On this day: Chelsea make UEFA competition history

By Liam Apicella, Features Editor | 29 September 2014

Forty-three years ago today, Chelsea hammered Jeunesse Hautcharage 13-0 in the Cup Winners' Cup, which secured a 21-0 aggregate victory.

More often than not, you know exactly what the current Chelsea side, under the management of Jose Mourinho, are going to provide when they take to the pitch.

They're going to be a well organised and physical unit, with some flair and power in the final third, capable of matching any opposition that they come up against.

It was not as clear cut, though, where Chelsea of the early 1970s were concerned. They could quite easily dispose of Real Madrid in the final of the Cup Winners' Cup, just as they did in 1971, but it was also equally as likely that a defeat would be suffered at the hands of Swedish minnows Atvidaberg, which indeed occurred later that same year.

Sandwiched between those two encounters was a first-round Cup Winners' Cup tie with Jeunesse Hautcharage, who had qualified for the competition as victors of the Luxembourg Cup.

In the away leg, the Blues ran out 8-0 winners, with Peter Osgood helping himself to a hat-trick, while former Oxford United winger Peter Houseman also contributed a brace.

Yet, despite that huge advantage, Chelsea refused to remove their foot from the accelerator in the return leg at Stamford Bridge, which was played 43 years ago today.

Osgood scored twice within the opening five minutes, with further goals from Alan Hudson, John Hollins, David Webb and Ron Harris making it 6-0 to the hosts as the two sides headed into the break.

Dave Sexton's men didn't stop there, either, as Tommy Baldwin fired in a second-half hat-trick, while Osgood took his tally for the match to five goals, meaning that he had scored eight over the two legs. Houseman also got his name on the scoresheet to seal a 13-0 victory for the West Londoners.

According to football historian Cris Freddi, he said this of Jeunesse in the second meeting: "As well as the three Welscher brothers, one of their players wore glasses, one of their substitutes was just 15, and Guy Thill was born with only one arm."

The scoreline at the Bridge meant that on aggregate, Chelsea were 21-0 winners, which remains a record winning margin in UEFA club competitions.

What's more, with Chelsea's own records in mind, the five goals scored by Osgood during the second leg is the most scored in one match by a single player in European encounters. Also, the 13 chances converted is the most that Chelsea have scored in one encounter in all competitions.

CHELSEA: Bonetti; Boyle, Webb, Hinton, Harris; Cooke, Hollins, Baldwin, Houseman; Osgood, Hudson

JEUNESSE: Fusulier; L Welscher, Frantzen, E Welscher, Schoder; Botello, R Welscher (J Thill), J Welscher; Schrobiltgen, G Thill, Kaiser