Chelsea maintained their position at the top of the Conference League group table in scintillating fashion as they dismantled Armenian Premier League side Noah with an 8-0 win at Stamford Bridge.
It was the biggest win in the competition’s short history, replacing Nordsjaelland’s 7-1 victory over Ludogorets in last season’s group stage.
Chelsea – who beat Gent and Panathinaikos in their opening two European games of the season – were almost stunned inside three minutes when Goncalo Gregorio was allowed space to pump a shot at Filip Jorgensen, while Joao Felix missing an open goal from inside the six-yard box did little to settle any early nerves.
Then the game became the mis-match many had expected. Tosin easily headed in Enzo Fernandez’s corner and, when Noah carelessly gave the ball away seconds after the restart, Marc Guiu was on hand to nip in and double the lead.
Axel Disasi then headed in another corner, before Felix atoned for his earlier miss to coolly clip over goalkeeper Ognjen Chancharevich and Mykhailo Mudryk added a fifth with a sumptuous curling finish.
Incredibly, it was six at half-time, when Felix received the ball from Disasi, chopped inside his man and hit a shot that crossed the line via a deflection.
There appeared to be less urgency from the Blues after the break – understandably, given the game was already a foregone conclusion by that point. But with just over 21 minutes to play, having already clipped the top of the crossbar with a fierce shot, Christopher Nkunku found the net from a tight angle after his first effort had been saved.
There was time for one more, too, with Nkunku rattling home a penalty after a VAR review confirmed Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall had been fouled in the box, which added further gloss to an unforgettable evening in west London.
