Chelsea cruised to a 4-0 win over Sweden’s Malmo in Group H of the Champions League on Wednesday in a one-sided contest settled by goals from Andreas Christensen and Kai Havertz and two penalties converted by Jorginho.
But the win came at a price for the European champions – who were seeking to bounce back from a 1-0 defeat by Juventus in their previous group game – as strikers Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner both hobbled off in the first half.
Christensen, playing his 137th game for Chelsea, scored his first goal for the club in the ninth minute when he volleyed home a cross for Thiago Silva.
Nine minutes later, Lukaku was felled in the box by Malmo’s Lasse Nielsen – a challenge which led to the Belgian’s substitution – and Jorginho made no mistake from the spot.
There was no respite for the visitors as the second half got under way. Callum Hudson-Odoi raced half the length of the pitch to set up Havertz to score with an angled shot that went in off the far post in the 48th minute.
Eight minutes later, Chelsea won another penalty when Eric Larsson barged into Antonio Rudiger as he was about to shoot and Jorginho scored again from 12 yards.