Chelsea breezed into the last-16 of the Champions League after being helped to their 4-0 stroll over 10-man Qarabag by the award of a hotly-disputed first-half penalty and sending off in Baku on Wednesday.
The match turned decisively in the English champions’ favour midway through the first half when Qarabag’s captain Rashad Sadygov was dismissed for pulling down Willian in the box, allowing Eden Hazard to convert coolly from the spot.
Subsequently forced to play with 10 men for the next 69 minutes, the Azeri champions, who had made a promising start in Baku’s Olympic Stadium, were outplayed with two brilliant goals from Willian and a Cesc Fabregas penalty completing the rout.
Chelsea’s win put them on top of Group C on 10 points to guarantee their place in the knockout rounds, two points clear of AS Roma, who play at Atletico Madrid later on Wednesday.
Qarabag remain rooted to the foot of the table on two points.