Nkunku grabs a hat-trick in five-star Blues win

Standing in for the in-form Nicolas Jackson, Nkunku stole the show with two goals in the first half before rounding off his hat-trick in the 75th minute as the much-changed Blues ran riot.

Nkunku opened the floodgates in the eighth minute after collecting a delightful chipped assist from Joao Felix, and the France international flicked in a second before the break.

Barrow goalkeeper Paul Farman turned into his own net after a Joao Felix free-kick from the edge of the box hit the post and rebounded off his sprawling body.

Pedro Neto made it 4-0 straight after the break, tapping home from Mykhailo Mudryk's centre.

Barrow may be top of the pile in England’s fourth tier, but managed just one shot on target as Nkunku added further gloss before going off with 15 minutes remaining, pouncing on Farman's attempts to play out from his area and embarrassing the keeper with a cool finish.

While Barrow will reflect on its first Carabao Cup third-round appearance since 1967-1968, Chelsea will aim to keep up its early season momentum when it takes on Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League at the weekend.

Before this game, the only previous meeting between Chelsea and Barrow in any competition was in the 1947-1948 FA Cup third round, the Blues winning that clash 5-0 at Stamford Bridge.

History repeated itself here as Chelsea made it seven wins from its past seven League Cup ties against teams from the fourth tier.