Chelsea easily earned a place in the quarter-finals of the Women’s Champions League after defeating Albania’s Vllaznia in their penultimate group game.
Emma Hayes’ side remain unbeaten in the competition and lead Group A with one game to play.
Welsh midfielder Sophie Ingle put Chelsea ahead 1-0 after 12 minutes.
Fran Kirby made it 2-0 shortly after, before Katerina Svitkova and Maren Mjelde, from the penalty spot, scored late on.
The Blues made light work of their progress to the knockout stages despite being drawn in a tricky group alongside Spanish side Real Madrid and French double-runners Paris St-Germain.
They were guaranteed to qualify with a draw – and could still have progressed in defeat depending on results elsewhere.
But the already eliminated Albania side were no match for Chelsea on a wet night at the Loro Borici Stadium, despite the hosts’ best efforts.
Ingle, wearing the armband after Hayes made six changes to the starting XI, was heavily involved in the first half, dictating play and scoring a fine goal when she netted Guro Reiten’s deflected cut.
Chelsea’s lead was quickly doubled when Jelena Cankovic acted quickly as Vllaznia was slow to react to a free-kick, slipping for Kirby, who slotted it into the far corner.
The Blues defense was rarely tested, and chances continued to dwindle as Hayes made other changes after the break.
Striker Sam Kerr had a goal ruled out for offside in the second half before the lead was finally extended when substitute Svitkova fired in a third, and Mjelde scored from the penalty spot in added time.
Chelsea won 8-0 when they faced Vllaznia at Kingsmeadow, but with the job done in 20 minutes, the WSL champions naturally eased off.
They go into their final group game against PSG next Thursday knowing their place in the last eight is already secured – in what is proving to be a much smoother campaign than last season, when they crashed in the group stage.
Chelsea join WSL rivals Arsenal in the quarter-finals after securing qualification on Thursday night despite a Narrow defeat by Lyon, defending champion.
