Chelsea recorded another victory in the UEFA Conference League as they eased past Gent with a 4-2 victory.
They dominated the game but will be disappointed to have conceded twice.
Chelsea got their goals through Veiga and Dewsbury-Hall, who scored their first goals for the club, while Nkuku and Neto also netted.
This would give Enzo Maresca some level of confidence to take further risks, having made 11 changes to the side that defeated Brighton over the weekend by the same goal margin.
Chelsea, who had been named the favorite for the trophy, started their European campaign with a comprehensive win at home against the Belgian giant at Stamford Bridge.
This Is the fourth time in 10 games in all competitions the Blues have scored four or more goals, with each goal scored by a different player on Thursday night.
Gent showed they meant business when they forced Chelsea back with a high line at the start, restricting the Blues’ options as they looked to get the ball forward.
After the first 10 minutes, which were frustrating, something clicked, and the hosts went in front when Renato Veiga headed in his first goal for the club after attacking a high ball hung up by Mykhailo Mudryk.
Nkunku, who has scored seven goals so far across all competitions, scored his fourth goal in nine days, following his hat-trick against Barrow in the Carabao Cup.
Having seen that the highline defensive idea may not work, the visitors changed tack and adopted a more conservative approach, which allowed Chelsea the lion’s share of the ball and put bodies on the line to prevent them from doubling the lead.
This looked an inevitability as Chelsea made it two first minute into the second half.
England U20 international Archie Brown, who joined Gent from MK Dons last summer, surged forward and drove a low shot at Filip Jorgensen.
Andri Gudjohnsen – son of Chelsea legend Eidur – got between two defenders and flashed a shot millimetres over the crossbar.
The game sprung into life inside the first five minutes into the second half as Pedro Neto took advantage of a defensive lapse to lash in 38 seconds after the whistle.
Gent got back into the tie when Tsuyoshi Watanabe headed in a Gudjohnsen cross, which halved the deficit after a VAR check for offside.
Just past the hour, Christopher Nkunku again gave the hosts a two-goal cushion when he smashed in the third after Veiga struggled to get a shot away of his own.
Chelsea would eventually score to make the result safe.
Seven minutes after conceding later, a tackle took Joao Felix’s pass out of the path of Nkunku, but Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was there to hit a shot that slipped through goalkeeper Davy Roef’s hands and into the net.
Chelsea were in cruise control of the game when they conceded another.
Max pulled the ball back for fellow substitute Omri Gandelman to slot home and sent the vocal traveling fans home happy.
