Ross Barkley's stunning free-kick the highlight as Chelsea beat Malmo to reach Europa League last-16

Chelsea eased through to the Europa League round of 16 with a less-than-fully convincing victory against 10-man Malmo that will do little to ease the pressure on beleaguered head coach Maurizio Sarri.

Olivier Giroud provided the breakthrough in the 55th minute when he converted Willian’s inviting low cross from close range, and Ross Barkley netted his second goal in as many Europa League matches to settle the contest before Callum Hudson-Odoi netted a late third.

The result does at least keep all roads towards Champions League qualification open to Chelsea, though in truth there was little here to suggest they are capable of repeating their Europa League triumph of 2013 – or of mounting much resistance to Manchester City in the League Cup final on Sunday.

Having insisted in the build-up to this match that his 4-3-3 system was a “false problem”, Sarri stuck with his favoured formation but rested many of his regulars – presumably with one eye on the League Cup final against Manchester City on Sunday.

Hudson-Odoi was handed his first start in any competition since the close of the January transfer window, and the unsettled 18-year-old provided Chelsea’s only moments of inspiration in a tepid first half that Uwe Rosler’s highly-motivated Malmo side shaded.

Just as in the first leg, Rosler sent his team out to press Chelsea into mistakes high up the pitch and, roared on by a raucous travelling support, they enjoyed plenty of early success. Moments after Rasmus Bengtsson had headed Andreas Vindheim’s cross just over the bar, Mateo Kovacic – deputising for Jorginho at the base of midfield – forced Andreas Christensen into a scrambling recovery tackle by presenting the ball straight to Marcus Antonsson.

There were many more near-misses as Chelsea at times struggled to play out of their own half. When they did, Malmo’s defence dropped deep to force the home side into the slow, sideways possession that has so infuriated Blues supporters in recent games.

Amid the gloom, Hudson-Odoi shone brightest. Fortunate not to be punished by Markus Rosenberg when he gifted the ball to the Malmo captain on the edge of the Chelsea box, he grew in confidence, and a couple of jinking surges brought the first home roar from Stamford Bridge.

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But despite the winger’s best efforts Chelsea only panicked the Malmo defence once in the opening 45 minutes, with captain Cesar Azpilicueta’s shot smothered from close range after a neat short corner routine. A smattering of boos greeted the half-time whistle.

The second half began in a plume of smoke as the Malmo fans let off flares that had been smuggled into the away end, but the momentary distraction did not prevent Chelsea starting the second half with renewed purpose, and took just 10 minutes to break the deadlock with their first incisive move of the match.

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N’Golo Kante burst through the middle of the pitch and nudged the ball left to Willian, whose precise cross gave Giroud a tap-in.

The game swiftly opened up as Malmo pushed for the three goals required to turn the tie, and the luxury of space allowed Chelsea to settle into their work. Emerson Palmieri tempted Bengtsson into his second reckless lunge of the match on the edge of the box and referee Orel Grinfeld duly produced a red card. Barkley curled the resulting free-kick over the Malmo wall with Dahlin rooted to increase Chelsea’s advantage.

There was still time for a final flourish from Hudson-Odoi, who fired low into the bottom corner after a nice switch of play from Willian. Stamford Bridge responded by serenading the youngster with chants of ‘We want you to stay’. Sarri has a long way to go to get similar treatment.