Chelsea ease to Champions League win at Krasnodar

KRASNODAR: Chelsea kickstarted their Champions League group campaign by coasting to a 4-0 win at Krasnodar on Wednesday thanks to goals from Callum Hudson-Odoi, Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech and a late strike from Christian Pulisic.

Having drawn their opening game with Sevilla 0-0, Chelsea got off to a slow start against a conservative Krasnodar and passed up a glorious chance to take the lead when Jorginho hit the post from the penalty spot.

Frank Lampard’s side went ahead in the 37th minute with a stroke of fortune when Hudson-Odoi’s tame shot squirmed through the hands of Krasnodar keeper Matvey Safonov.

Krasnodar nearly equalised when Yuri Gazinskiy hit the crossbar in the second half but Chelsea extended their lead when Werner smashed home from the penalty spot in the 76th minute, after Jorginho had been substituted.

Ziyech grabbed his first goal for Chelsea since switching from Ajax Amsterdam by firing low into the net and Pulisic completed the rout in added time, helped by another lapse from Safonov who let the ball trickle through his legs into the net.

“It was not as easy as the result says in the end,” Werner said.

“The first half was really tough for us. Krasnodar were really hard to play against, they caused us a lot of problems. We were a little bit unlucky not to score the (first) penalty but, after that, we played well from back to front.”

Chelsea had drawn their last three matches in all competitions and Lampard was pleased with the performance.

“We’re very happy, four goals scored and none conceded,” said the coach.

“It was a difficult match, we were better than them in the first half. We had to take a bit of pressure early in the second but I liked lots of things about the way we played.”

Chelsea have four points after two games in Group E and host Rennes next Wednesday. Krasnodar, who visit Sevilla next, have one.

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