Match report: Chelsea 8-0 Noah | News | Official site

Our six goals in the first half came in pairs. The floodgates opened within 60 seconds as Tosin Adarabioyo and Marc Guiu scored their first goals in Chelsea blue.

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

The next double pack of quick goals came from the right boots of Mykhailo Mudryk, an outstanding shot from 20 meters, and again Joao Felix.

Hopes that we might be able to better our record 13-0 win over Jeunesse Hautcharage in the 1971 Cup Winners’ Cup 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 outstanding record in the competition.

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

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

Team news

The team’s big news before the game was the inclusion of Tyrique George from the start. He operated on the right side of an attacking quartet behind Guiu, who returned to the starting eleven for the first time since qualifying in this competition against Servette.

Otherwise, the team looked similar to the one Enzo Maresca selected for the cup competitions this season. Marc Cucurella and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall were the players who replaced George and Guiu after last midweek’s defeat at Newcastle. The possession shape was 4-1-4-1, with Enzo Fernandez shielding the back four.

After warm-ups were completed, 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 played in the 8-0 away win against Hautcharage 53 years ago. This was for him!

Early shock avoided

There were just two minutes on the clock tonight when Noah nearly stunned the bridge. A quick counterattack put us in the lead and Goncalo Gregoria had a clear view of the goal and fired his shot just past Filip Jorgensen, who blocked it with his upper body.

Another incisive pass almost left Gregoria free again. The visitors had quickly shown that they were not here for a day trip, but any hope they had was ruthlessly extinguished.

They should have fallen behind in the sixth minute. George and Nkunku exchanged clever passes at the top of the right penalty area, and the full-fledged debutant crossed hard to the unmarked Joao Felix. With the goal open, he was unable to direct his shot towards goal as the height of the cross was too difficult to control.

It didn’t matter. At halftime we were leading 4-0!

Blues barrage

The opening goal in the 12th minute was our first corner since the beginning of April. Fernandez sent the ball over and Tosin was too strong for his opponent and deftly directed his header into the bottom left corner.

Immediately after kick-off, Guiu intercepted a pass over the backline from Noah and confidently beat Ognjen Chancharevich with an accurate finish. How the Spaniard celebrated his first Blues goal in front of the Shed!

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

Joao Felix was the next to join the game. Guiu tackled Goncalo Silva brilliantly and the loose ball fell to Fernandez, who released Joao Felix for the first time. He deftly flicked the ball over Chancharevich and it was 4-0 to Chelsea with just 20 minutes left.

Guiu almost scored his second goal when Mudryk sent a cross to the far post and the striker’s header was saved just off the line by a combination of defender and goalkeeper.

The flood of goals continues

A relatively quiet game followed before the Blues struck again twice in quick succession shortly before the break.

The first of those goals from Mudryk was first choice, a wild shot from the edge of the box that flew into the top right corner. No wonder he nodded in agreement!

Disasi then led another Chelsea counterattack. With a bevy of blue jerseys to choose from, he moved left to Joao Felix, who cut inside and found the net over a retreating defender.

The break provided a welcome break from the barrage of Chelsea goals!

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

Benoit Badiashile was one of the few Chelsea players who didn’t have a shot in the first half, but that changed at the start of the second half when he volleyed Dewsbury-Hall’s cross over the goal.

Nkunku joins the party

Joao Felix was then kept away from the busy Chancharevich’s fingertips. The goalkeeper had given the ball away and his next task was to block Nkunku’s shot with his feet and grab the rebound as Joao Felix tried to force it into the goal.

Nkunku looked increasingly frustrated at not getting his name on the scoresheet. Just before the hour mark, a nice pass from Veiga freed him in the penalty area. His powerful left-footed shot, our 20th attempt of the evening, grazed the top of the crossbar on its way over.

Nkunku’s time would come – in the 69th minute, to be exact. A delicious delivery from Joao Felix preceded a through ball to the Frenchman. His first shot was blocked by Chancharevich, but the ball flew back to him and he pushed it past a defender on the line. 7:0!

We soon set out to find an eighth. Mudryk was able to parry a shot and Dewsbury-Hall went down after the follow-up shot. The ball soon ran to Carney Chukwuemeka, who hit the outside post. However, a VAR review revealed that Dewsbury-Hall had fallen to the ground before the shot, so it was a penalty. Nkunku went hard through the middle for the second time in seven minutes and sixth in the competition.

Academy midfielder Samuel Rak-Sakyi came on for his Chelsea debut with 11 minutes remaining, with Nkunku making way.

Casadei tipped over with a piledriver and in injury time Chukwuemeka was denied by Chancharevich and Rak-Sakyi shot the rebound half over the goal.

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

What it means…

Chelsea are at the top of the table with a goal difference of +13. We are one of six teams with 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 game before the November international break. We can expect a completely different game in this 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 Sanchez, Merrick, Cucurella, Gusto, Madueke

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

Noah (4-2-3-1): Khancharevich; 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

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