Like a field of tulips in the face of a fierce storm, Feyenoord first stood firm before they wilted and were eventually trampled upon by an exhilarating Chelsea team that won 3-1 but could have had ten more at Stamford Bridge.

The only black spot for Chelsea was a lapse in concentration from Marcel Desailly that allowed substitute Julio Cruz to net a last-minute consolation. By then the goals from Celestine Babayaro and two from Tore Andre Flo had made the Dutc strike academic.

The game was as one-sided as it could have been, a feat made remarkable by the fact that Feyenoord were one of only four teams previously unbeaten in the Champions League this year with five draws and a win. Oh, and the Dutchmen are only one of nine remaining current champions still in the competition.

If the rest of Europe wasn't worried before this game, they should be now. Gianluca Vialli's side are realistic contenders.

Celestine Babayaro's far-post header from seven yards was no less than the hosts deserved in a first-half display overflowing with skill, fluidity, confidence and chances. Defeats against Watford and Derby seem like mythical accidents as this team of World Cup winners, European Cup winners seasoned internationals gave Feyenoord a clogging to remember.

All the signs of Total Football came from the English team. Leboeuf popped up in midfield, Petrescu at centre-forward, Zola at left-back. All that was missing were the goals to show for their 17 first-half efforts.

But it was lucky number 18. Petrescu's whipped ball from a short corner went straight to Babayaro, the Nigerian who scored Chelsea's first goal in Europe this season against Skonto Riga. He nipped inside Jan de Visser and the power of his 44th-minute header gave Jerzy Dudek no chance.

All through the first period, Chelsea showed the form that has kept them unbeaten in Europe at Stamford Bridge. They attacked relentlessly, keeping the Dutch side encamped in their own area.

After Jerzy Dudek gathered a speculative shot from range off his shoulder (he'll have said the ball took a nasty bobble), Vialli's men must have thought their luck was in. Here was a keeper, the replacement of Ed de Goey at Feyenoord, who looked like being affected by the big stage.

When the Polish stopper said pre-match that Manchester United had been monitoring his progress, it seemed just wishful thinking, a touch of gamesmanship to wind up the opposition. If only.

He had regained his composure minutes later, to wonderful effect. When Zola, with his back to goal, squared the ball to an unmarked Wise six yards out, a goal looked a certainty. Wise - the only Englishman on the pitch - fired his shot low and hard, unerringly towards the goal. Somehow Dudek got down and blocked the chance with his legs. United, and others, would have been impressed.

There was more to come from Dudek after a lengthy break to attend an ankle problem: Flo's shot deflected off the impressive Konterman and looped up but was claimed by Dudek. The most spectacular save followed from Zola's crisp 20-yarder, destined for the roof of the goal, but tipped over.

If Dudek wanted to showcase his talents, he wasn't short of opportunities. The Chelsea midfield was dominant, easily gaining possession and trying to carve out chances. As early as the second minute, Ferrer and Zola linked well to release Petrescu to cross from the right. The fit-again Poyet drifted across goal to dive in at the inside post but could not get enough on the ball.

Poyet was dangerous, constantly finding space on the edge of the area, always dragging van Gobbel out of position. And the Uruguayan had four early chances that went wide. The first was a volley from twelve yards, the second a long shot that sailed over; then there was a scissor-kick that cannoned off his own player, the final one a free header over the top. Leboeuf and Zola were also wayward.

Zola went closer still, his step-over baffling vans Wanderen and Gobbel and his left-foot effort drifting wide.

Dudek's predecessor de Goey - who along with Ken Monkou and Dave Mitchell are the only three players to have rerpresented both clubs - was rarely bothered, and when called upon, displayed the efficiency which made him a hero in Rotterdam. Kalou's early shot was punched away at the near post while Somalia's drove pounded straight into his chest.

But when Babayaro finally popped up to relieve Chelsea's worries, Dudek could do nothing. His efforts in the previous 44 minutes had been forgotten. In the time it took for Babayaro to perform his trademark acrobatic celebration.

The siege continued in the second half: after Zola's free-kick swerved inches wide, Ferrer's close-range header hit the crossbar, Zola had a shot saved which fell to Petrescu, but the Romanian tried to beat one man too many and the danger passed.

Petrescu was again involved when Zola floated a teasing ball to the near post. The talented wing-back elected to back-heel goalwards when a volley on the swivel might have been more productive.

Chances started to go begging. Leboeuf's exquisite through-ball fell to Flo, who somehow failed to trouble Dudek despite appearing to have the edge on Konterman. From the loose ball, Poyet's right-footer missed the target. Another of his headers then flew wide. The same player's blockbuster was then impressively punched over by Dudek.

From the corner came Chelsea's second, and their clincher. Again it was the Petrescu-Babayaro wing-back combination that did the trick. Zola's ball was headed across the face of the goal by Petrescu, for Babayaro to power a header against the bar. The rebound fell to Flo, who joyously poked the ball home.

The doubling of the score brought relief to the Bridge. Though Feyenoord offered little going forward, the two-goal cushion eased frayed nerves. There was even time for Zola (how many chances can this man create for himself?) and Wise to spurn more chances, before Flo doubled his tally.

Who else but the Sardinian sorcerer would have back-heeled Petrescu's ball into the path of Flo, who stabbed the ball home at the second attempt?

Vialli gave a debut to summer signing Samuele Dalla Bona, captain of Italy's U-18 side. The new man from Atalanta barely had time to catch his breath on a magical European evening - if Vialli was tacitly warning opponents that he can balance his experienced players with ones for the future, it worked.

But the plaudits belong again to Flo. The Norwegian is finding his feet in Europe these days. This was his eighth goal for the club at this level, a rate that takes him above the second-best record of Tommy Baldwin and Vialli.

Flo is still eight more behind Peter Osgood's 16-goal record - but if he faces this mob again in the away fixture, who's to say he won't be getting even closer?

Chelsea: De Goey, Ferrer, Desailly, Leboeuf, Babayaro, Petrescu, Wise, Deschamps (Della Bona 87), Poyet (Di Matteo 87), Flo, Zola.
Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Hogh, Goldbaek, Morris, Harley.
Goals: Babayaro 45, Flo 67, 85.

Feyenoord: Dudek, Van Gobbel, Van Wonderen, Konterman, Somalia, Kalou, Bosvelt, Van Gastel, De Visser, Van Vossen (Samardzic 60), Tomasson (Cruz 58).
Subs Not Used: Graafland, Rzasa, Paauwe, Korneev, De Haan.
Goals: Cruz 90.
Att: 29,704