It was not exactly all sweetness and light for Chelsea during this prosaic 2-0 win over Servette. Those hunting for optimism could find it in encouraging displays from some new faces, while Christopher Nkunku’s penalty and a sharp goal from Noni Madueke during an improved second half should ensure that progress to the Europa Conference League is secured in Switzerland next week, but there were also moments when discontent with the club’s direction under Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital was captured by bursts of impatience from the stands.
There was a fair bit of grumbling after a tepid opening period, during which it was hard to see why Mykhailo Mudryk has been preferred to Raheem Sterling in attack, and later there would even be hints of opposition to the positional, possession-based style of play under Enzo Maresca. The Italian, who is working to boost his standing with his new supporters, will surely have noticed the boos that followed during the second half when Moisés Caicedo played the ball back from the halfway line.
The strange thing is that it was the right decision from Caicedo given that the midfielder was Chelsea’s deepest outfield player and under pressure. Maresca, who was pleased to earn his first win as head coach, must have been exasperated. Surely applause should be the response to a player keeping the ball. After all, it was not long before Chelsea had doubled their advantage after Madueke rounded off a move that began with some clever passing out of defence.
It was an important goal for Madueke, a young winger desperate to earn opportunities in Maresca’s packed forward line, and it gives Chelsea breathing space before they meet Servette in the second leg. After a year out of Europe, it would be a major shock if a two-goal lead is not enough to see them into the group stage.
Maresca could dwell on the positives, even though he was not happy with the chances his side conceded during the closing stages. He acknowledged that Chelsea “played with fire” after going 2-0 up and admitted that his players are still learning. Madueke, Maresca said, needs to be more consistent. There was praise for Marc Guiu’s workrate and a smile about the young forward’s comedy miss in the second half.
The good news is that Maresca is confident that Cole Palmer, a second-half substitute, will be fit to face Wolves on Sunday. It was worrying to see Palmer wincing and clutching his right hamstring after full time.
“In some moments, I really liked the team on and off the ball,” Maresca said. “At the start the team was very aggressive. Also, because we are in a process, there are some moments we can manage better.”
Events have moved so quickly at Stamford Bridge that even the editors of the matchday programme were beaten by the decision to hand Sterling’s No 7 shirt to Pedro Neto. A mess, though? Not so, says Maresca. He has his preferred group of players so nobody could be surprised that Sterling, Ben Chilwell and all the other outcasts in a squad that needs heavy trimming were absent again.
The changes keep coming. João Félix was paraded before kick-off after joining from Atlético Madrid and Chelsea’s starting XI featured six full debutants. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, a Maresca favourite from his Leicester days, tried hard in midfield. Neto did not see enough of the ball on the right.
Mudryk remained an enigma on the left. Everything is scattergun with the Ukrainian. After shooting just wide, he ruined a counterattack with a stray pass. After beating Keigo Tsunemoto, he knocked the ball behind for a goal kick.
Asked about Mudryk’s inconsistency, Maresca would liken his decision-making to the toss of a coin. “This is Mudryk,” he said. “It is not only tonight. Since he joined the club, he had some good moments and some bad moments. If he becomes more consistent, he can take one step forward. We are going to try and help him. He needs to understand that we will give him the ball in the final third and he has to make the right decision. A lot of mistakes is about the choice.”
Chelsea were booed off at half-time. Servette, who finished third in Switzerland last season, were comfortable. Filip Jörgensen, a new signing from Villarreal, thwarted Dereck Kutesa with a good save.
Yet Chelsea lifted the mood at the start of the second half. Pressing with more urgency, they made the breakthrough when Guiu forced an error and Dewsbury-Hall released Nkunku, who rounded Jérémy Frick before being brought down by the Servette goalkeeper.
The tension evaporated after Nkunku buried his penalty. The atmosphere felt lighter when two substitutes combined, Enzo Fernández releasing Madueke, who raced clear before lashing a shot inside Frick’s near post. It was another flash of Chelsea’s potential, but there is still work to do.
Chelsea made a bright start to the game, and with a bit of luck, Marc Guiu could’ve opened the scoring inside the first few minutes. But he ran out of room as he took the ball around the goalkeeper, and then Chelsea soon ran out of that initial impetus as well, with the visitors growing into the game — not that Filip Jörgensen had much of anything to do in the Chelsea net, with the defense generally comfortable as well, outside of a few awkward moments on set pieces and long throws. Chelsea did have a few promising moments of our own, but lacked the execution necessary to make them count.
We made another bright start to the second half as well, and this time we did get on the scoreboard with Christopher Nkunku drawing and converting a penalty. Then Guiu had a horrendous miss on an empty net after closing down the goalkeeper and winning the ball, which took the wind out of his, and Chelsea’s sails and we reverted to more of a first half flow.
The triple change from Maresca did little to wake up the troops; if anything, it made us more sloppy and unfocused. So Noni Madueke decided to things into his own hands instead, and give us the needed second goal just as the game entered its final quarter hour.
Chelsea managed to see out the result from there, though not without a few more sloppy moments, this time at the back, with Servette hitting the crossbar, letting a couple good chances go to waste, and Jörgensen making a big save on the final kick of the game.
So, 2-0. Half the job done. Finish it next week.
Carefree.
PLAYER RATINGS:
It was all smiles at Stamford Bridge moments before kick-off in Chelsea against Servette. Joao Felix was introduced to the crowd for the second time after the 24-year-old completed a permanent move from Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.
Felix was not signed in time to be involved in the Blues' Conference League play-off first-leg but he was in attendance in SW6 as he watched his new teammates in action. Thankfully for Chelsea, it ended in smiles - although 45 minutes in, there was not too much smiling going on from a Blues point of view.
A dull, drab and substandard first-half from Chelsea's perspective saw the two sides go into the break goalless. Enzo Maresca needed to try and eradicate any complacency from his team, who in the first-half looked as if they thought turning up on the evening would ensure a win against the Swiss side.
In the second-half, though, it was far better from Chelsea. An aggressive start to the second period - on and off the ball - saw the hosts quickly go ahead via a penalty from Christopher Nkunku. It was officially the first goal of the Maresca reign at Stamford Bridge.
It could have - and should have - been two just moments later. Marc Guiu, whose pressing was excellent throughout his 58-minute stint on the pitch, charged down the Servette goalkeeper and found himself with the easiest of tap-ins. However, the Spanish teenager scuffed his shot and Jeremy Frick managed to save it - and the following two strikes from Guiu, who somehow did not score his first goal for the club.
Noni Madueke was one of the three substitutes that came on for Guiu, Nkunku and Pedro Neto, and the 22-year-old winger quickly made an impact on the game. After a fine pass from Enzo Fernandez, another one of the subs, Madueke took a perfect first touch in order to set himself before firing the ball between Frick and the near post on his weaker right foot.
READ MORE: Every word Enzo Maresca said on Palmer injury, Chelsea win, Madueke future and Mudryk
READ MORE: Madueke, Nkunku and Neto excellent but one player poor - Chelsea player ratings vs Servette
A first win for Maresca - and hopefully one that gives his side some confidence and perhaps a bit of momentum going into Sunday's trip to Wolverhampton. Below are some moments you may have missed from the win, as well as some of the big talking points coming from the game...
Just as we witnessed with Neto at half-time of the pre-season friendly with Inter Milan, Felix was unveiled to the Stamford Bridge faithful on Thursday night. This time, though, it was pre-kick-off as Felix got to meet the supporters he spent a bit of time with during the 2022/23 season in his previous loan spell.
There were plenty of waves from the Portugal international to his adoring fans as well as a few hits of the Chelsea badge. He wanted this move back to west London. Desperately.
football.london understands that as soon as Felix heard a return to Stamford Bridge was a possibility, he pushed hard to make sure it became a reality. There were some intense and drawn out negotiations between Chelsea and Atletico Madrid before the deal was finally agreed, but from the player's side it was crystal clear: he was desperate for a return.
Unfortunately, Felix was not eligible to play against Servette but with a few more training sessions at Cobham under his belt, the Portuguese attacker will be hopeful of making the squad for the weekend's visit to Molineux to take on Wolves. It will be his second debut for the club should he feature - and he will be hoping it goes a lot better than last time where he was sent off away at Fulham.
Neto made his full debut for the club and was very impressive. The Portugal international showed glimpses of his ridiculous talent against a Servette defence that seemed to fear for their lives every time he was running at them.
That is his game; directness, trickery and sheer speed. His pace is frightening. As far as full debuts go, it was really promising from Neto, but he did not always please the Chelsea coaching staff.
About 15 minutes in, Servette had a corner on their right-hand side and they were looking to play it short. At this point, Neto was on the edge of the Chelsea box looking around and simultaneously, virtually everyone in the Blues dugout, bar the substitutes, rose to their feet and screamed at Neto to go and mark the short option.
Neto, probably scared at all the shouting in his direction, quickly obliged and marked his man.
After not being used at all in Chelsea's defeat to Manchester City at the weekend, it was a big night for Madueke. The winger will have been disappointed not to start but he was able to show his talent when coming on just before the hour-mark.
During his celebration, Madueke put his right hand up to his ear, almost to ask: 'What did you say?'. It felt as if the celebration had some meaning to it.
Leading up to the game, there had been plenty of speculation over the winger's future at Stamford Bridge and with all that has happened with Raheem Sterling this week, it was the right time for Madueke to send Maresca a reminder of his undeniable talent. However, Maresca, while praising Madueke for how he has been since the pair have worked together, was quick to remind the tricky wide man of where he needs to improve.
“I really like Noni,” the Chelsea head coach explained after the win against Servette. “The only problem with him probably is that he has to understand he needs to be consistent during the week; every training, every training, every training. But he is a good player and he is doing well with us.”
