90min

'Thank God we got a penalty': X reacts to Chelsea's laboured Conference League win

  • Chelsea beat Swiss side Servette in UEFA Conference League
  • Blues take 2-0 aggregate lead into play-off second leg next week
  • Fans on X had plenty to say about the game as it was being played

By Jamie Spencer

Marc Guiu's open goal miss ultimately didn't spell disaster
Marc Guiu's open goal miss ultimately didn't spell disaster / Catherine Ivill - AMA/GettyImages
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Kilmarnock, Pafos, St Patrick’s Athletic, Lincoln Red Imps and Vikingur Reykjavik were some of the teams Chelsea shared the UEFA Conference League stage with on Thursday night.

The Blues looked like they would be spending another season out of Europe until a late surge up the Premier League standings in April and May resulted in a fifth place finish and entry into the play-off round of UEFA’s tertiary club competition.

With Switzerland’s Servette the opponent at Stamford Bridge and Chelsea, even this version, heavy favourites to win, pressure was on Enzo Maresca and his squad of players to get up and running.

With a place in the group stage at stake, the 2-0 win will make life more straightforward for the away leg next week, but a polished perfrmance...this was not.

The boss changed things up quite considerably from the team that lost to Manchester City in the Premier League last Sunday. Only Christopher Nkunku kept his place, with wholesale changes otherwise made that included a competitive debuts for Filip Jorgensen, Tosin Adarabioyo, and first starts for Pedro Neto, Marc Guiu, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Renato Veiga.

Moises Caicedo was also captain for the very first time. It divided opinion.

Someone else was in the tunnel but not yet registered to play after Wednesday's arrival.

When the football actually began, it took a really long time to actually begin.

Chelsea didn't have a shot for 29 minutes. When it came, Mykhailo Mudryk fired it wide.

In the meantime...

Mudryk, potentially so talented but utterly devoid of confidence, was the subject of much frustration for Chelsea fans.

But almost immediately after half-time, a penalty was the boost Chelsea needed.

Christopher Nkunku won it...

...and with Cole Palmer not on the pitch at that point, he scored it himself.

Chelsea should have quickly doubled their lead but Guiu, the 18-year-old striker signed from Barcelona, somehow managed to let the goalkeeper save as he shot at an open goal.

Using that squad depth.

As the game continued, frustration was the overriding emotion.

Eventually, the second goal came: Noni Madueke.

A win's a win 🤷‍♂️

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