Chelsea secured their first win under new coach Enzo Maresca with a 2-0 victory against Servette in the first leg of their Conference League play-off on Thursday. The match, held at Stamford Bridge, saw the home side struggle to break down their Swiss opponents in the first half. However, Christopher Nkunku put Chelsea ahead with a 50th-minute penalty, marking his fourth goal for the club.
Shortly after, Marc Guiu missed a clear opportunity to extend Chelsea’s lead by failing to convert an open goal. Despite this, Noni Madueke increased the advantage, scoring from an Enzo Fernandez pass to put Chelsea closer to securing a group-stage spot ahead of next week’s second leg.
Servette nearly pulled one back late in the match when Tiemoko Ouattara’s deflected shot struck the crossbar, but Chelsea held on for a much-needed victory. This win was especially welcome after a disappointing 2-0 defeat in Maresca's debut game against Manchester City the previous weekend.
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Chelsea’s return to European competition follows a sixth-place finish in the Premier League last season under Mauricio Pochettino. Reflecting on the match, Maresca, who previously led Leicester City to Premier League promotion, emphasized the importance of learning to manage the game. “It was important to win the game with nine changes. There were many good things,” he said.
However, there was concern for Chelsea as key player Cole Palmer appeared to suffer a minor injury, holding the back of his leg at full-time after coming on as a second-half substitute. Maresca downplayed the issue, saying, “Cole felt something, but he looks fine. Hopefully, it is no problem, and he can be available for Sunday’s game against Wolves.”
In other European action, Greek side Panathinaikos fell 2-1 to 10-man Lens, with Wesley Said scoring the decisive goal for the French team. Former Spain and Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea had a tough debut, as Fiorentina were held to a 3-3 draw by Hungarian side Puskas Akademia.
Irish club St Patrick’s Athletic kept their hopes of European group-stage qualification alive with a 0-0 draw against Istanbul Basaksehir. Meanwhile, in the Europa League play-offs, Ajax cruised to a 4-1 victory over Jagiellonia in Poland, with Chuba Akpom scoring a hat-trick. Besiktas squandered a 3-1 lead to draw 3-3 with Lugano, and Hearts lost 1-0 to Viktoria Plzen in the Czech Republic.
