Christopher Nkunku and João Félix are proving to be men for small occasions at Chelsea this season.

That may be a little unfair to plucky League Two club Morecambe and especially their goalkeeper Harry Burgoyne, but Nkunku and Felix can’t stop scoring against minnows.

Nkunku became Chelsea’s top scorer along with Cole Palmer thanks to his 13th goal of the season against Morecambe, who are in 91st place in the Football League.

He was supposed to take the lead on his own as Burgoyne also saved a penalty, but the numbers only tell one side of the story.

Aside from Morecambe, Nkunku’s goals came from – wait for it – Servette, Noah, Heidenheim, Gent, Barrow, Panathinaikos, Southampton and Bournemouth.

Nkunku can rightly argue that he wasn’t given much of a chance against better opponents, but he could well be the biggest flat track bully in town at the moment.

The France international’s latest goal against weaker opposition helped Chelsea reach the fourth round of the FA Cup, while first-choice striker Nicolas Jackson watched from the substitutes’ bench.

Félix added Morecambe to his list of small casualties, which also includes Noah, Panathinaikos and Wolves, with two late attacks that he barely celebrated.

The Portuguese, who once cost Atletico Madrid £113 million, now has seven goals to his name this season. But he remains the second choice behind Palmer, who was given a break on Saturday when the bigger tests come up.

“They didn’t knock on the door (to ask if they could play), they didn’t ask anything,” Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca said. “But you don’t have to ask.

“Two games ago, against Ipswich, we started with João and Christo. Previously we started some games with them. They already had a chance in the Premier League. That doesn’t mean they have to score or assist when they play in the Premier League.”

It took until the 39th minute for Enzo Maresca’s side to break the stalemate with a shot from Tosin Adarabioyo that deflected off Callum Jones and wrong-footed Burgoyne.

Burgoyne had brilliantly saved Nkunku’s penalty earlier but was unable to stop him scoring Chelsea’s second goal after the break.

It took a great save from Burgoyne to stop Renato Veiga from finding the net, but Nkunku was the first to get the rebound to add to his numbers.

Nkunku has been linked with a move away from Chelsea this month and any club looking at his numbers will be impressed – as long as they don’t dwell too long on the quality of the opposition.

Tosin scored his second and Chelsea their third with a shot from 25 meters in the 70th minute before Félix scored two quick-fire goals.

Chelsea have proven themselves adept at avoiding potential banana peels, winning 36 of their last 37 FA Cup games against lower league opponents.

At Morecambe, Ben Tollitt caused some nervous moments for Chelsea goalkeeper Filip Jörgensen and substitute Hallam Hope missed a wonderful opportunity to secure a late consolation goal for the visitors.

Morecambe manager Derek Adams said: “Given our wage bill is just over £1m and Chelsea have spent £1bn, it doesn’t take an Einstein to realize the gap is huge.” It is “There’s a huge gap between the two clubs and it’s only going to get bigger, but I think our team did very well.”

Chelsea will be pleased that Reece James and Romeo Lavia made their comeback from injury with 45 minutes each.

James made his first start since the draw against Manchester United on November 3rd, while Lavia’s last appearance came against Tottenham Hotspur on December 8th.

“The idea is to slowly build the right condition,” said Maresca, who said Noni Madueke did not take part in the squad game after feeling unwell on Friday.

“Especially with Reece we have to be a little more careful. The good thing is that both played 45 minutes and finished well without any problems. We can start to help them and get them in the right state.”

The win, albeit against second division opposition, was Chelsea’s first in five games and should give them some momentum heading into Tuesday night’s Premier League visit to Bournemouth.

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