Chelsea have recorded a 2-1 victory over Malmo in Thursday's Europa League fixture in Sweden.
Ross Barkley put Chelsea into the lead on the half-hour mark, and Olivier Giroud doubled his side's advantage 13 minutes into the second half.
However, a late strike from Anders Christiansen halved the deficit and kept Malmo competitive in the tie ahead of the second leg at Stamford Bridge.
Find out how all of the action unfolded at the Swedbank Stadion courtesy of Sports Mole's minute-by-minute updates below.
Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live coverage of the match in the Europa League between Malmo and Chelsea. The visitors are regarded as favourites to win this competition, but Malmo will believe that they can cause an upset against the Premier League giants. The teams are making their way out in Sweden, so let's take a look at the two starting lineups...
MALMO XI: Dahlin; Vindheim, Nielsen, Bengtsson, Safari, Rieks, Traustason, Bachirou, Christiansen, Antonsson, Rosenberg
CHELSEA XI: Arrizabalaga; Azpilicueta, Christensen, David Luiz, Palmieri; Jorginho, Kovacic, Barkley; Willian, Giroud, Pedro
KICKOFF: Malmo get us underway in Sweden.
The home side have already shown Chelsea that they should not expect an easy game. Two corners were won in quick succession, and the danger only ended when a cross from the right was marginally over-hit.
Chelsea's first attack went down the left flank, but a cross from the byline was not met by Giroud who was waiting close to the penalty spot.
The visitors have also won a corner during the early stages, but nothing came from the set piece. The Blues are beginning to take control of possession.
Malmo look a threat when they attempt to break at pace, but Chelsea are seeing more of the ball and are playing it about with confidence.
Barkley attempts a shot from distance and although his effort is weak, it takes a deflection and goes behind for a corner. Willian's inswinger fails to beat the man on the near post.
Chelsea win a free kick on the left and although Willian's delivery is better on this occasion, David Luiz sends a volley wide of the post from an offside position.
The Premier League side remain on the front foot, but the Malmo supporters are making a heck of a noise. That's despite their team having just 19% of possession.
Chelsea keep hold of the ball, but it reaches a point where Malmo almost inevitably claim it back. This is shaping into a decent contest. Malmo definitely possess a threat going forward.
Malmo are using five at the back when they do not have the ball, with three men sat in front. It is proving to be effective so far, but that trio is being outclassed by Chelsea's threesome.
There are a few signs, however, that Chelsea are beginning to get frustrated. They have still not created a clear-cut opportunity.
More of the same from Chelsea, put their play is going side to side rather than forward and with any great intent. It's all extremely patient. You can see why they don't score a lot of goals away from home.
Chelsea win a free kick around 40 yards out after Palmieri is taken out by a defender. The Blues need to make the most of these situations.
A poor cross eventually finds Giroud, who is offside. That sums up the opening 27 minutes.
SHOT! Azpilicueta does well down the right and manages to find Giroud with his cross, but the forward is going away from goal and his header bobbles wide.
GOAL! Malmo 0-1 Chelsea (Ross Barkley)
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Chelsea make the breakthrough! Pedro's cross from the right evades the defender and finds Barkley, who needs to take a touch before prodding the ball into the bottom corner from eight yards out.
Malmo decides to go on the offensive in search of an immediate equaliser, but Christiansen's shot from the edge of the area is half-blocked and it rolls into the hands of Arrizabalaga.
The target for Chelsea will be to try to wrap this tie up before the second leg, but they cannot afford to be too gung-ho against this Malmo side. The hosts are playing with confidence when they have the ball.
SHOT! Christiansen tries his luck from distance for a second time, and this effort is much better than the first. However, the ball takes a slight deflection off Chelsea's Christensen and it is enough to take it over the crossbar.
Malmo are pressing Chelsea really effectively, and Kovacic is harshly adjudged to have committed a foul in the corner. Chelsea need more than one attempt to clear the danger from the free kick, but they eventually get the ball away.
The home side are starting to ask a lot of questions of their more illustrious opponents. Chelsea find themselves in a battle here.
Chelsea finally get their foot back on the ball, and they would be well advised to try to keep hold of it for a couple of minutes. They have barely mounted an attack since opening the scoring.
Sarri has provided Giroud with an opportunity to impress this evening, but the Frenchman has been poor. Maybe it is a lack of match sharpness, but he is not doing his cause any good.
HALF TIME: Malmo 0-1 Chelsea
The half-time whistle goes in Sweden and Chelsea lead thanks to Barkley's effort on the half-hour mark. Malmo are matching their opponents for effort, however, and this game is a lot more competitive than some would have expected.
Miss Arsenal's game with BATE Borisov earlier today? Don't worry. We have you covered. You can read our on-the-whistle match report of that game by clicking here.
KICKOFF: Chelsea get us back underway.
Chelsea have come out firing at the start of this second half and a low cutback from Azpilicueta needs to be defended by a Malmo defender.
Malmo go straight up the other end and a chance should be created for Rieks who is waiting on the left-hand side of the penalty area. However, a teammate fails to tee him up. Rosler is furious.
The home side have hit back since that early burst forward from Chelsea. As I said in the first half, Chelsea cannot afford to be too gung-ho in search of a second because Malmo look determined to get on the scoresheet this evening.
SHOT! Bachirou decides to try to find the far corner with a curling effort from distance and although the shot is deflected, Arrizabalaga has to tip the ball over the bar.
SHOT! It is all Malmo now and they come agonisingly close to getting their equaliser. The ball is only cleared to Traustason on the edge of the area, and the midfielder's volley is deflected just wide of the post by Luiz.
GOAL! Malmo 0-2 Chelsea (Olivier Giroud)
Chelsea break and double their advantage completely against the run of play. Barkley surged forward before playing the ball to his left where Willian was waiting, and the Brazilian's low cross into the six-yard area was cleverly flicked in by Giroud.
That could be a huge goal in this tie. Malmo deserved to get back on level terms, but Chelsea now have two away goals to their name. It's a long way back for Malmo from here.
It will be interesting to see what Sarri does from here. He can afford to keep the likes of Kante, Hazard and Higuain on the bench, but one more goal would surely put Chelsea into an unassailable lead over the two legs.
That second goal has knocked the stuffing out of Malmo. They have reached a point where they may as well push forward in search of goals, but Chelsea are starting to outclass them.
CHANCE! It should be three. Barkley links up with Giroud but after the ball is rolled into his path, the Englishman sees a shot from by the penalty spot tipped over the bar by Dahlin.
SHOT! Chelsea will surely net a third before the end of the game. They break forward in numbers and Pedro is given the chance to shoot from 15 yards, with the Spaniard's curler being deflected just wide of the far post.
SUBSTITUTION! Malmo make a double change with Strandberg being introduced for Antonsson and Lewicki replacing Traustason.
SUBSTITUTION! Sarri also makes an alteration with Hazard replacing Willian.
It is worth noting that Malmo are yet to start their new domestic campaign, so they may struggle for energy during these closing stages.
SUBSTITUTION! Sarri wants to close this tie tonight. Kante has been introduced for Jorginho.
Malmo have less than 15 minutes to halve the deficit before the full-time whistle. You can't see the Swedish outfit winning by two goals at Stamford Bridge, so they really need to push on during these closing stages.
We haven't see a lot of Hazard since his introduction. Sarri will want the Belgian to get into the action. Still no alarms at the other end of the pitch, however, and that is the main thing at this stage.
GOAL! Malmo 1-2 Chelsea (Anders Christiansen)
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Game on! Rosenberg turns neatly and threads a pass through to Christiansen, who takes a couple of touches before finding the bottom corner from inside the area. That wasn't in the script.
SUBSTITUTION! Malmo make a third change and the goalscorer is being withdrawn for Gall.
SUBSTITUTION! Chelsea also make their final switch and Hudson-Odoi is going to take the place of Pedro.
Malmo have found a second wind and are beginning to press Chelsea in their own half. The visitors look uneasy whenever that happens, and the home side will likely persist with those tactics until the full-time whistle.
CHANCE! Big chance for Giroud to get a second. Hazard turns and advances towards the byline before crossing for the Frenchman, but the forward diverts the ball wide of the near post.
There will be three minutes of added-on time.
CHANCE! Another chance for Giroud and again, he should probably do better. It's an acute angle, but his low effort is too close to Dahlin.
FULL TIME: Malmo 1-2 Chelsea
The full-time whistle goes in Sweden and Chelsea have registered a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Malmo. The Blues could have won by a wider margin, but they also had to come through some sticky moments against the well-drilled hosts.
That will be all from Sports Mole for this match. Thank you for joining us this evening and we hope to see you again soon.
If you would like to read our on-the-whistle match report, you can do so by clicking here. Goodbye for now.
