongside Ciaran Clark and Jamaal Lascelles, with Haidara and Javier Manquillo playing as wing-backs.

Unsurprisingly, Newcastle’s wide defenders spent precious little time upfield, but for the opening half-hour, the visitors made a decent job of closing down their opponents and denying Chelsea’s attacking players any space in the final third. Then they conceded two goals in the space of 13 minutes to undo all their good work.

Chelsea’s opening goal came from their first threatening attack. That it came in the 31st minute said much for the quality of Newcastle’s defending to that point. That it resulted in the deadlock being broken spoke volumes for the clinical efficiency of Chelsea’s forwards.

Pedro was the architect of the opener, unlocking the Newcastle defence with a sensational 50-yard ball that arced over Mbemba and enabled Eden Hazard to scamper into the left-hand side of the area. The Belgian has tortured Newcastle on countless occasions in the last few years, but this time he simply opted to roll a simple cut-back into the path of Alonso.

Alonso squared the ball across the area, and an unmarked Batshuayi was left with the simple task of slotting home. Ruthlessness exemplified.

The contrast with Newcastle’s ineffective attacking was stark. Unlike in the league game at Stamford Bridge last month, the visitors actually enjoyed plenty of possession, with Jonjo Shelvey delivering one of his more productive performances from the heart of midfield.

Chelsea’s defenders were unexpectedly nervous throughout the first half, but thanks to a combination of poor finishing and hapless decision-making, Newcastle were unable to take advantage.

Dwight Gayle could have shot when Davide Zappacosta’s error handed the Magpies possession in the 21st minute, but instead he attempted an ill-advised cut-back to Matt Ritchie that was easily intercepted. Fifteen minutes later, and while Newcastle’s number nine finally got a shot away after driving into the area, it was a tame effort that was easily saved by Willy Caballero.

Caballero made two decent saves from Shelvey before the interval, keeping out the midfielder’s first-time shot from Haidara’s cross and gathering another low effort after the home side’s defenders once again tried to be far too clever at the back.

Benitez wanted to sign the former Manchester City number two at the start of the summer, and also tried to persuade Mike Ashley to sign Batshuayi. He will have seen nothing yesterday to change his opinion on the merits of either player.

Batshuayi’s second goal came a minute before the interval, and effectively signalled the end of the cup tie as a meaningful contest.

The recalled Saivet conceded possession under limited pressure, Pedro fed Hazard, and Chelsea’s number ten rolled Batshuayi into space in the box. Lascelles tried desperately to cut out the striker’s shot, but while the Newcastle skipper got his leg to the ball, he could only watch in agony as it looped into the net.

Caballero saved from Shelvey and Mbemba to ensure Chelsea enjoyed the cushion of a two-goal lead at the break, and while Shelvey headed an Isaac Hayden centre over the crossbar at the start of the second half, Newcastle never looked like clawing themselves back into the game.

They would have fallen ever further behind had Karl Darlow not made an excellent save to keep out Alonso’s stinging volley after the former Sunderland defender creamed a first-time effort towards the target from N’Golo Kante’s cross, but Chelsea’s players rarely felt the need to get out of second gear in the final 45 minutes.

That said, a third goal duly arrived with 18 minutes left, and this time Alonso gave Darlow absolutely no chance of denying him. Saivet’s clumsy foul on Zappacosta gave Alonso a shooting opportunity 22 yards from goal, and the Spaniard curled a superb set-piece over the wall.