The Blues advanced to the last four with an eventually comfortable victory, but a brief Derby fightback sent Blues hearts racing in the second half.
The strength of the team Jose Mourinho selected for this game against Championship opposition was surprising, but it paid off. Chelsea’s big guns - the rested Diego Costa aside - easily held off Derby and Craig Bryson’s goal proved to be only a brief high for the home supporters. Little more than 10 minutes later, Jake Buxton had been sent off and Andre Schurrle had made it 3-1.
Steve McClaren will be disappointed his side only occasionally raised the tempo of the game to the kind of level that might have unsettled the Blues.
Aside from a concerning injury to Kurt Zouma, who took a heavy blow to the head, this went pretty much as Mourinho would have planned, with his major players making the difference but not having to work too hard ahead of the weekend’s visit to Stoke.
Craig Bryson made it 2-1 in the 71st minute but Jake Buxton was controversially sent off just minutes later, leaving the home side to face the final 10 minutes a man down, with Jose Mourinho’s men taking full advantage at the iPro Stadium to continue their quest for their first silverware of the season.
Didier Drogba replaced Diego Costa in a strong Chelsea starting line-up, with Kurt Zouma coming in for the rested Gary Cahill and Cesc Fabregas back following a suspension.
Derby were without Ryan Shotton due to a ban, so Buxton started and Hughes was preferred to Jeff Hendrick in midfield.
Chelsea dominated possession in the opening stages, but the home side worked hard off the ball to frustrate their more illustrious visitors and were growing in confidence before they fell behind following a mistake from Keogh 22 minutes in.
The Derby skipper was put under pressure on the edge of his own penalty area and Fabregas latched onto the loose ball to feed Hazard, who darted inside the box and took his time before beating Lee Grant with a clinical finish.
Luis then stung the palms of Grant with a venomous left-footed drive before Keogh's fine tackle thwarted Drogba as he looked destined to find the back of the net.
Zouma's game was cut short just before half-time after he collided with Petr Cech from a Derby corner and was carried off following a lengthy period of treatment, with Branislav Ivanovic replacing him.
Derby finally broke Chelsea down five minutes after the break, when the lively Johnny Russell skipped past John Terry on the right touchline and cut the ball back for the onrushing Hughes, but the England Under-21 international was denied by Cech.
Luis then gave the visitors breathing space soon after that missed opportunity, giving Grant no chance with a stunning free-kick from 25 yards out to open his Chelsea account in style.
Chelsea suffered another injury blow when Drogba limped off with an ankle problem after losing his footing, with Loic Remy his replacement.
The tie appeared to be over, but Bryson provided the quality Derby had been lacking in the final third when his right-footed finish went in off the far post after Russell had picked him out on the edge of the box in the 71st minute.
Derby were dealt a major blow 12 minutes from time, though, as Buxton was dismissed for pulling back Remy when it looked as though Grant would be the man in trouble after he slid out of his area with the ball in his grasp.
And Schurrle ended the contest when he tucked the loose ball home after Grant had parried Remy's effort on 82 minutes.
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