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Chelsea progressed to the FA Cup fifth round at the expense of dogged Ipswich thanks to a Michael Ballack brace and a spectacular Frank Lampard free-kick.
Ashley Cole crossed to Ballack for the first-half opener before Alex Bruce levelled after calamitous Chelsea defending at a set-piece.
Chelsea were comfortable after the break and a 25-yard Ballack free-kick put the home side ahead once again.
Lampard sealed the win with a dipping 35-yard free-kick into the top corner.
The midfielder's goal made for a comfortable scoreline but for all the home side's dominance it was nervy viewing for the Chelsea fans until Lampard's strike five minutes from time.
Before the game, Ipswich's assistant manager John Gorman had said his team would take inspiration from Burnley's Carling Cup victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge back in November.
Yet when Florent Malouda and Lampard both tested Richard Wright in the opening minutes an upset - or even the first-half drama which was to unfold - seemed unlikely.
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A strong Chelsea line-up began with gusto and seemed intent on erasing memories of their Carling Cup humiliation and the difficult replay against Southend in the previous round of this competition.
Chelsea full-backs Cole and Jose Bosingwa were getting plenty of space to surge forward down the flanks, with Cole instrumental in the opening goal.
Frank Lampard found his England colleague, who was acting more as a left-winger, and Cole then cut the ball back to Ballack who atoned for an earlier miss to give Chelsea the lead.
Bizarrely, considering Chelsea's experiences with lower-league opposition in cup competitions this season, the Blues then took their foot off the pedal and were made to pay dearly.
Chelsea's inability to deal with set-pieces came to the fore again as Owen Garvan's free-kick found the unmarked Alex Bruce at the back post and the defender hit home to level matters.
That goal sparked an Ipswich resurgence as Danny Haynes and Tommy Miller both went close to giving the visitors the lead before the break.
But Ipswich were made to rue their first-half profligacy when Ballack scored his second in the 59th minute after Garvan had felled Nicolas Anelka.
Unlike the first half, Chelsea continued to attack after going ahead with Salomon Kalou forcing a fine save from Wright.
Five minutes later Ballack came close to claiming his hat-trick with a 25-yard shot which was palmed away by Wright.
Chelsea were playing high-tempo football, with Lampard instrumental in midfield - and the England international capped off a fine performance with a stunning strike to rubber-stamp his team's progress.
Chelsea: Cech, Bosingwa, Carvalho (Ivanovic 70), Alex, Ashley Cole, Belletti, Ballack (Deco 79), Lampard, Malouda (Drogba 58), Kalou, Anelka.
Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Ferreira, Mancienne, Stoch.
Goals: Ballack 16, 59, Lampard 85.
Ipswich: Richard Wright, David Wright, McAuley, Bruce, Garvan, Miller (Quinn 81), Counago, Norris, Balkestein, Haynes (Lisbie 60), Walters (Stead 71).
Subs Not Used: Supple, Bowditch, Shumulikoski, Thatcher.
Booked: Bruce, Garvan, Lisbie.
Goals: Bruce 34.
Att: 41,137
Ref: Alan Wiley (Staffordshire).
BBC Sport Player Rater man of the match: Chelsea's Michael Ballack 8.25 (on 90 minutes).
Please note that you can still give the players marks out of 10 on BBC Sport's Player Rater after the match has finished.
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