The Blues had scored 14 goals in the first three games of this tournament, against Bayern Munich, Benfica and Ajax, but we had to wait until the 58th minute before making the breakthrough today as our hosts sat deep and defended for their lives.

Gordon nodded us in front and in the blink of an eye it was 3-0 Chelsea as Jesse Derry bagged a quickfire brace with two sumptuous efforts.

Subs Shumaira Mheuka and Frankie Runham ensured the final scoreline more fairly reflected our dominance. The 5-0 victory leaves us well placed with two league phase matches remaining.

Team news

Under-21s head coach Calum McFarlane, who also leads our Under-19s in the UEFA Youth League, made four changes to the side that recorded an impressive 6-3 victory over Ajax last time out in the competition.

Under-18s goalkeeper Hudson Sands started between the posts, with fellow Academy team-mates Dante Waite and Lewi Richards coming into the backline, where they were joined by captain Harrison McMahon. Derry dropped into the midfield, with Genesis Antwi pushed further forward on the wing.

There was a welcome return for striker Mheuka, who came back from injury to take his place on the bench and then enter the fray midway through the second half. Gabriel Sambou was also introduced late on for his first appearance in the UEFA Youth League.

Well on top

Sands had a save to make inside the opening couple of minutes, but Chelsea dominated at the Azersun Arena, on the fringes of Baku, thereafter.

Ollie Harrison had a low drive well kept out by Teymur Hasanov in the Qarabag goal after Derry’s initial effort was blocked, and Ato Ampah curled over as we sought to turn our territorial dominance into something tangible.

Midway through the half we nearly did just that, but Hasanov was able to divert Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli’s teasing effort onto his crossbar. Qarabag didn’t clear their lines and when the ball was returned into the box, Gordon headed a whisker wide. His time would come.

Derry and Ampah came close before the half-hour mark, but the breakthrough proved elusive as Qarabag’s massed ranks of defence just about kept us at bay until the half-time whistle blew. Yellow cards shown to both our centre-backs underlined the growing feeling of frustration we were yet to find the net.

Breakthrough at last

Patience was the order of the day. On 58 minutes, our probing finally paid off. Kobe Barbour, just on for Nicoll-Jazuli, sent over a cross that Gordon guided into the net from six yards out.

That goal opened the floodgates. Ten minutes later, we were 3-0 up with Derry striking twice in barely 90 seconds. Both were powerful efforts from the edge of the box Hasanov had no chance with, the ball fizzing past him into opposite corners, and celebrated in style (pictured top).

Mhueka had set up the second of those goals immediately after coming on, and the striker got his name on the scoresheet with a simple header from Rabbaj’s corner.

It was another sub who added the gloss deep into stoppage time, Runham bending a low shot into the far corner from 16 yards out. The precision of the finish was symbolic of our effectiveness in front of goal in the second half of the game.

What's next...

Chelsea Under-19s will continue our UEFA Youth League campaign when we host Barcelona at Cobham on Tuesday 25 November. Kick-off is at 1pm.

The teams

Chelsea (4-3-3): Hudson Sands; Harrison McMahon (c), Dante Waite, Harrison Murray-Campbell, Lewi Richards (Ibrahim Rabbaj 55); Ollie Harrison, Jesse Derry (Frankie Runham 73), Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli (Kobe Barbour 55); Genesis Antwi (Gabriel Sambou 74), Sol Gordon (Shumaira Mheuka 67), Ato Ampah
Unused subs: Freddy Bernal, Riley Ebho, Charlie Holland
Scorers: Gordon 58, Derry 66, 68, Mhueka 80, Runham 90+2
Booked: Waite 44, Murray-Campbell 45+1, Derry 67, Ampah 76, Sambou 78, Harrison 88

Qarabag (5-3-2): Teymur Hasanov; Javid Malikov (Ahmad Valiyev 85), Masud Alishanli (Ughur Gurbanli 90+1), Rashad Alishov, Ravan Teymurov, Amin Rzayev; Ahmet Gulenc (Ali Bashirov 85), Aliakbar Rzazada (Ali Aliyev 77), Ali Gazibayov; Hikmat Jabrayilzade (c), Toheeb Abiodun (Ali Ibrahim 85)
Unused subs: Bilal Hajiyev, Abdulaziz Jabbarli, Muyideen Olude, Javid Mammadov
Booked: Hikmat Jabrayilzade 62

Referee Dmytro Kubriak from Ukraine