Chelsea achieved their first win under new coach Enzo Maresca with a 2-0 triumph over Servette in the first leg of their Conference League play-off round on Thursday.
At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea initially struggled to penetrate their opponents’ defense. However, Christopher Nkunku broke the deadlock with a penalty in the 50th minute, marking his fourth goal for the club. A few minutes later, Marc Guiu missed a clear opportunity for Servette, while Noni Madueke extended Chelsea’s advantage by scoring from a pass by Enzo Fernandez.
Servette’s Tiemoko Ouattara came close to scoring late in the match, but his deflected shot struck the crossbar. The victory is a welcome boost for Chelsea, especially after a 2-0 defeat in Maresca’s debut against Manchester City over the weekend.
Chelsea, who finished sixth in the Premier League last season under Mauricio Pochettino, are making their return to European competition. “We are learning how to manage the game,” said Maresca, who led Leicester to Premier League promotion last season. “Winning with nine changes was important, and there were many positive aspects.”
There was some concern for Chelsea as key player Cole Palmer was seen holding his leg after coming on as a substitute. “Cole felt something but he seems fine. We hope it’s not a problem and that he will be available for Sunday’s game against Wolves,” Maresca added.
In other matches, Greek side Panathinaikos lost 2-1 to 10-man Lens, with Wesley Said scoring the decisive goal for the Ligue 1 team. Former Spain and Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea had a challenging debut as Fiorentina drew 3-3 at home with Hungarian team Puskas Akademia.
Irish club St Patrick’s kept their hopes alive for reaching the group stage of a European tournament with a 0-0 draw against Istanbul Basaksehir. In the Europa League play-offs, Dutch club Ajax defeated Jagiellonia 4-1 in Poland, with English forward Chuba Akpom netting a hat-trick.
Besiktas blew a 3-1 lead to draw 3-3 with Lugano in Switzerland, while Scottish outfit Hearts lost 1-0 at Viktoria Plzen.
