Chelsea are one win away from securing direct passage to the quarter-finals of the Women’s Champions League after thrashing Roma 6-0 at Stamford Bridge.
Sonia Bompastor's side were in need of a victory to keep their fate in their own hands after dropping points against Twente and Barcelona, and they achieved it in emphatic fashion, thumping their Italian visitors who are now eliminated.
It was also a welcome result coming on the back of losing their 34-match unbeaten Women's Super League record against Everton on Sunday.
An early own-goal gave Chelsea the lead. Sandy Baltimore's cross from the left was too high for Sam Kerr, but Roma defender Valentina Bergamaschi inadvertently headed the ball past her own goalkeeper.
It was 2-0 before the half-hour mark, Johanna Rytting Kaneryd nodding down a high ball for Wieke Kaptein who swept a finish into the bottom corner.
The contest was effectively over by half-time. Niamh Charles worked her way to the byline and pulled the ball across goal. Goalkeeper Olivie Lukasova got a hand to it but there to mop up was Rytting Kaneryd who thumped the rebound into the net.
Sjoeke Nusken won her side a 51st-minute penalty after being kicked by Marta Pandini inside the box. The German got up to dispatch the penalty herself to make it four.
Guro Reiten set up Maika Hamano who tapped in to make it five with 13 minutes left.
And Lucy Bronze nutmegged her defender and sent over a cross that sailed over the head of the goalkeeper and in to complete the scoring in the 86th minute.
The thrashing of Roma puts Chelsea up to third in the table, with the Blues knowing a final-group game win at Wolfsburg next Wednesday will secure automatic qualification for the quarter-finals.
Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor speaking to Disney+: "It was really important for us to win.
"Any time Chelsea lose a game, it's a big drama for everyone; we know that, and also the expectations we have in ourselves.
"It's really important to bounce back from that defeat and have the performance we had tonight and score that many goals from different players."
On keeping her players motivated and fresh: "[Being] motivated is super easy because the players want to play games, and when you play every three days, I think we are so used to that.
"The main challenge is more to keep them fresh. That's why tonight it was good to rotate the squad a little bit. It gives the opportunity for the ones who don't get as many minutes to play and perform, and to show me they are there to help the team.
"From our expectations, we want to finish in the top four just to go through and not to have to play two more games, so that's what we want to do, but it will be a tough game [next week]."
Chelsea midfielder Wieke Kaptein speaking to Disney+:
"I think we needed to come back from the last game.
"In the Champions League, we are doing well, but we need to keep going for today, a lot of goal-scorers, a lot of different players, so that's really nice."
On trying to achieve automatic qualification: "I think every club who plays in the Champions League wants that.
"We're really eager to get there, and we have Wolfsburg next week - we will try to get the win, and we will see."
Chelsea captain Millie Bright speaking to Disney+ on the importance of next Wednesday's game at Wolfsburg: "It's massive.
"It's so competitive. I think you see from the league standings that the points are so close, so you've got to take every opportunity that you get.
"Our mindset coming into these two games was that it was a must-win from these two games to set out our target of getting the top four and getting that qualification.
"When you play for one of the best clubs in the world, you have to expect competition and take responsibility and make sure you're performing week in, week out."
