Krasnodar vs Chelsea: Ziyech shines as Blues clobber Russians

English side Chelsea FC picked up three points in their UEFA Champions League group stage match against FK Krasnodar on Wednesday evening. Hakim Ziyech scored his first goal for the London club and was also declared man of the match.

27-year-old Ziyech made his first start for the Blues and immediately made a massive contribution. His 79th minute goal added to those scored earlier by teammates Callum Hudson-Odoi and Timo Werner in the 37th and 76th minute respectively. Christian Pulisic sealed the deal with Chelsea's fourth goal right at the last minute of regulation time.

Chelsea returned to their goal-scoring ways after coming off back-to-back goalless draws in their previous two matches. Granted that Krasnodar is perhaps one of the easier opponents in the group, the Champions League is a place where any victory is important. After all, these are the best clubs in the continent. The impressive win will boost the confidence of Lampard's men.

The Chelsea manager is showing that he made the right decisions over the summer after Ziyech proved to be fatal on the attacking end of the field. Ziyech is the latest addition to the roster and has quickly found his place alongside Werner and Kai Havertz in the starting lineup.

Krasnodar also made some notable efforts during the evening, with Yuri Gazinsky hitting the crossbar from a corner.

Tammy Abraham, who had often been relied upon to find the back of the net, was content to provide an assist to Pulisic this time. Olivier Giroud stayed on the bench, but that obviously didn't hold back Chelsea's scoring power.

Meanwhile, Krasnodar has nothing to be ashamed off despite the thrashing from Chelsea. The club was only formed in 2008, and they are already playing in the world's top club competition.

According to BBC, they also share a bit of history with Russian-owned Chelsea. Krasnodar was formed by yet another oligarch, a Russian supermarket magnate.