Chelsea took brutal revenge on London rivals Spurs to move brilliantly into the FA Cup semi-final after a bruising White Hart Lane encounter.

Claudio Ranieri's side - still wounded by the 5-1 Worthington Cup semi-final defeat in January - inflicted ruthless and spectacular punishment on a Spurs team seemingly intent on committing defensive suicide.

It was a sweet afternoon for Chelsea - and the only cloud on their horizon was the senseless sending off of Graeme Le Saux, who once again blotted his copybook in front of watching England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Chelsea played like a team on a mission to erase the scars of their earlier humilation, and Spurs had no answer as they were comprehensively swept aside.

But Spurs boss Glenn Hoddle will also demand answers after a display of defensive disorganisation that left his team a well-beaten and bedraggled shambles well before the end.

William Gallas gave Chelsea an early lead, and once Eidur Gudjohnsen and Le Saux struck early in the second half, Hoddle was left pondering the collapse of a season that once held so much promise.

Icelander Gudjohnsen added his second and Chelsea's fourth as the Spurs defence and midfield did a disappearing act amid the carnage.

It could have been worse for Spurs if referee Andy D'Urso had not shown remarkable leniency in only showing a yellow card to Les Ferdinand for a reckless swipe at Gallas in the opening minutes.

Ferdinand's foul was the opening shot in the hostilities, with some scores clearly remaining to be settled after Spurs' Worthington Cup win.

Dean Richards was also relieved not to see red after six minutes when he cynically upended Gudjohnsen as he ran clear on goal. But Gallas made it an expensive pay-back time for Ferdinand when he put Chelsea ahead in the 11th minute.

Spurs goalkeeper Neil Sullivan misjudged Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's corner, leaving Gallas to score in a six-yard area scramble.

Hoddle's side had plenty of possession, but always looked likely to be undone by an alarming defensive frailty that Chelsea always threatened to expose.

Hasselbaink hit the bar for Chelsea, and Spurs' last hope went when Ferdinand headed a glorious opportunity against the post after 38 minutes.

And their hopes of mounting a second-half revival were wrecked as Chelsea put the game out of reach with two swift strikes.

Spurs were stretched and left appealing for offside after 47 minutes as Le Saux found Gudjohnsen, but there was no flag and he raced clear to score.

And Chelsea rubber-stamped their place in the semi-final when Le Saux took advantage of more appalling defending to add the third five minutes later.

Tim Sherwood hesitated fatally in possession, allowing Le Saux to rob him in front of his own goal and score from 20 yards.

Spurs were now little more than a rabble, and Jesper Gronkjaer's pass allowed Gudjohnsen the freedom of White Hart Lane to run clear and add the fourth.

Le Saux, however, was unable to resist the lure of getting involved in brainless physical confrontation, and he demonstrated exactly why Eriksson feels he cannot be risked in the World Cup when he was sent off for a lunge at Spurs substitute Mauricio Tarrico.

It did little to take the gloss of Chelsea's celebrations - and for Spurs only the race for respectability remains.