Chelsea's first tie in the European Cup threatened to become their last for at least another year but, after struggling to break down Skonto Riga's disciplined defence, they suddenly broke loose with three goals in seven minutes from Celestine Babayaro, Gustavo Poyet and Chris Sutton's first for the club.
Babayaro picked up a ball chested down by his fellow substitute Tore Andre Flo and shot home from the edge of the area. Then Poyet latched on to a squared ball from Dennis Wise and touched it to his left before unleashing a shot from outside the box. Sutton completed the surge with a close-range shot which the goalkeeper Aleksandrs Kolinko touched but could not stop.
Chelsea, oozing talent and fresh from overwhelming Sunderland, had Skonto Riga's defeat of Rapid Bucharest in the previous qualifying round to remind them that in Europe nothing can be taken for granted.
Sure enough, the perennial Latvian champions, who practically double up as the national team, arrived ready to defend in depth and take their chances on the break. In the 12th minute they might well have taken the lead, courtesy of slack Chelsea defending which allowed a cross from Andrejs Rubins to reach Imants Bleidelis, whose half-volley dipped just over.
Skonto set out to man-mark Gianfranco Zola and Chris Sutton. In the fourth minute Dennis Wise and Zola contrived to release Dan Petrescu on the right and the Romanian's centre found Poyet rising above everyone at the far post only to head wide.
Four minutes later and only a timely interception by Levans Silagadze denied Sutton after Kolinko had parried Zola's shot.
The Latvians were especially threatening on the left, where Rubins, their captain Vitalijs Astafjevs and Mihails Miholaps were turning Chelsea's defence with uncomfortable ease.
Then a short cross from Zola, followed by a ricochet in the goalmouth, set up Wise for a chance which, put off by a lunge from Mihails Zemlinskis, he missed. Chelsea's mounting pressure, plus signs of mounting anxiety in the Skonto defence, eased the crowd's growing impatience.
Again a deflection, from Sutton's shot, confused the Latvian defenders, leaving Poyet to beat the goalkeeper from six yards. Again a goal beckoned but Kolinko deflected it to safety.
By now Skonto had lost a defender, Andrejs Tereskinas, sentoff in the 34th minute after an incident involving Frank Leboeuf. Wise was waiting to take a corner when, amid the jostle in the goalmouth, Tereskinas kicked Leboeuf from behind.
Chelsea: De Goey, Ferrer, Desailly, Leboeuf, Le Saux, Petrescu (Goldbaek 76), Wise, Deschamps (Babayaro 66), Poyet, Sutton, Zola (Flo 66). Subs Not Used: Hogh, Hitchcock, Nicholls, Forssell. Booked: Sutton. Goals: Babayaro 76, Poyet 77, Sutton 84.
Skonto Riga: Kolinko, Laizans, Silagadze, Zemlinsky, Tereskinas, Bleidelis, Astafjevs, Rekhviashvili, Rubins, Chaladze (Blagonabezdins 41), Miholaps (Menteshashvili 77). Subs Not Used: Stephnous, Babichev, Piedels, Kolesnicenko, Olsanskis. Sent Off: Tereskinas (33). Booked: Rekhviashvili, Miholaps.
Att: 22,043
Referee: U Meier (Switzerland).
