The Blues travelled to the French capital safe in the knowledge a place in the quarter-finals was already secured. Yet that didn't impact the performance of Emma Hayes's side, which was two goals ahead at the interval.

Kirby broke the deadlock inside the opening ten minutes as she was given time to head home a cross from Jelena Cankovic, who then teed up Fishel to score our second before the half-time interval.

Chelsea remained dominant after the break and two goals in five minutes from Norwegian internationals Reiten and Mjelde ensured we signed off our group-stage campaign in style.

Cankovic class

Perisset and Kirby were the only players to retain their place in the starting XI as Hayes used the game as an opportunity to freshen up her side.

Zecira Musovic returned in goal; Ashley Lawrence, Kadeisha Buchanan and Mjelde came into the defence; Sophie Ingle captained the side in midfield alongside Sjoeke Nusken; Kirby, Cankovic, Aggie Beever-Jones, and Fishel were the attack.

Ending the group stage in style was the aim – and the Blues only needed ten minutes to make the breakthrough. A looping cross from Cankovic on the left dropped perfectly to an unmarked Kirby, who headed home from close range to give us an early lead.

With Paris still in with a chance of qualifying for the last eight, they quickly went in search of a response. Captain Gaetane Thiney tried her luck from distance before Musovic was called into action for the first time to save an effort from Mathilde Bourdieu.

The two sides then traded spells in their respective attacking thirds – and we rode a momentary wave of pressure which required some organised defending and saw Celina Ould Hocine blaze over after a bold run from central defence.

Paris continued to probe for a leveller, but there were gaps in their defence to exploit. We did just that with ten minutes remaining of the first half.

Cankovic was again the architect as she showed excellent composure to produce pick out another inviting cross for Fishel, who rose highest and nodded past Chiamaka Nnadozie to double our lead.

Chelsea were in a strong position at the interval and would advance into the knockout phase with an unbeaten record were they to remain ahead. There was work to be done in the second period.

Job done

Paris began the second half with intent and could have pulled themselves back into contention shortly after the restart, but the finishing touch in the final third wasn’t there, much to the Blues' relief.

There was plenty of firepower on the Chelsea substitutes' bench and Hayes opted to introduce Reiten and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd in place of Cankovic and Kirby just after the hour mark.

It was a move that desired effect as Reiten struck our third of the evening ten minutes after her introduction. It was a goal that owed much to a mix-up between Julie Soyer and Nnadozie, with Reiten able to steer a 20-yard shot home into an unguarded net.

Still, Chelsea weren't finished and Fishel saw an effort deflected over the crossbar. From the resultant corner, delivered by Reiten, Mjelde was able to hold off her marker and deftly guide a header into the far corner.

Paris attempted to grab a late consolation but Musovic was untroubled as the Blues defence stood firm once again. It meant we returned with a clean sheet, all three points, and another convincing display on the European stage.

What it means

Victory in Paris sees the Blues progress from Group D with an unbeaten record and we can now look forward to discovering our quarter-final opponents in next month's draw.

What’s next?

We return to Barclays Women’s Super League action this weekend as Everton are the visitors to Kingsmeadow on Sunday. Kick-off is scheduled for 6.45pm (UK time).

The teams

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Musovic; Lawrence, Mjelde, Buchanan, Perisset (Charles 82); Ingle (c), Nusken; Kirby (Rytting Kaneryd 63), Cankovic (Reiten 63), Beever-Jones; Fishel.
Unused Subs: Hampton, Carter, James, Cuthbert.
Scorers: Kirby (10), Fishel (37), Reiten (74), Mjelde (79)

Paris FC (4-3-3): Nnadozie; Bogaert (N’Dongala 85), Hocine, Greboval, Soyer; Corboz, Thiney, Le Mouel (Korosec 66); Mateo (Fleury 85), Bourdieu (Ribadeira 75), Dufour (Bussy 75)
Unused Subs: Marques, Flagellat, Hunter, Sissoko.
Booked: Korosec 81

Referee: Ivana Projkovska