Guiu’s hat-trick 100% helps the Blues in the first division

Chelsea confirmed their dominance in the Conference League as they finished the league stage on top after another big win at home to Shamrock Rovers.

Rovers started the day in sixth place but had no answer to the quality of the side in the shadow of Enzo Maresca, while striker Marc Guiu helped himself to a first-half hat-trick.

The Irish side threatened early on as Johnny Kenny failed to finish after a dangerous cross and Guiu quickly punished him by capitalizing on a defensive error to score.

The visitors were briefly level when Markus Poom – son of former Derby, Sunderland and Arsenal goalkeeper Mart – fired through the crowd.

Marc Cucurella makes 5️⃣ for Chelsea 🤩

📺 @tntsports and @otkrićeplusUK pic.twitter.com/booesylj6U

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 19, 2024

But another error allowed Gui to put Chelsea back in front, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall almost sealed victory with a clinical finish.

Guiu headed in well after Noni Madueke’s cross, while after the break Marc Cucurella burst into space and finished as a centre-forward.

Chelsea will now play in the last 16 in March, while Rovers – despite a heavy defeat – have a place in the play-off round in February.

Marc Guiu is now the top scorer of the Conference League with 6 goals ⚡⚽️ pic.twitter.com/xGRSqP9Ygn

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 19, 2024

Guiu invests his right?

Guiu, an 18-year-old former Barcelona striker, is yet to start as Maresca’s Premier League head coach but, picked for a fourth time in Europe, showed poacher’s instincts to bury the away side, twice intercepting passes to the goalkeeper before heading home hit for his third goal.

Chelsea had more than 80 percent of the possession during the first 25 minutes, but it took a disastrous defensive error to take the lead.

Renato Veiga flicked the ball forward past Tyrique George. Darragh Burns got there first, but his unerring header back at his goalkeeper was horribly misjudged, allowing Gui to steal in and point Chelsea ahead.

Daniel Cleary offered Guiu another gift when his pass to Leon Pohls was under-shot and missed his keeper, but he had the perfect trajectory for Guiu to get there first and round Pohls to make it 2-1.

Maresca later sent academy graduates Samuel Rak-Sakyi, Harrison Murray-Campbell and Harvey Vale to taste European football, then 18-year-old winger George almost opened his Chelsea account, denied on the line by Rovers captain Lopes.