Maresca hails ‘professional’ Chelsea after eight-goal win
Enzo Maresca felt his Chelsea players showed their professionalism in the hammering of Noah.
Chelsea set a new Uefa Conference League record with an 8-0 win against the Armenian side at Stamford Bridge.
Head coach Maresca declared: “The players once again showed how professional and serious they are.
“It’s easy to sleep or fall down in this type of game. Football is full of surprises. What I asked them before the game was to show how serious we are, how professional, and they showed that.
“You always have to be focused. You cannot drop. The way to show respect to them is not to underestimate them.
“It’s an important message for all of us. If you are not ready mentally, you can drop easily against any team. The most important thing is that we are serious. This is what we needed to show.”
Joao Felix and Christopher Nkunku both scored twice, Tosin Adarabioyo got his first Chelsea goal, while Axel Disasi, Marc Guiu and Mykhailo Mudryk also netted.
Two goals in the space of two minutes – Tosin’s header from Enzo Fernandez’s corner and Guiu’s tidy finish after pouncing on a misplaced pass – put the Blues in command.
They twice more scored two goals in quick succession to lead 6-0 at half-time.
Just after Disasi headed in another Fernandez corner, Felix got his first goal of the night – a classy dink over keeper Ognjen Chancharevich after another Noah defensive mix-up.
And straight after Mudryk curled in the fifth, Felix’s deflected shot after being found by Disasi made it six.
Nkunku made it seven midway through the second half whenhe ran through on goal and slotted home after his first effort had been saved by Chancharevich.
Nkunku then completed the rout with a penalty after Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall had been fouled.