Chelsea Under-19s have beaten Zenit St Petersburg U19s 3-1 in their opening match of the UEFA Youth League campaign.
The Russian side went 1-0 up on 35 minutes as Evgeny Kim handed the visitors the advantage, but a strong second-half from the hosts ensured maximum points.
Goals from Charlie Webster, Harvey Vale and Jude Soonsup-Bell ensured the Blues ran away with a deserved victory on Tuesday afternoon.
In the first-half, the young Chelsea team were wasteful at times, but ensured there would not be any disappointment in a highly impressive second period.
Webster struck excellently into the top corner after a cross on the right-hand side after Soonsup-Bell saw a shot blocked to level the scores.
It was soon 2-1 after the ever-lively Soonsup-Bell was brought down inside the Zenit box and the referee awarded a penalty. Vale went straight down the middle from the resulting spot-kick, with the goalkeeper going down to his right.
Soonsup-Bell then got the goal he deserved after a fine low cross from Vale found the Chelsea number nine, who made no mistake with an assured finish from close-range.
Overall, it was a deserved victory for the young Blues, despite a mixed first-half, with the hosts proving to be clinical in front of goal in the second period, which simply proved too much for Zenit.
The senior side take on Zenit in the Champions League this evening at Stamford Bridge, where they will be hoping for a similar outcome to their academy stars, albeit in a more comfortable fashion.
For the Under-19s, next up is a clash with Blackburn Rovers on Saturday morning, before the club's development squad play Arsenal at Stamford Bridge a day later in Premier League 2.
