A fine individual goal and a reflex header by Iceland international Eidur Gudjohnsen and a last gasp goal from Frank Lampard earned Chelsea a 3-0 home win in their first round first leg UEFA cup clash with Levski Sofia tonight.
The Bulgarian champions kept the London side out for almost 45 minutes but after falling behind just before the break they crumbled when Chelsea upped the pressure in the second half.
As an open, entertaining first half drew towards a close, Gudjohnsen rounded three defenders and finished with a deft left-foot shot that had keeper Georg Petkov diving in vain.
It took another half hour of Chelsea pressure for the second goal to arrive, Gudjohnsen latching on to a corner from Boudewijn Zenden in the 74th minute to head home.
Zenden also made the third goal, passing to Lampard well into second half injury time to allow the former West Ham midfielder to score his first goal for his new side.
Of the other English sides taking part, Aston Villa lost at home 3-2 to Croatian side Varteks, while Ipswich Town were held 1-1 by Torpedo Moscow at Portman Road.