Krasnodar 0-4 Chelsea: The one that a penalty taking star was born

Timo Werner summed up the match perfectly when he said 'it was not as easy as the result says in the end.' Four goals flattered Chelsea - but it's not how you get there, just as long as you do. After a long 248 minutes without scoring, I'll take four whether it was a true reflection of the performance or not. Especially after that little drought! 

Before Callum Hudson-Odoi managed to open the scoring, Jorginho had the opportunity to give Chelsea an early lead with one of his patented hop, skip, scratch and sniff penalties. Previously a solid bet for a goal from the spot, Jorginho has not been without controversy this season. Alisson managed to stop one at the end of last month. And then when Chelsea received a second penalty against Crystal Palace he was faced with a Tammy Abraham sized confrontation. 

Wednesday night saw Chelsea's main penalty taker hit the post. No one has a perfect record, even Eden Hazard failed to convert (VERY rarely, but it did happen). However, Frank Lampard has a number of options at his disposal and it might be worth exploring. Kai Havertz has scored each of the 13 penalties he has taken for club and U19 country. While Timo Werner has missed just 3 of 17. Something to think about.

With less than 15 minutes to go and holding onto a slender one goal lead, Turbo Timo converted Chelsea's second penalty of the match. He went for power over finesse and I'm still not sure how it didn't fire through the back of the net. I'm here for it.

That penalty saw the floodgates open as Krasnodar's backline appeared to be well and truly breached. Hakim Ziyech on his first start for Chelsea took the chance to also grab his first goal firing low into the net.

While Captain America Christian Pulisic capped off a surprise rout with a goal of his own. A little warm-up to his return to Turf Moor this weekend? He terrorised them a year ago and looks like he could do so again.

Despite Thiago Silva drawing headlines for organising Chelsea's backline, he was left at home as Frank Lampard is conscious of managing his 36-year-old legs to make it through the season. From out in the cold to Champions League starter - Antonio Rudiger made his return. His passing could have been a little more adventurous - there are other players to pass to other than Kurt Zouma - but a solid outing for big Toni.

Another surprise return for Chelsea was in the stands rather than on the pitch. Owner and Frank Lampard fan Roman Abramovich was back to oversee the Blues biggest Champions League win in three years. A welcome return and something we see a lot more of going forward. Can't be expecting him to drop £14.95 to oversee his recent £200m+ investment.

jb x

RESULT: Krasnodar 0-4 Chelsea

GOALS: Hudson-Odoi 37, Werner 76, Ziyech 79, Pulisic 90

CHELSEA XI: Mendy, Azpilicueta, Zouma, Rudiger, Chilwell (Emerson 81), Kovacic (Kante 71), Jorginho (Mount 71), Havertz, Ziyech (Abraham 80), Hudson-Odoi, Werner 

STAR MAN: Hakim Ziyech