Chelsea Triumphs 2-1 in European Return: Enzo Maresca Secures First Win
Chelsea’s Victory Over Servette Marks a Promising Start Under New Manager Enzo Maresca.
In the first leg of the Conference League play-off round, Chelsea defeated Servette 2-0, earning their first victory under new manager Enzo Maresca. This victory follows Maresca’s difficult 2-0 loss to Manchester City in their opening game of the season.
Chelsea defeated Servette 2-0 in their Conference League play-off round first leg on Thursday, earning their first win under new coach Enzo Maresca. Before Christopher Nkunku gave the home team the lead with a penalty kick in the 50th minute—just his fourth goal for the team—the hosts at Stamford Bridge found it difficult to break down their opponents in the first half.
A few minutes later, Marc Guiu somehow managed to miss an open goal, but Noni Madueke’s header from Enzo Fernandez’s feed put Chelsea closer to a group-stage spot ahead of next week’s second leg. Tiemoko Ouattara’s deflected shot struck the crossbar late in the game, thus missing the chance to give Swiss side Servette a response.
Chelsea was relieved to win after losing 2-0 to Manchester City in Maresca’s debut match the previous weekend. Under Mauricio Pochettino, the Blues finished sixth in the Premier League the previous season, and they are now participating in European competitions.
“We are gaining knowledge about how to oversee the game,” stated Maresca, who guided Leicester to the Premier League the previous year. “Winning the game with nine changes was crucial. Numerous positive aspects were present.
However, Chelsea had a scare when, after substituting in the second half, important player Cole Palmer went into the dug-out gripping the back of his leg at full time.
“Cole appears fine, but he sensed something. “Hopefully there won’t be any issues and he can play (against Wolves) on Sunday,” Maresca stated.
In other news, Ligue 1 team Panathinaikos of Greece lost their first-leg match 2-1 against 10-man Lens, with Wesley Said scoring the game’s winning goal. David de Gea, the goalkeeper for both Manchester United and Spain in the past, had a challenging debut as Fiorentina was held to a 3-3 home tie by Puskas Akademia of Hungary.
Drawing 0-0 with Istanbul Basaksehir, Irish club St Patrick’s maintained their hopes of making it to a European tournament group stage for the first time.
English forward Chuba Akpom scored a hat-trick as Dutch powerhouse Ajax defeated Jagiellonia 4-1 in Poland during the Europa League play-offs.
Scottish team Hearts defeated 1-0 against Viktoria Plzen, while Besiktas wasted a 3-1 lead to draw 3-3 with Lugano in Switzerland.
