Chelsea took control of their UEFA Conference League semi-final with a 4-1 win over Djurgarden in Stockholm.

On a near-perfect night for Enzo Maresca's side - which also included Premier League top-five rivals Nottingham Forest losing at home to Brentford - Chelsea made a huge step towards booking their place in the May 28 final in Warsaw.

Jadon Sancho forced in the opener after just 12 minutes and Noni Madueke made Chelsea's first-half dominance count with a precise finish from a second Enzo Fernandez assist.

Filip Jorgensen was called on to make sharp stops either side of the break but Nicolas Jackson, fresh from ending his 13-game Premier League goal drought at the weekend, profited from a mix-up at the back and then fired home his second to put Chelsea four clear.

Jackson had entered the action at half-time as one of four changes along with Cole Palmer and the England man will be frustrated his own wait for a goal has now stretched out to 18 matches. But that was one of few negatives for Chelsea in Sweden.

The loud home fans did finally have something to cheer when 18-year-old Isak Alemayehu headed in his first senior goal and Adam Stahl badly miscued from close range when Djurgarden had a chance to further cut the deficit.

But such was Maresca's satisfaction with his team's position he handed 16-year-old Reggie Walsh his debut. Incredibly the England youth player almost scored within 35 seconds of coming on, driving at the goalkeeper from the edge of the box.

Chelsea have a significant buffer to take into next week's return leg at Stamford Bridge and perhaps already have one eye on the title-decider in Poland later this month. Real Betis beat Fiorentina 2-1 in the other semi-final.

Before the second leg against Djurgarden, Chelsea host champions Liverpool on Sunday, live on Sky Sports, boosted by Forest's defeat on Thursday, which means the Blues stay fifth and on course for Champions League qualification.

More to follow.

Teams

Djurgarden Rinne, Stahl, Larsson (c), Danielson (Tenho 63), Kosugi (Bergh 80), Finndell, Stensson, Haarala (Mulugeta 63), Gulliksen, Nguen, Priske
Subs Not Used Croon, Manneh, Persson, Selfven
Booked Gulliksen
Goals Mulugeta 68

Chelsea Jorgensen, Acheampong, Tosin, Badiashile, Cucurella (Chalobah 46), James (c) (Caicedo 46), Dewsbury-Hall, Madueke (Jackson 46), Fernandez (Palmer 46), Sancho, George (Walsh 88)
Subs Not Used Bergstrom, Curd, Colwill, Gusto, Amougou, Neto, Mheuka
Booked Caicedo, Tosin
Goals Sancho12, Madueke 43, Jackson 59, 65

Attendance 26,703

Referee Sandro Scharer (SUI)

VAR Fedayi San (SUI)