FROM STAMFORD BRIDGE – Enzo Maresca earned his first win as Chelsea head coach with a 1-0 victory over Servette in the first leg of their UEFA Conference League play-off.
The Blues have the advantage heading into next week’s second leg in Switzerland, with a place in the group stages up for grabs.
A Christopher Nkunku penalty just after half-time and a thumping strike from Noni Madueke ensured the west Londoners were triumphant on Thursday night.
How the game unfolded
Chelsea should have been ahead inside 90 seconds. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall won possession high up the pitch and slipped through Marc Guiu, whose touch was enough to take him past goalkeeper Jeremy Frick, but he was off balance and fell to his knees before being able to prod home, with the ball trickling just past the post instead.
Remarkably, the hosts had to wait until the 28th minute to have a shot. Guiu held the ball up well for Mykhailo Mudryk to latch on to, but he dragged his effort wide of the near post.
Debutant Filip Jorgensen was forced into a save when Steve Rouiller was allowed a free header from a free-kick as Servette looked to sneak the opening goal.
Two minutes into the second half, Chelsea were awarded a penalty when Nkunku was felled by Frick. The Frenchman stepped up and slotted home the first goal of the Maresca era to put the hosts ahead and ease the tensions around Stamford Bridge.
Frick’s up-and-down evening continued moments later when Guiu blocked a kick from the back, and he seemingly had an empty net to tap into. However, Frick retreated and made an astonishing triple save to deny the young striker.
With a quarter of an hour remaining, Chelsea doubled their advantage. Enzo Fernandez’s pass around the outside of the Servette defence was met by Madueke, who made his way infield and fired into the roof of the net.
Servette weren’t about to leave the English capital quietly and saw a shot from Tiemoko Ouattara deflect onto the crossbar, before another free header, this time from Timothe Cognat, whistled over from the following corner.
But Chelsea got through six minutes of added time with their two-goal cushion in tact and are now on the cusp of a place in the group stage.
GK: Filip Jorgensen – 7/10 – Had to come up with some far-from-simple saves on his debut. The bar isn’t particularly high, but he did look more comfortable on the ball than Chelsea’s other goalkeepers.
RB: Axel Disasi – 6/10 – Maresca’s use of an inverted left-back allowed Disasi to tuck in and play almost as a third centre-back. Hardly troubled down his flank.
CB: Tosin Adarabioyo – 6/10 – Got his head on a series of crosses and swept up well on his first start since making the switch from nearby Fulham.
CB: Benoit Badiashile – 5/10 – Like Tosin was effective in his defensive duties, but his glaring lack of confidence with the ball at his feet brought a few groans out of the crowd.
LB: Renato Veiga – 7/10 – Inverted so often that he was essentially playing as a midfielder in possession. Faced familiar opposition having joined Chelsea from Swiss giants Basel. Used his physical advantages greatly and much to the delight of the home crowd was well up for the fight.
CM: Moises Caicedo (c) – 6/10 – Made captain for the night by Maresca. Did the simple stuff – mainly short passing and tackling – to a decent standard but struggled when asked to spread possession or play through the lines.
CM: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall – 6/10 – The driver behind Chelsea’s fast start but couldn’t keep that momentum going.
RW: Pedro Neto – 5/10 – A quiet full debut in the attacking third for Neto, who was guilty of trying to do too much with the ball and often was thwarted by left-back Bradley Mazikou.
AM: Christopher Nkunku – 7/10 – Broke the deadlock from 12 yards after winning the penalty himself. Faded into the background for extended periods, but Servette couldn’t handle his quick change of pace when he was on the ball.
LW: Mykhailo Mudryk – 4/10 – It was hard to take your eyes off the electric Ukrainian. Zoomed away past trailing defenders before ending moves with an alarming lack of end product. A frustrating if fascinating watch.
CF: Marc Guiu – 4/10 – Somehow, somehow, Guiu didn’t end the night with a goal. Wasn’t afraid to throw his weight around and held the ball up well, but ultimately he will view tonight as a missed opportunity to impress.
Substitutes
SUB: Cole Palmer (57′ for Guiu) – 6/10 – Played as a false nine after coming on, drifting into pockets of space in order to get on the ball.
SUB: Enzo Fernandez (57′ for Nkunku) – 7/10 – Came up with a fine assist for Madueke’s strike.
SUB: Noni Madueke (57′ for Neto) – 8/10 – Neto failed to make the most of his minutes on the right, but Madueke didn’t let that chance escape him, driving forward with the ball and scoring a fine goal.
SUB: Malo Gusto (78′ for Disasi) – 5/10
SUB: Romeo Lavia (84′ for Caicedo) – 6/10
Subs not used: Robert Sanchez (GK), Marcus Bettinelli (GK), Levi Colwill, Marc Cucurella, Nicolas Jackson
Manager
Enzo Maresca – 6/10 – Chelsea got the win in the end but boy did they make hard work of that at times. Tougher tests await.
Player of the match – Noni Madueke (Chelsea)
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