Chelsea player ratings vs Gent: Christopher Nkunku and Kiernan ...

Chelsea got the next phase of their Europa Conference League journey off to a winning start against Belgian side Gent.

The Blues safely made it through the qualifier against Switzerland's Servette and looked comfortable against their first opponents in the league phase.

It only took Enzo Maresca's side 12 minutes to get the stadium rocking, thanks to Renato Veiga's goal.

The Portuguese left-back did well to cushion a header back across the face of goal and past Davy Roef to open the scoring.

The majority of the game was played in Gent's half, although they did have small periods where they put Chelsea under pressure, although they were unable to make it count.

Things exploded into life in the second half when Pedro Neto smashed home an effort immediately after the restart.

Gent then pulled one back through Tsuyoshi Wantabe, but the Blues put the game out of reach with goals from Christopher Nkunku and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to make it 4-1.

The visitors did get one back late on, but it was nothing more than a late consolation goal.

In the end, it was a comfortable night for Enzo Maresca and that was without Cole Palmer or Nicolas Jackson in the squad.

GOAL rates Chelsea's players from Stamford Bridge...