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Chelsea took advantage of a solid second-half performance to win 3-0 against Malmo FF (5-1 overall) and qualify for the UEFA Europa League Round of 32.
Stamford Bridge's Thursday win relieves struggling boss Maurizio Sarri, whose team was eliminated from the FA Cup earlier this week by Manchester United.
Malmo almost took a quick lead in the 11th minute when Markus Rosenberg shot the edge of the box just for his shot past Chelsea's goal.
Chelsea became more comfortable as the first half progressed and withstood the initial press of the Swedish team. The best chances of Chelsea were won by Ross Barkely, two long-distance shots, countered by Malmo goalkeeper Johan Dahlin.
The Blues broke the stalemate in the 55th minute when Golo Kante intercepted a pass from Malmo to launch a brilliant counter-attack. He then passed the left flank to Willian, who then pushed him back to Olivier Giroud to equalize at the net.
After Rasmus Bengtsson was ejected in the 74th minute for a challenge on Emerson, Barkley escaped on a well-timed free kick just outside the box for the second goal of the night.
Ten minutes later, Callum Hudson-Odoi finished off a solid night scoring the last goal, a wide-angle shot in the far corner of the net.
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