Our six first-half goals went in two by two. The floodgates opened in the space of 60 seconds as Tosin Adarabioyo and Marc Guiu bagged their first goals in Chelsea blue.

Before the midway point of the half, 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 defence.

The next brace of quickfire goals came from the right boots of Mykhailo Mudryk, an outstanding effort from 20 yards, and Joao Felix once more.

Hopes we could maybe even better our record victory of 13-0, secured in the Cup Winners’ Cup against Jeunesse Hautcharage in 1971, were dashed in the second half as Noah tried to raise the drawbridge. We did manage two more goals, however, both scored by Christopher Nkunku as he continued his outstanding record in this competition.

So 8-0 it finished, matching our scoreline in a Premier League fixture against Aston Villa in 2012, with most of the damage very much done in a remarkable opening 45-minute blitz.

Unsurprisingly, we retain our place at the top of the Conference League standings!

Team news

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

Otherwise the team had a familiar feel to those Enzo Maresca has selected in the cup competitions this season. Marc Cucurella and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall were the players to make way for George and Guiu from last midweek’s loss at Newcastle. The shape in possession was 4-1-4-1, with Enzo Fernandez shielding the back four.

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

Early shock avoided

Tonight, just two minutes were on the clock when Noah nearly stunned the Bridge. A rapid counter-attack opened us up and Goncalo Gregoria had a clear sight of goal, firing his shot close to Filip Jorgensen who used his upper body to repel it.

Another incisive pass nearly released Gregoria again. The visitors had quickly shown they were not here for a day out, but any hope they held was ruthlessly extinguished.

They should have gone behind in the sixth minute. George and Nkunku neatly exchanged passes on the right apex of the box, and the full debutant crossed hard to an unmarked Joao Felix. With the goal gaping, he couldn’t steer his effort on target, the height of the cross too awkward to control.

It did not matter. By the midway point of the half, we led 4-0!

Blues barrage

The opening goal, on 12 minutes, was our first from a corner since early April. Fernandez sent it over and Tosin was too strong for his marker, cutely guiding his header into the bottom left-hand corner.

Straight from kick-off, Guiu intercepted a pass across the Noah backline and confidently beat Ognjen Chancharevich with an unerring finish. How the Spaniard celebrated his maiden Blues goal in front of the Shed!

Chelsea kept flooding forward, and two became three in the 17th minute. It was a carbon copy of our opener. Fernandez curled an outswinging corner onto the edge of the six-yard box, and this time Disasi met it with a powerful header that gave Chancharevich no chance.

Joao Felix was the next to get in on the act. Guiu brilliantly tackled Goncalo Silva and the loose ball fell to Fernandez, who released Joao Felix first time. He deftly dinked the ball over Chancharevich, and it was 4-0 Chelsea with just 20 minutes on the clock.

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

The flood of goals continues

A relatively quiet passage of play ensued before, with the interval approaching, the Blues once more struck twice in quick succession.

The first of those goals, from Mudryk, was the pick of the bunch, a ferocious shot from the edge of the box that flew into the top right-hand corner. No wonder he nodded his head in approval!

Then Disasi led another Chelsea counter-attack. With a swarm of blue shirts to pick from, he went left to Joao Felix, who cut inside and found the net via a retreating defender.

The interval provided some welcome relief from the flurry of Chelsea goals!

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

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

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 to block Nkunku’s shot with his feet, and hold onto the rebound as Joao Felix tried to force it home.

Nkunku looked increasingly frustrated not to have added his name to the scoresheet. Shortly before the hour mark, a fine Veiga pass freed him inside the box. His powerful left-footed shot, our 20th attempt of the evening, clipped the top of the crossbar on its way over.

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

We soon went searching for an eighth. Mudryk had a shot saved and Dewsbury-Hall went to ground from the follow-up. The ball ran to Carney Chukwuemeka, not long on, and he struck the outside of the post. But a VAR check showed Dewsbury-Hall was felled before going to shoot, so a penalty it was. Nkunku went hard down 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 11 minutes remaining, Nkunku making way.

Casadei had a piledriver tipped over and in stoppage time, Chukwuemeka was denied by Chancharevich and Rak-Sakyi half-volleyed the rebound over.

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

What it means...

Chelsea sit atop the table with a goal difference of +13. We are one of six teams with maximum points so far, among them Heidenheim who we meet next in this competition.

What’s next?

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

Teams

Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Jorgensen; Disasi, Tosin, Badiashile, Veiga; Fernandez (c) (Casadei 46); George (Chukwuemeka 68), Nkunku (Rak-Sakyi 79), Joao Felix, Mudryk; Guiu (Dewsbury-Hall 46)
Unused subs: Sanchez, 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 46), Cinari; Gregorio (Aias 61)
Unused subs: Ploshchadnyi, Thorarinsson, Dashyan, Mendoza, Santos, Petrsoyan
Booked: Sangare 59, Cinari 90+4

Referee: Christian-Petru Ciochirca from Austria
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