Chelsea set new European record in a huge win over Noah

It was bound to happen sooner or later. Even though UEFA created the Conference League, among other reasons, to allow even the smallest teams to dream of the wildest dreams, this night will haunt Noah's players in their worst nightmares. The Armenian representative was more than competitive in the first two rounds: in the first, they defeated Mladá Boleslav, and in the next, they narrowly lost to Rapid Vienna. But in the third round, they faced Chelsea…

An uninterested Chelsea is using this third-tier European competition as a platform for players who don’t get significant minutes in the Premier League. But even against Noah, they looked like ‘aliens’. Despite facing a team that was over a hundred times cheaper than theirs, Maresca’s reserves dominated from the first to the last minute, filling the visitor's net to the brim – 8:0 (6:0).

Nordsjaelland against Ludogorets (7:1), Fiorentina against Čukarički (6:0), and Eintracht against Helsinki (6:0)… All had defeated their opponents with a six-goal difference, sharing the record for the most convincing victory in the Conference League until tonight. Chelsea matched that record against Noah – in just one half. Actually, it didn’t even take that long. Less than half an hour – from the 12th to the 41st minute – was enough for the London club to score six, and with two more goals in the second half, they wrote a new page in the history of the competition, which started in 2021, just four years after Noa was founded.

This triumph, which secured Chelsea at the top of the table thanks to a far superior goal difference, likely won’t clarify Enzo Maresca’s assessment of any of his players, but it will surely boost their confidence. For João Félix, Mykhailo Mudryk, and Christopher Nkunku, that confidence grows with each match. All were all on target, with Félix and Nkunku each scoring twice – both could have even had hat-tricks – making them joint top scorers of the tournament, along with Jagiellonia’s Afimiku Pululu, each with four goals, while Mudryk has two goals and three assists. Captain Enzo Fernández also recorded three assists, two of which came just nine minutes apart. The match against Noah will also be memorable for 18-year-old striker Mark Guéhi and experienced defender Tosin Adarabiojo, who scored their first goals in a Chelsea shirt.