Chelsea took their Europa League campaign to five wins from five in the group stage, with the Blues dominating Greek outfit PAOK.
Olivier Giroud netted twice in the first half to give the home side the advantage, with PAOK defender Yevhen Khacheridi being sent off early on for denying the Frenchman a clear goalscoring opportunity.
Blues starlet Callum Hudson-Odoi compounded PAOK’s misery after the restart, before Alvaro Morata scored with his first touch off the bench to leave the Greeks four down with ten minutes remaining.
Chelsea will now face MOL Vidi in a dead rubber fixture next month, having known prior to facing PAOK that they had progressed to the final 32 comfortably.
Here is how we have rated the Chelsea team following this fixture.
Kepa Arrizabalaga - 6
Did he make a save? Hard to remember anything of note he had to do all night.
Davide Zappacosta - 6
Quiet night for the Italian, who didn’t have a lot to do with most of Chelsea’s play going down the left.
Gary Cahill - 6
Positioned himself very well to make a couple of decent blocks to prevent PAOK.
Andreas Christensen - 6
He and Cahill didn’t have a lot to do and the Dane’s defensive partner managed to sweep up what was needed.
Emerson - 7
Gifted a lot of freedom down the left.
Cesc Fàbregas - 7
Constantly picked his head up and looked for the ball over the top with PAOK defending so high.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek - 8
Very much the heartbeat of Chelsea’s midfield in the early stages. Dictated play with Chelsea in complete control.
Ross Barkley - 7
Overshadowed a little by Loftus-Cheek but looked bright in possession, kept the ball well as he played a little deeper with the former being the more adventurous of the two.
Pedro - 7
Displayed exceptional control and technical ability throughout. Great for Sarri to call on him in games like those.
Callum Hudson-Odoi - 8
Always on the move, lots of bright sparks, out to impress. Deserved his goal and showed why he’s knocking on the door.
Olivier Giroud - 9
Always looked a threat, constantly moving and trying to find space. Took both of his goals brilliantly to open the scoring.
Subs:
Ethan Ampadu – 5
Slotted in a right-back but the game has gone by that point. Good for him to get some minutes under his belt after struggling with injuries.
Willian – 5
Added some fresh legs in the latter stages.
Alvaro Morata – 6
Managed to score with his first touch of the game. A powerful header that was never going to be stopped.