Emma Hayes’s squad arrived in Albania knowing a draw was enough to progress to the quarter-finals but they progressed with a convincing win. Skipper on the night Sophie Ingle led the way with the opening goal, followed by a first-half finish from Fran Kirby.

In the second half Chelsea were on the attack throughout but the combination of some missed chances, diligent defending and a competent goalkeeping display kept us out until the final five minutes.

Then two substitutes added goals number three and four - Katerina Svitkova heading home before Maren Mjelde scored a penalty.

For Zecira Musovic, handed an opportunity in goal, and the rest of the Blues rearguard, it was a quiet night as Vllaznia maintained their run of not having scored in this Champions League campaign. They offered next to no threat.

Paris Saint-Germain's win over Real Madrid in the day’s later game means there is still work to do next week to claim top spot. Either way, we have to wait until 10 February to discover our opponents in the last-eight knockout stage. That is when the draw takes place in Switzerland.

The selection

There were six changes from the Reading WSL win at the weekend, with Musovic selected in goal and a different pairing in central defence - Aniek Nouwen and Kadeisha Buchanan. Guro Reiten and Jessie Fleming also returned, and Sam Kerr was selected to lead the attack.

On the front foot

Although just one point was needed from this game to seal one of the qualification places, once an early goal was scored it never looked likely the Blues would not take all three.

Having beaten the Albanian champions 8-0 at Kingsmeadow back in October, Emma Hayes expected Vllaznia to be more stubborn opposition on their own turf, so she must have been delighted to see her side find ways through from the start against a side set up so defensively.

Ingle crossed early on and Nouwen, up from the back, hooked wide. Niamh Charles then attempted to seek out Kerr with a defence-splitting pass but it rolled away from its target.

However on a rainy night it did not take long to dampen Vllaznia’s hopes of taking something from this game. A low cross from the left from Reiten was deflected into the path of Ingle who from just inside the penalty area, slotted expertly into the bottom corner. Both the Welsh international’s goals this season have come in the Champions League.

An angled drive by Reiten was tipped wide as Chelsea went in search of a second goal, which was found in the 20th minute.

As against Reading for the first goal on Sunday, a quickly taken free-kick by Jelena Cankovic did the damage, presenting Kirby with the sort of chance that a finisher of her quality was never likely to miss.

For the rest of the half there was plenty of eye-catching one- and two-touch passing at a lovely tempo, with the Blues switching the ball to both flanks to stretch the Albanians’ defence. Yet it was from a set-piece, fired in from the left by Eve Perisset, that we came closest to adding to the two-goal lead before half-time. Kaylin Williams-Mosier did well to keep it out.

Third and fourth take time

Cankovic set up a chance for Kerr early in the second half, with a drilled cross to the far post, but our topscorer headed wide. Vllaznia then managed a block when Kerr got her boot to another cross.

When a ball came in from the opposite, left-hand flank from Charles, a stretching Jessie Fleming could not send her header on target.

Kerr’s quest for a goal continued after she was flagged offside having found the net from a pass from substitute Svitkova. Late in the game Kerr skilfully worked space for a shot but a very tight angle was against her and the ball skimmed across the face of the goal. Having scored four in the home game against this team, this was not her night in front of the net.

The third goal did come close to the end when the Blues made one those many crosses pay. Cankovic earned her second assist of the night when Svitkova headed her cross in at the near post.

When Vllaznia’s Sara Maliqi handled the ball in the closing moments, the win was capped by the pleasing sight of Mjelde, making just her third appearance in an injury-hampered season, confidently converting the penalty.

What’s next?

Just one more game left in 2022 and it is another to be hosted at Stamford Bridge. The group stage of the Champions League concludes with the hosting of Paris St-Germain on Thursday 22 December, kick-off 8pm.

Tickets are available with prices starting at £9 adults and £1 concessions

Chelsea Musovic, Perisset, Buchanan (Mjelde 65), Nouwen, Charles (Carter 75), Ingle (c) (James 65), Cankovic, Kirby (Rytting Kaneryd 75), Fleming, Reiten (Svitkova 65), Kerr.

Unused subs Berger, Orman, Bright, Eriksson, Cuthbert, England.

Scorers Ingle 12, Kirby 20, Svitkova 87, Mjelde pen 90+3

Vllaznia Williams-Mosier; Popovic, Gjergji, Maliqi, Gjini, Ramadani (Vuksani 89), Franja (c), Doci, Shala (Borci h-t), Cavanaugh (Kodra 81), Lufo.

Unused subs Raxhimi, Rexhepi, Curraj, Davidson, Berisha, Piranji, Bashka, Panayiotou, Saranovic.

Booked Gjergji 22, Popovic 44

Referee Karoline Wacker from Germany.