Matchday Live

Summary
In the end, it was a comfortable three points, but the 4-0 scoreline was slightly harsh on the home side.

Juan Mata gave us the lead 12 minutes before half-time, finishing off a lovely move which involved both Fernando Torres and Frank Lampard.

After the break the home side began to threaten, and Petr Cech was called into action on a couple of occasions, with one save in particular, when he tipped a Joshua John strike on to the post, maintaining our lead.

A minute later we were 2-0 up when David Luiz scored a sublime free-kick, lifting his strike over the wall and into the back of the net with the keeper rooted firmly to the spot.

If the second goal had knocked the stuffing out of the home side, the third, two minutes later, put the game to bed, Mata scoring his second of the night, pouncing on a loose ball to fire home as the Danes struggled to clear their lines.

With the three points in the bag, there was still time to put the seal on a fine night's work, with the honour falling to Ramires, who stabbed home from Oscar's cross.

Our first win of the Champions League campaign, and a first away win in the group stages since 2010, sees us head into a double header against Shakhtar Donetsk in good heart.

Team news

Roberto Di Matteo made three changes to the side which won 2-1 at Arsenal on Saturday. With John Terry starting on the bench, Gary Cahill came in to partner David Luiz in the centre of defence, while Lampard, who had failed to start our three previous matches, skippered the side after coming in for John Mikel Obi. The only other change saw Victor Moses make his European debut, coming in to play wide on the left at the expense of Eden Hazard who started on the bench.

First half
The Blues were gifted a chance inside the opening couple of minutes when a careless throw-in fell straight into the path of Oscar.

The Brazilian linked up well with both Fernando Torres and Moses before a teasing delivery had just a little too much pace on it for the Spaniard.

Chelsea came into the game as big favourites against the Champions League novices, and a minute later we were almost in front, Moses rising highest to meet an Oscar cross, but under pressure the young attacker saw his effort crash against the post.

It was an extremely positive start as we looked to exert a stranglehold on the game in the opening stages.

Soon after and another defensive lapse from the home side saw Torres through on goal. He could, and probably should, have shot as soon as he picked the ball up on the edge of the Nordsjaelland penalty area, but as he attempted to evade Jores Okore, the defender made the challenge and the chance went begging.

The hosts were allowing us far too much time and space early on, with one particular pass from Petr Cech to Juan Mata symptomatic of the manner in which the game was evolving.

Joshua John had the first attempt on goal for Kasper Hjulmand's men, showing a lovely piece of skill to pop the ball through the legs of Ramires before firing wide from distance.

An early Chelsea goal would undoubtedly have tested the resolve of the hosts, but an inability to take our chances in the first five minutes appeared to galvanise Nordsjaelland and it required a well-timed block from Ashley Cole to deny Mikkel Beckmann as they began to offer more of an attacking threat.

At the other end, meanwhile, Torres went close after producing a clever trick to go beyond Ivan Runje, with Jesper Hansen using his feet to block the striker's attempt.

The Blues took the lead just after the half-hour mark, profiting from another defensive mistake.

Torres pounced on a loose ball, driving at the defence before rolling it back into the path of the supporting Lampard. The stand-in captain showed tremendous vision to pick out Mata, allowing the Spaniard to calmly slot us into the lead, his third goal in successive games.

A minute before the break we should have doubled our advantage, Oscar splitting the Danes with a simple ball, but Torres, who looked destined to score, saw his strike palmed away by Hansen.

Second half
There were no changes to personnel at the break, and after Torres was again thwarted by Hansen a minute after the restart, John almost levelled things up for Nordsjaelland, cutting in from wide on the left and firing inches past Cech's right-hand upright.

Moses, in particular, was seeing more of the ball during the second spell; a fizzing cross after being released by a wonderful Lampard volley was cleared away, before the 21-year-old had a goal ruled out for offside.

With only one goal separating the two sides, Nordsjaelland were still very much in the game, and Nikolai Stokholm stung the palms of Cech from just outside the box as they looked to restore parity.

Moments later Beckmann was left unmarked on the edge of the penalty area, and but for his failure to connect with the ball as it dropped to him in a dangerous position, we could have been made to pay for some slack defending.

Eighteen minutes into the second half Di Matteo made his first substitution of the night, replacing Moses, who had worked tirelessly, with Hazard in what was a straight swap.

The warning signs were beginning to mount, and like at Arsenal at the weekend, we had Cech to thank for keeping us in front.

John, who had been the home side's biggest threat throughout, was allowed to roam, and as his curling effort looked set to nestle in the far top corner, the Blues 'keeper somehow managed to get a fingertip on it and divert it on to the post.

The game, however, was put out of the Danish side's reach shortly after when we doubled our advantage in some style.

Torres was awarded a free-kick 25 yards from goal after being tugged back, and it was David Luiz who stepped up, bending a stunning strike over the wall and into the back of the net via the aid of a post.

With the travelling Chelsea hordes still revelling in the Brazilian's goal, the three points were secured two minutes later as Mata reacted quickest to a loose ball in the Nordsjaelland penalty area to score his second of the night.

The game was all but over, but there was still time for more, and it was Ramires who made it 4-0 in the 89^th minute, timing his run perfectly to convert easily from an Oscar cross.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, David Luiz, Cole; Ramires, Lampard (c); Mata (Mikel 82), Oscar, Moses (Hazard 64); Torres.
Unused substitutes: Turnbull, Azpilicueta, Terry, Bertrand, Romeu.
Scorers Mata 33, 81, David Luiz 79, Ramires 88

FC Nordsjaelland (4-2-3-1): Hansen; Parkhurst, Okore, Runje, Mtiliga; Stokholm (c), Adu; Lorentzen (Laudrup 84), Nordstrand (Ticinovic 64), John; Beckmann (Christensen 74).
Unused substitutes: Villadsen, Christiansen, Gundelach, Petry.
Booked Runje 77

Referee Marijo Strahonja (Croatia)
Crowd 25,120