Our six goals in the first half were scored two by two. The floodgates opened in the space of 60 seconds when Tosin Adarabioyo and Marc Guiu scored their first goal in Chelsea blue.

Midway through half-time, Axel Disasi and Joao Felix added to that tally in quick succession as wave after wave of Chelsea attacks rained down on Noah’s beleaguered defense.

The next set of quick goals came from the right boots of Mykhailo Mudryk, an excellent performance from 20 yards, and again from Joao Felix.

Any hopes that we might be able to improve on our record 13-0 victory in the Cup Winners’ Cup against Jeunesse Hautcharage in 1971 were dashed in the second half when Noah attempted to raise the drawbridge. However, we scored two more goals, both scored by Christopher Nkunku, continuing his excellent performances in this competition.

So it finished 8-0, matching our score in a Premier League match against Aston Villa in 2012, with most of the damage done in a remarkable 45-minute first blitz.

It’s no surprise that we maintain our place at the top of the Conference League standings!

Team news

The big team news before the match was the inclusion of Tyrique George from the start. He lined up on the right side of an attacking quartet behind Guiu, who returned to the starting line-up for the first time since the qualifiers in this competition against Servette.

Furthermore, the team had a feeling of familiarity among those who selected Enzo Maresca in the cup competitions this season. Marc Cucurella and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall were the players to make way for George and Guiu after last week’s defeat to Newcastle. The possession was 4-1-4-1, with Enzo Fernandez shielding the back four.

After the warm-ups were completed, John Dempsey’s life was celebrated on the big screen with applause from all four sides after our FA Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup winning defender sadly passed away earlier this week. He played in the 8-0 victory against Hautcharage 53 years ago. This was for him!

Early shock avoided

Tonight there were only two minutes left on the clock when Noah almost paralyzed the bridge. A quick counter-attack opened us up and Goncalo Gregoria had a clear view of the goal and fired his shot close to Filip Jorgensen, who used his upper body to deflect it.

Another sharp pass almost freed Gregoria again. The visitors quickly made it clear that they were not here for a day out, but any hopes they had were ruthlessly extinguished.

They should have fallen behind in the sixth minute. George and Nkunku exchanged passes neatly at the top right of the penalty area, and the loaded debutant sent a hard cross to an unmarked Joao Felix. With the goal gaping, he was unable to direct his effort on target as the height of the cross was too difficult to control.

It didn’t matter. Halfway through the half we were 4-0 up!

Blues barrage

The opening goal, after twelve minutes, was our first from a corner since the beginning of April. Fernandez sent the ball over and Tosin was too strong for his marker, sending his header adorably into the bottom left corner.

Right from the kick-off, Guiu intercepted a pass over Noah’s back line and confidently beat Ognjen Chancharevich with a flawless finish. How the Spaniard celebrated his first Blues goal for the Shed!

Chelsea continued to surge forward and two became three in the 17th minute. It was a copy of our opener. Fernandez curled a swinging corner on the edge of the six-yard box, and this time Disasi met the ball with a powerful header that gave Chancharevich no chance.

Joao Felix was the next to act. Guiu tackled Goncalo Silva brilliantly and the loose ball fell to Fernandez, who released Joao Felix first time. He deftly tapped the ball over Chancharevich and with only twenty minutes left on the clock it was 4-0 to Chelsea.

Guiu almost got his second when Mudryk sent a cross to the far post and the striker’s header was kept just on the line by a combination of defender and goalkeeper.

The flow of goals continues

A relatively quiet passage of play followed before, as the break approached, the Blues again struck twice in quick succession.

The first of those goals, from Mudryk, was the cream of the crop, a fierce shot from the edge of the penalty area that flew into the top right corner. No wonder he nodded his head in approval!

Disasi then led another Chelsea counter-attack. With a swarm of blueshirts to choose from, he cut left to Joao Felix, who cut inside and found the net off a retreating defender.

The break provided some welcome relief from the flood of Chelsea goals!

For the second half, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Cesare Casadei replaced Guiu and Fernandez.

Benoit Badiashile was one of the few Chelsea players not to get a shot in in the first half, but that changed early in the second when he fired over Dewsbury-Hall’s cross.

Nkunku joins the party

Joao Felix was then kept out by the fingertips of the busy Chancharevich. The keeper had given the ball away and his next involvement was blocking Nkunku’s shot with his feet and holding on to the rebound as Joao Felix tried to force the ball home.

Nkunku looked increasingly frustrated at not having added his name to the scoresheet. Shortly before the hour mark, a beautiful Veiga pass freed him in the penalty area. His powerful left-footed shot, our twentieth attempt of the evening, hit the top of the crossbar on its way.

Nkunku’s time would come – in the 69th minute to be precise. A wonderful skill from Joao Felix preceded a through ball to the Frenchman. His first shot was blocked by Chancharevich, but the ball returned to him and he squeezed it past a defender on the line. 7-0!

We soon started looking for an eighth. Mudryk had a shot saved and Dewsbury-Hall went to ground from the follow-up. Not long after, the ball went to Carney Chukwuemeka and he hit the outside of the post. But a VAR check showed Dewsbury-Hall was felled before shooting, so it was a penalty. Nkunku went hard through the middle for his second in seven minutes and sixth in the competition.

Academy midfielder Samuel Rak-Sakyi was introduced for his Chelsea debut with eleven minutes remaining, with Nkunku making way.

Casadei toppled a piledriver and in injury time Chukwuemeka was denied by Chancharevich and Rak-Sakyi half-missed the rebound.

It was a rare misstep in front of goal in an otherwise devastating attacking performance.

What it means…

Chelsea top the table with a goal difference of +13. We are one of six teams with the maximum points so far, including Heidenheim who we will face next in this competition.

What’s next?

Arsenal visit the Bridge on Sunday afternoon for our final match before the November international break. We can expect a very different match in that London derby!

Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Jorgensen; Disasi, Tosin, Badiashile, Veiga; Fernandez (c) (Casadei h/t); George (Chukwuemeka 68), Nkunku (Rak-Sakyi 79), Joao Felix, Mudryk; Guiu (Dewsbury-Hall h/t)

Unused subs Sánchez, Merrick, Cucurella, Gusto, Madueke

Scorers Tosin 12, Guiu 13, Disasi 18, Joao Felix 21, 41 Mudryk 39, Nkunku 69, 76 (pen)

Noah (4-2-3-1): Chancharevich; Miljkovic, Goncalo Silva, Muradian, Hambartsumyan (c) (Avanesian 61); Eteki, Sangare (Pinson 61); Ferreira, Manvelyan (Oulad Omar h/t), Cinari; Gregorio (Aias 61)

Unused subs Ploshchadnyi, Thorarinsson, Dashyan, Mendoza, Santos, Petrsoyan

Booked Sangare 59, Cinari 90+4

Referee Christian-Petru Ciochirca from Austria

Crowd 38,305