Teenager Marc Guiu scored a first-half hat-trick as Chelsea cruised past Shamrock Rovers to finish top of the Conference League league phase and deny their visitors an automatic place in the knockout stage.
Already assured of a last-16 spot, Enzo Maresca's youthful Blues made it six wins from six in the competition with another thumping victory.
They made early pressure count by taking a deserved lead when 18-year-old striker Guiu capitalised on a misunderstanding between Darragh Burns and goalkeeper Leon Pohls.
Rovers, who had gone close twice through Johnny Kenny either side of Guiu's opener, got back on level terms when Markus Poom's fierce shot deflected in off midfielder Cesare Casadei, delighting their 3,000 travelling supporters.
But those celebrations were short-lived as Guiu intercepted Daniel Cleary's under-hit back pass and steered the ball into the back of the net from the tightest of angles.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall drilled home a loose ball inside the area to give the Blues breathing space, before Guiu completed his treble with a close-range header in first-half stoppage time.
Marc Cucurella completed the scoring in the second half, his low shot striking the inside of the post on its way past Pohls as Chelsea ended the league phase campaign in style.
Shamrock Rovers, meanwhile, enter the knockout phase play-offs and await Friday's draw.
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Eddie Howe hailed Sandro Tonali’s shooting power after seeing him cap a fine display with a stunning winner to edge Newcastle into the race for Champions League qualification.The 24-year-old Italy international brought an incident-packed encounter to a fitting conclusion with a 74th-minute piledriver which beat goalkeeper Mark Flekken from an improbable angle to hand the Magpies a precious 2...

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery believes Marcus Rashford is “progressively getting better” in all aspects of his game following his first Premier League goal for the club.The on-loan Manchester United forward set Villa on course for a comprehensive 3-0 win over fellow European hopefuls Brighton with a 51st-minute finish at the Amex Stadium.Rashford’s milestone strike came three days ...



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