Though the scoreline looks interesting and great, you would agree with me that the Blues laboured hard for the victory against the 2017 Swedish Champions.
After unproductive first half, the Blues were more ruthless in front of goal in the second half of the encounter as they found the back of the net on three occasions.
Goals from Olivier Giroud (55th minute) , Ross Barkley (74th minute) and Callum Hudson-Odoi (84th minute) were all the home side needed to progress to round-16 of the European competition.
Meanwhile, there are some lessons derived from the game but here are the top two lessons we learned from the encounter…
Maurizio Sarri is a relieved man
The Italian manager has been under intense pressure to save his job since the turn of the year.
Prior to yesterday’s victory, the Blues have managed just five wins from 10 games in all competitions, making the former Napoli boss uncertain about his stay at Stamford Bridge.
Despite his fine start to the season, Chelsea fans have lost their respect and patience for the manager and they couldn’t hide their desire to see the 60-year-old manager depart West London as soon as possible.
After series of uninspiring performances and unpleasant chants from fans, Maurizio Sarri will be relieved to see his men put three goals past Malmo.
The victory would go a long way to calm Sarri’s nerves and relieved him of some pressure ahead of Sunday’s Carabao cup final against Manchester City.
Hudson-Odoi deserves more from Sarri
Hudson-Odoi is an obvious talent who needs to be developed into world-class player at Stamford Bridge. Sadly, that isn’t happening under Sarri who continue to kill the youngster’s potentials by benching him on regular basis.
Prior to yesterday’s victory, the England youth international had seen just 19 minutes of action since January which has hampered his growth in the game.
Having revealed his displeasure with his situation, Hudson-Odoi was given a rare start by Sarri and the 18-year-old winger took his chance as he found the back of the neck in the 84th minute.
Hudson-Odoi might be the player missing in Sarri’s attacking setup and it is high time to Sarri start him in many games as possible.
Manchester City provide the next challenge for Chelsea as both sides prepare for a showdown in the Carabao Cup final.