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The Blues needed just 64 seconds to take the lead as Jorrel Hato fired in through a crowd of players, after Joe Gauci failed to get any distance on his punch from Pedro Neto's corner.

Port Vale worked its way into the game and started to get a foothold before Chelsea scored a second in the 25th minute, with Joao Pedro showing great composure to take a touch and finish from close range after good work in the build-up from Neto.

It was 3-0 before the break. Malo Gusto and Joao Pedro combined before the former saw his shot saved by Gauci, though Cole Palmer's rebound was inadvertently turned into his own net by Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel.

Chelsea continued its dominance after the restart and went 5-0 up before the 70th minute, with Tosin Adarabioyo and Andrey Santos heading into the Port Vale goal as the visitors struggled to defend crosses throughout.

Estevao, who hit the post twice earlier in the second half, got his goal in the 82nd minute, firing into an unguarded net on the rebound after Alejandro Garnacho's effort came back off the post, while the Argentinean then won and scored a penalty in the 92nd minute.

Blues boss Liam Rosenior admitted he was pleased to see his Chelsea team do the talking on the pitch, acknowledging it had endured a tough period leading into the game.

Rosenior dropped Enzo Fernandez from his squad over comments the midfielder made during the international break, in which he suggested he would be open to a move to Real Madrid.

Fernandez will also be excluded when the Blues take on Manchester City next weekend, but there will be no disciplinary action taken against Marc Cucurella after the left-back questioned the club's decision to part company with former boss Enzo Maresca in January.

"Football is about football on the pitch. This is a huge club with a lot of scrutiny, a lot of people writing a lot of things," Rosenior said.

"We had a really difficult 10 days, but the way we came through is a really good step for the run-in.

"This is why you come to this club, you want to win trophies, you want to be in big games, and I was really happy with the players. 

"Their attitude was top. We scored seven goals and that came from an energy and intensity that I enjoyed.

"I said, 'play like it's 0-0; we have to be perfect'. I thought the players were outstanding in terms of carrying that out."

Port Vale boss Jon Brady, meanwhile, expressed pride at the way his side competed but was frustrated to see its deficit extended from five goals to seven late on.

"We put ourselves under extreme pressure by conceding in the first minute. There were three set-pieces, which we didn't defend well enough," he said.

"Very frustrating. It shows in the end. To keep it at four or five would have been respectable, but to concede the last two was a bit of a gut punch.

"I'm proud of the players overall. It shows how ruthless the players are at this level and it's something we can strive towards. 

"It's a fantastic achievement what we did. We beat a Premier League team [Sunderland] and a Championship team [Bristol City] in one week. 

"We know our fate has probably been sealed to League Two and we have to come back fighting next year."