Chelsea secured a 4-1 win over Gent in the opening game of their campaign in the Conference League stage on Thursday night.
The Blues were dominant throughout, with three points always the order of the day after Renato Veiga headed the home side into an early lead.
His second goal didn’t come until the start of the second half, and while Gent threatened a resurgence after Pedro Neto’s goal, Chelsea made no mistake and eventually secured victory.
Thursday’s win was Chelsea’s fifth on the bounce in all competitions.
How the match unfolded
Chelsea were heavy favorites going into the contest, and the depth of the squad allowed Enzo Maresca to make 11 changes from the team that beat Brighton 4-2 at the weekend. This was a great opportunity for the ‘cup’ eleven to impress, and Vega certainly looked determined to make the most of the opportunity.
The versatile defender steered Chelsea into an early lead with the Blues starting the game camped in Gent’s half. Afterwards, however, much of his possession seemed barren. Although they controlled the first half, visiting goalkeeper Davy Roef was barely tested. However, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall fired a shot into the side netting from a good position.
Gent had a brief spell of pressure at the other end with Andri Gudjohnsen, son of Eidur, watching from the stands, curling a fierce effort from inside the box after Archie Brown had forced an easy save at Philip Jorgensen.
There were goals at both ends to start the second half with Pedro Neto’s effort canceled out by a Tsuyoshi Watanabe header. Chelsea, however, did a good job of preventing the Belgian side from gaining any momentum after getting back into the game, and they soon reasserted their dominance.
Christopher Nkunku, fresh off a hat-trick in the Carabao Cup last week, bagged Chelsea’s third before Dewsbury-Hall pounced on the loose ball on the edge of the Gent box to poke home the hosts’ quarter.
The hosts lost control in the final act of the match and the spirit of Gent must be commended. The visitors grabbed a late consolation through substitute Omri Gandelman, but the result was never in doubt.
GK: Filip Jorgensen – 6/10 – He won by a header, but the arrival of summer was safe with almost all actions. It was barely tried.
RB: Axel Disasi – 5/10 – He had a fight on his hands with Brown in the second half and was booked for bringing down the Englishman. The Chelsea captain tonight played the ball into the back which led to his second goal. I don’t know how it didn’t get on the scoreboard!
CB: Tosin Adarabioyo – 6/10 – A lot of Tosin’s work came in the half lane against a Gent half block as he tried to play through the lanes. Overall, he favored the safe route, typifying what was a fairly robust sample.
CB: Benoit Badiashile – 6/10 – He had his moments in the first half, but you have to admire the arrogance he brings with possession. He strokes his passes through the lines very well, and Badiashile also produced a couple of dominant defensive sequences.
LB: Renato Vega – 8/10 – Maresca’s utility man. Vega has some things to work on defensively, but is a ton of fun in possession and has been used almost as a diamond-shaped left midfielder. He headed home his first Chelsea goal early on.
CM: Cesare Casadei – 7/10 – He’s not a natural No.6 and was given a lot of responsibility on the ball in this one. He could have been more positive at times, but overall he was confident, even if he sometimes made a mistake in possession.
CM: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall – 7/10 – I didn’t think his role on the right side of the diamond would particularly suit him given his left-handedness, but he did end up on the scoresheet. He played with much more conviction after finding the back of the net after misplacing multiple passes in the opening period.
RM: Pedro Neto – 7/10 – He produced a pair of blistering runs in the first half and his perseverance was rewarded with a goal early in the second period.
AM: Joao Felix – 6/10 – Style without too much substance. This is the way of Joao Felix.
LM: Mykhaylo Mudryk – 7/10 – Chelsea’s most dangerous attacker of all time, and it was his delicious cross for Vega that got the ball rolling. He was constantly looking to penetrate from behind.
ST: Christopher Nkunku – 7/10 – He barely got a sniff until he crashed the third goal. Nkunku continues to produce on the output front.
Substitutes
SUB: Marc Guiu (80′ for Nkunku) – 5/10
SUB: Tyrique George (80′ for Neto) – 6/10
Subs not used: Robert Sanchez (GK), Lucas Bergstrom (GK), Marc Cucurella, Levi Colwill, Enzo Fernandez, Noni Madueke, Moises Caicedo, Kiano Dyer
manager
Enzo Maresca – 7/10 – Three points and everyone scheduled to start this weekend was rested. It was a successful night for the Chelsea manager, but conceding two goals will be a source of annoyance.
