Chelsea 8-0 FC Noah: 'They shouldn't be in it' – Blues cruising in Conference League
Image source, Getty PhotosEmlyn Begley
BBC Sport journalist
Chelsea broke a Convention League chronicle with their demolition of Noah – and left observers questioning what they are even doing in the match.
The Blues have improved vastly below Enzo Maresca from the facet which sneaked into Uefa’s third match at the end of final season.
And even supposing they are playing their 2d string in the match – with superstar player Cole Palmer no longer even registered – they are blowing all people away.
Thursday’s 8-0 victory broke the old Convention League chronicle get – held collectively by three groups – by two objectives.
After three games they’ve scored 16 objectives, twice the total of the next handiest team.
“Chelsea shouldn’t be in this competitors nonetheless right here is where they are,” said dilapidated Blues midfielder Joe Cole on TNT Sport.
“This match doesn’t originate for Chelsea till the quarter-finals or semi-finals. They’re huge favourites to get it and they must be.”
Ragged England striker Peter Crouch felt appropriate as strongly.
“Taking a ask at a few of the names, I appropriate don’t leer how they are able to lose this match,” he said.
The Blues, who would turn into the predominant team to get the Champions League, Europa League and Convention League must they scramble the complete design, are ranked eighth in Uefa’s membership rankings.
Armenian facet FC Noah – basically based appropriate seven years ago – are 311th in the checklist.
Transfermarkt locations the price of the total Noah squad at £6.5m – in contrast to Chelsea’s £800m-rated squad.
How did Chelsea find yourself in the Convention League?
For loads of the season it regarded they were going to fabricate mid-desk.
And they handiest appropriate came by their play-off to qualify for this share, beating Servette 3-2 on combination with the Swiss facet missing slack probabilities to pressure extra-time.
Already favourites to get the match ahead of it began, they opened with a 4-2 dwelling get better from Gent, ahead of a hit 4-1 at Panathinaikos.
Chelsea are in truth odds-on favourites to get the total match with the bookmakers, a outstanding situation at this early stage of the competitors.
They sit high of the desk on nine parts, three certain in the automatic qualification locations – and already six parts above the elimination spots with three games to scramble.
Becoming a member of them in the tip eight are German facet Heidenheim and Irish facet Shamrock Rovers, who’re among their three final opponents, alongside Astana.
Which other large groups were in it ahead of?
Roma beat Feyenoord in the predominant season’s closing, with Fiorentina losing the different two finals – in opposition to West Ham in 2023 and Olympiakos final season.
Tottenham, the Hammers and Aston Villa were England’s representatives.
Roma and Villarreal are the ideal two clubs in Uefa’s contemporary high-10 ranked clubs, alongside Chelsea, to feature in it.
Maresca’s facet aren’t the predominant dominant team in the Convention League both. Fiorentina scored 37 objectives in 2022-23 ahead of losing to the Hammers in Prague.
The format might perhaps perhaps perhaps just have modified – with one large league desk as a replace of multiple four-team groups – nonetheless there are mute six games to be conducted by every team.
Chelsea are handiest two objectives a ways from the chronicle scored in a community stage – the 18 notched by Jose Mourinho’s eventual winners Roma in 2021.
Membership Brugge’s chronicle community stage purpose distinction of 12 additionally looks situation to be overwhelmed with Chelsea already one purpose better than that.
‘You wish be severe’ – no chronicle get for Chelsea
Enzo Maresca appears to be like to be doing a factual job of juggling his huge squad up to now
Chelsea did catch the Convention League chronicle rating nonetheless they fell a design making an are trying their very like membership chronicle in Europe, a 13-0 Cup Winners’ Cup victory over Luxembourg facet Jeunesse Hautcharage in 1971.
This 8-0 ranks as their joint 2d very most realistic get, alongside three other games.
With Chelsea main 6-0 in opposition to Noah at half-time, and the Armenians making an are trying cherish they might perhaps perhaps perhaps perhaps just concede every time there was an assault, the ideal surprise was that they handiest scored twice more.
Maresca was requested afterwards if he was upset no longer to interrupt their chronicle.
“You wish be severe,” he said. “It’s never straightforward. It’s most necessary we’re severe and expert. We wished to give an clarification for that.”
Noah’s Portuguese boss Rui Mota said: “It be hard to take dangle of, 8-0. We know that Chelsea are on one other level as a team, nonetheless mute, we wished to fabricate better.
“If we did no longer concede so early in the game or even after two minutes when we had a extraordinarily factual probability, if we had scored a purpose, issues might perhaps perhaps perhaps be diversified.
“Congratulations to Chelsea, they were very solid.”
Chelsea defender Tosin Adarabioyo, who opened the scoring alongside with his first purpose for the membership, said: “We’re in the competitors to get it.
“Any competitors we’re in, we are trying for the ideal and this competitors we positively would like to get.”
How Chelsea’s fringe avid gamers are getting the ideal out of the competitors
Chelsea’s huge squad has considered a situation where they are able to commerce their complete team – and mute save out a excessive-quality starting line-up.
Maresca has modified his complete starting team from the old game for all of Chelsea’s three Convention League games – and their two Carabao Cup suits.
Among the many facet are £52m Christopher Nkunku, who scored twice in opposition to Noah to take dangle of his season tally to 10. He is Chelsea’s high scorer despite handiest starting one Premier League game.
Joao Felix, who additionally scored two, is the joint high scorer with four in the Convention League – alongside with Nkunku and Jagiellonia’s Afimico Pululu.
Nonetheless to catch into the Premier League team they would want to catch past avid gamers cherish Palmer, England winger Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson, who has scored six objectives.
Captain Enzo Fernandez, who began the season in the Premier League team nonetheless has been a replace the past three games, began – and situation up three objectives.
He was modified at the destroy with Maresca asserting it was appropriate a “technical possibility”.
Chelsea, who’re fourth in the Premier League desk, face London competitors Arsenal on Sunday – and can just Fernandez situation to be a uncommon title to abet his situation?
