Chelsea 5 Shamrock Rovers 1
Marc Cucurella scored Chelsea's final goal.
This team has given their supporters memories to last a lifetime on this stunning European run and the good news is, that success means there’s even more to come. Another chapter in the club’s history books beckons in the new year, another city on the continent to add to the list.
Eyes will soon turn towards that last 16 play-off in February where the pressure will be intense, where the stakes will be sky high.
But here in west London this wasn’t a night for pressure. This was a night to savour, an early Christmas present of a date against the two-time European champions.
With 11 points from their opening five games, the Hoops made history by becoming the first Irish side to progress to a European knockout stage and a by-product of that feat meant they were able to express themselves against billionaire-backed Premier League opposition here.
The hard work was already behind them before kick-off in SW6 – an unprecedented situation for a League of Ireland side to find themselves in.
There’s no doubt that the words ‘free hit’ are banned in the Rovers dressing room, but for the players and the 3,000 supporters who packed into the Shed End, nights like this are few and far between.
An unlikely point would have given them an outside chance of a top-eight finish and with it, automatic progression, but the impossible wasn’t to be as Chelsea hit the visitors for four in the first-half. 18-year-old Marc Guiu bagged a 25-minute hat-trick in that period and there will be some Rovers regret that his first two came from poor defensive errors, Christmas gifts you might say, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Marc Cucurella also getting on the scoresheet.
But for the Dublin 24 side the lasting memory arrived on 26 minutes, as Markus Poom’s deflected strike levelled the game. Now the class of 2024 and their fans have their ‘White Hart Lane’ moment.
There was a large police presence around the Fulham Road with the travelling support escorted to the ground. Once inside they made their voices heard. ‘We’re only here to see the Rovers’ they belted out, although that was also followed by some unsavoury chanting and other songs about the royal family and so on that UEFA may opt to look into.
The Blues have been coasting in this competition and cruised to their sixth win in six to top the group. Having handed out five debuts in last week’s win in Kazakhstan, Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca had signalled that he’d be giving his youngsters more opportunities here. He stayed true to his word by making nine changes from last weekend’s Premier League win over Nathan Collins’ Brentford.
Becoming the first Irish side to play Chelsea in competitive action, Bradley named an unchanged 11 from last week’s impressive win over Borac and his side set the tone early as a superb tackle from captain Roberto Lopes denied Guiu an opportunity inside the box.
It wasn’t just the Rovers team making their presence felt in the early minutes, their supporters were too. The hosts won a corner on five minutes but as Christopher Nkunku walked to the corner, he was prevented from taking it as some Hoops fans threw rolls of long white paper at the forward, leading to the game being stopped for a couple of moments.
But after a decent start, Rovers fell behind as a horrible moment came Darragh Burns’ way on 23 minutes. The right wing-back, on loan from MK Dons, attempted to head the ball back to Hoops goalkeeper Leon Pohls, but a miscommunication at the back saw the 21-year-old head it towards an empty net and into Guiu’s path, who made no mistake from close range.
Rovers came forward again moments later as a superb pass from Poom put striker Johnny Kenny through on goal, but the Sligo man was denied a famous moment by a strong save from Filip Jorgensen.
But from the resulting corner came ecstasy. Watts delivered the corner, the ball fell to Poom and with a deflection, it found the back of the net. The Shed End shook as the Hoops faithful entered dreamland. It’s been a few days to remember for Poom too. He and his partner welcomed a baby girl last Friday and the midfielder smiled as he rocked his arms in celebration.
But eight minutes later Guiu bagged his and Chelsea’s second and again it was avoidable from a Rovers perspective. Dan Cleary tried to find Pohls but totally undercooked his backpass as the Spanish teenager took full advantage and slotted home from a tight angle.
There was almost another moment to forget for Bradley’s men minutes later as Pohls was dispossessed by Guiu, but the Spanish international was denied his hat-trick by a block off the line from Poom.
The floodgates soon opened as the Hoops struggled to cope with Chelsea’s class. Dewsbury-Hall made it three on 40 minutes, slotting into the bottom corner before Guiu secured his first-half hat-trick by meeting a fine cross from England’s Noni Madueke seconds before the break.
A night that started with high hopes soon turned into damage limitation, as Spanish left-back Cucurella spun Cleary outside the box and found the bottom corner via the post for his second goal in as many games.
The visitors were reminded of the strength of Chelsea's bench as Maresca then introduced Portuguese international Joao Felix, a player who was signed by Atletico Madrid for a staggering €126 million in 2019. Minutes later Kenny and Chelsea fan Neil Farrugia were called ashore, and this may prove their final appearances for the Hoops with the former returning to parent club Celtic next month and the latter’s future still undecided.
With Christmas just days away, the Hoops fans will now depart west London but the memories made under the Stamford Bridge lights will last a lifetime. Their European pot may stand at €5.5million ahead of the knockouts, but Poom’s big moment was worth more than money could ever buy.
Chelsea: Jorgensen; Disasi (Murray-Campbell 59), Acheampong, Veiga, Cucurella; Casadei, Dewsbury-Hall (Rak-Sakyi 82); Madueke (Vale 46), Nkunku, George; Guiu (Felix 59).
Shamrock Rovers: Pohls; Cleary, Lopes, Grace; Burns, O'Neill (Nugent 78), Poom (Mandroiu 67), Watts (Byrne 67), Honohan; Farrugia (Burke 72), Kenny (Greene 72).
Ref: Willy Delajod (France).