Chelsea returned to winning ways in emphatic style by beating Roma 6-0 at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League to move third in the league phase.

Having struggled to break down Everton in their shock league defeat on Sunday, the Blues required a moment of fortune to crack Roma's rearguard resolve.

In a desperate bid to prevent Sam Kerr heading home Sandy Baltimore's deep cross, defender Valentina Bergamaschi inadvertently slammed a header past her own goalkeeper on 13 minutes.

Chelsea quickly set about finding the cushion of a second goal, but continued to toil against Roma's low block until Keira Walsh produced a sublime diagonal cross to pick out Johanna Rytting Kaneryd at the back post, who nodded down for Wieke Kaptein to fire home.

As the half-time whistle approached, Chelsea squandered further chances with club record scorer Sam Kerr guilty of nodding over the bar from yards out.

However the Blues did add a third before the interval, with Rytting Kaneryd popping up at the back post once again, this time to tap home into an empty net after Kerr had been denied by a sharp Olivie Lukasova save.

With a precious three points already secured Sonia Bompastor made changes for the second half, with Sjoeke Nusken making an instant impact by adding the hosts' fourth goal of the night from the penalty spot.

The German international was initially penalised for fouling Roma midfielder Marta Pandini in the box before referee Ewa Augustyn reversed her decision after a video assistant referee (VAR) check.

With confidence running high for Chelsea, another pair of second-half substitutes combined for their fifth goal. Guro Reiten did well to control the ball with her back to goal in the box before laying off to Maika Hamano to curl into the bottom corner, with Lucy Bronze curling a cross-come-shot over Lukasova for the sixth goal late on.

The victory takes Chelsea up to third spot in the league phase standings with 11 points, with the possibility of securing automatic qualification for the quarter-finals with a win against Wolfsburg on matchday six.

Defeat means Roma are eliminated with one game of the league phase to spare after collecting just one point from their first five fixtures.

Six goals, five different goalscorers plus a helping header from Roma centre-half Bergamaschi made for a routine return to winning ways for Chelsea.

After seeing their side hit 30 shots at the Everton goal on Sunday without finding the back of the net, it would have been understandable for Blues fans to be nervous watching their side take on a traditional Italian low block on Wednesday night.

Indeed, the opening quarter of an hour would not have done much to quell those fears, until Bergamaschi headed into her own net for the opener.

After Kaptein swept home the second it was plain sailing for the Blues, who ended a four-game winless run in all competitions.

What would have further pleased boss Bompastor was the eagerness shown by the players who came off the bench.

They were not content to simply tick through the motions with the win already secure.

Nusken, Hamano and Reiten all came on with a point to prove in the second half, and prove it they did, scoring goal four and, providing and scoring the fifth.

So, with their goalscoring demons well and truly banished the Blues now look forward to what could prove a season-defining week.

Their trips to Brighton and Wolfsburg before the winter break are both must-win if they are to maintain their Women's Super League (WSL) and Champions League-winning ambitions.

Up next for Chelsea is a trip to face Brighton in the WSL on Sunday afternoon (11:55 GMT), while Roma visit bottom side Ternana in Serie A Femminile on Saturday (18:00 CET).

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