João Félix leads the charge as Chelsea hammer eight past Noah | European Conference League

When the idea for the Conference League first came to Uefa, it is unlikely that anyone in Nyon imagined that a club of Chelsea’s means would one day pump six unanswered first-half goals past an Armenian side founded just seven years ago .

The point is that this competition was established for the benefit of Europe’s smaller clubs. There is little for Chelsea to win, much as the prospect of adding another European trophy to their extensive haul will appeal to their supporters, and the truth is that there was something faintly absurd about this 8-0 win over Noah.

This was less of a competition, more of a shooting practice for João Félix, and it spoke volumes that Enzo Maresca was once again able to make 11 changes without disrupting his team’s flow. Chelsea cruised as they maintained their perfect record and went top of the league stage, while the main positive for Maresca was seeing members of his expensively assembled reserves build confidence and momentum. Marc Guiu and Tosin Adarabioyo scored their first goals for the club, Enzo Fernández picked up a hat-trick of assists and Mykhailo Mudryk fired over after a beautiful curling strike.

This was fun from the start. There was an early rush from Noah, Gonçalo Gregório was alone and free to test Filip Jörgensen with a firm effort, but there was a hopeless naivete in their attempt to play. Chelsea quickly came out of their slumber and the play should have been underway sooner, the visitors cut to pieces by Tyrique George, only for Félix to deny the debutant an assist by trying to divert his cross away from an empty net.

It was a contender for the miss of the season from Félix, although his faith remained undimmed. For Noah, at least, this was an opportunity to see why the Portugal forward was once considered one of Europe’s hottest prospects. Félix had time to do as he pleased with fellow No.10 Christopher Nkunku and was nonchalant when another chance came in the 21st minute. In reality, the pressure was slightly lighter as Chelsea were already 3-0 up when the former Atlético Madrid striker lifted a sweet finish over Ognjen Cancarevic after being released by Fernández.

Christopher Nkunku scores his second and Chelsea’s eighth goal from the penalty spot. Photo: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

Four goals to the good with more than an hour to go, Chelsea could relax. The floodgates opened after 12 minutes, Adarabioyo nodding in Fernández’s corner and Noah was quickly punished again. Gonçalo Silva’s pass across the defense was short and Guiu tapped in to score with an emphatic finish.

This was a night to boost home morale. Fernández whipped in another corner for Axel Disasi to head in the third. Mudryk made it 5-0 when he cut inside from the left and bent a beautiful shot into the top corner from 25 metres.

Rui Mota, Noah’s manager, had used his pre-match press conference to deliver the line everyone wanted: no, he said, his team would not park the ark. But his humor seemed to disappear as he watched shots rain down on his team’s goal. Nkunku and George went close before Disasi became the playmaker, swapping right-back with the attacking midfield and releasing Félix, who dived inside to make it six just before the break.

The only question that remained was whether Chelsea would relax in the second half. Maresca made changes, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Cesare Casadei replaced Guiu and Fernández and there was some relief near the home bench. Nicolas Jackson was very pleased with himself after balancing a cup of soup on Marc Cucurella’s head.

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Down the pitch, Félix was chasing a hat-trick and Nkunku threatened to score. Cancarevic kept going down and asking for treatment. A cynic could have been forgiven for thinking the keeper went out of his way to be taken off.

Noah refused to lie down. There was an absurdity in them trying to compete with a team blessed with so much depth. Nkunku went through, saw a shot blocked and Cancarevic collapsed with his head in his hands as Nkunku hooked in the rebound.

Chelsea, remember, did this without Cole Palmer, who has been allowed to rest his legs on Thursday night. They even had help from the officials, a VAR call for a suspected foul at Dewsbury-Hall allowing Nkunku to round off the score from the spot and hammer the Premier League’s financial muscle.