Europa Conference League

Europa Conference League (141)

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall hailed Enzo Maresca as a "breath of fresh air" after breaking his Chelsea duck in their 4-2 victory over Gent in the Europa Conference League.

Midfielder Dewsbury-Hall followed Maresca from Leicester City to Stamford Bridge during the close season but has had to be patient in a Blues squad stacked with talent.

But he scored Chelsea's fourth on Thursday after Renato Veiga, Pedro Neto and Christopher Nkunku were all on target in the Blues' opening league-phase encounter.

He was one of the Blues' bright sparks, having four shots in the game, three of which were in the box, and scored his one big chance.

Speaking to TNT Sports after the game, Dewsbury-Hall spoke glowingly about his manager and loves the high standards at Chelsea.

"I'm over the moon. I've been waiting for that moment since joining the club, to show everyone what my qualities are," he said.

"Scoring the goal is an amazing feeling. I won't forget this night.

"I pride myself on working as hard as I can every day. I'd like to play more, but it's my duty to make sure the manager has a decision to make. I feel fresh.

"I've loved it. You come through the door and expectations are through the roof. The standards are so high. It's so nice to play with players on your wavelength - top, top players.

"It's about learning and evolving. That's literally what I'm here for.

"He [Enzo Maresca] is a breath of fresh air. I was taken aback by him last year. Everything he did was passionate and motivated. You can see the lads are buying into it."

Maresca appeared particularly enthused about Dewsbury-Hall's goal, celebrating with a jump when he netted.

The Italian said: "I know Kiernan very well. I know when you are the main player and then move to a big club it's not easy because you're not the main player. 

"Sometimes you struggle a bit at the beginning, so I was very happy for him."

Renato Veiga and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall each scored their first Chelsea goals in a cracking 4-2 victory over Gent in the Europa Conference League on Thursday.

Enzo Maresca decided to make wholesale changes in the Blues' opening match of the league phase of Europe's third-tier competition, but they were still a class above their Belgian opponents.

Full-back Veiga headed Chelsea into a 12th-minute lead after Mykhailo Mudryk stood up a brilliant cross from the right and Dewsbury-Hall fired into the side-netting when he ought to have scored soon after.

Despite their domination of the ball, it took the Blues until the 46th minute to double their lead when Pedro Neto took hold of Axel Disasi's long punt and fired into the roof of the goal.

Some slack Chelsea defending was punished when Tsuyoshi Watanabe headed in from the cross of Andri Gudjohnsen, son of Blues great Eidur.

Christopher Nkunku rifled home from just inside the area after Gent failed to clear their lines just after the hour and Dewsbury-Hall shot straight through the goalkeeper after Nkunku was tackled attempting to take a shot – with Omri Gandelman celebrating a late consolation for the visitors.


Data Debrief: Dewsbury-Hall stakes his Chelsea claim

This was a great chance for a few Chelsea players to stake their claim for more regular Premier League minutes and Dewsbury-Hall put in an industrious performance to do his chances no harm.

Signed from Leicester City in the last transfer window, the centre midfielder had four shots in total, three of which were in the box, and scored from his one big chance. He also had an impressive 91.2% pass accuracy.

Neto too had a very lively outing, creating five chances in total and finishing with a pass accuracy rate of 97%.

Cole Palmer was left out of Chelsea's Europa Conference League squad because he "needs to be protected", Blues head coach Enzo Maresca has confirmed.

The England international was the most notable exclusion from Maresca's 23-man party, with Wesley Fofana and Romeo Lavia were other players not included.

Palmer, who had more direct goal involvements (33) than any other player in the Premier League last season, has built on that momentum this term.

The 22-year-old became the first player in Premier League history to score four goals before half-time in a single game, with his quadruple during Saturday's 4-2 victory over Brighton.

And Maresca explained the reasoning behind Palmer's absence, ahead of Chelsea's Conference League opener against Gent at Stamford Bridge on Thursday.

"We played some games without Cole, but sure and for us, Cole is something extra that you need," he told reporters at his pre-match press conference.

"We also need to think a bit to protect some players. They need that. There is a reason behind it, and I think Cole needs to be protected."

Chelsea will be able to amend their squad when the league phase of the Conference League ends in January, meaning Palmer could be included for the knockout stages, should they make it that far.

The Blues will also face Panathinaikos, Noah, Heidenheim, Astana and Shamrock Rovers during the initial stage of the competition.

Cole Palmer has been left out of Chelsea's squad for the league phase of the Europa Conference League.

Palmer enjoyed a brilliant debut campaign at Stamford Bridge in 2023-24, registering more goal involvements than any other player in the Premier League (33, 22 goals, 11 assists).

However, his efforts were not enough to guide the Blues to Champions League or Europa League qualification, as they finished sixth before seeing Manchester United take England's final Europa League spot by winning the FA Cup.

Enzo Maresca's side came through a play-off tie with Servette to reach the new league phase of the Conference League, with their first match in the competition proper coming against Gent on October 3.

They will also face Panathinaikos, Noah, Heidenheim, Astana and Shamrock Rovers before the league phase concludes in December.

On Thursday, the Blues released their 23-man squad for the next stage of the competition, with Palmer the most notable player to be excluded.

Palmer has already provided four assists and scored one goal in Chelsea's first three Premier League games in 2024-25.

He is the first player to provide four or more assists at this stage of a top-flight campaign since Paul Pogba laid on five in Manchester United's first three games of 2021-22.

New signings Jadon Sancho, Joao Felix, Marc Guiu, Pedro Neto, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Renato Veiga, Tosin Adarabioyo and Filip Jorgensen are included, with Wesley Fofana and Romeo Lavia joining Palmer in missing out.

Chelsea will be able to add Palmer to their squad in January should they reach the knockout stages, as they bid to become the competition's second English victors, after West Ham in 2022-23.

Full squad: Robert Sanchez, Filip Jorgensen, Lucas Bergstrom; Axel Disasi, Marc Cucurella, Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Reece James, Malo Gusto, Renato Veiga; Enzo Fernandez, Noni Madueke, Carney Chukwuemeka, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Moises Caicedo, Cesare Casadei; Pedro Neto, Mykhailo Mudryk, Joao Felix, Nicolas Jackson, Christopher Nkunku, Jadon Sancho, Marc Guiu.

Christopher Nkunku's first-half penalty was enought to send Chelsea through to Friday's Europa Conference League draw despite a 2-1 second-leg defeat against Servette, going through 3-2 on aggregate. 

Nkunku's 14th-minute opener was cancelled out with goals either side of half-time from Jeremy Guillemenot and Enzo Crivelli, but the Blues were able to hold on to progress.

After a nervy start in Switzerland, Chelsea were awarded a spot-kick when Keigo Tsunemoto fouled Mykhailo Mudryk inside the box, with Nkunku stepping up to score from 12 yards as he did in the first leg.

But the hosts would draw level in the 32nd minute when Guillemenot was picked out by Dereck Kutesa before firing past Filip Jorgensen to level the game on the night.

Servette, though, won the game with just under 20 minutes to go. A header from Crivelli at the near post beat Jorgensen and gave the Swiss supporters hope of an upset.

Timothe Cognat almost sent the game into extra-time as his effort whistled past the post in the closing stages, with Enzo Maresca's side leaving Geneva a relieved group of players.

Data Debrief: Chelsea scrape through in Switzerland

The Blues are in the hat for Friday's Conference League draw, but they made difficult work of the encounter. 

Maresca's side created the better of the chances, with seven of their 18 shots on target, accumulating an expected goals (xG) total of 2.23 on the night. 

But they squandered some golden opportunities to make their life easier, missing five big chances as well as hitting the woodwork at the Stade de Geneve.

Enzo Maresca was pleased with Chelsea's win in their Europa Conference League play-off first leg but says they "played with fire" in the closing stages.

Christopher Nkunku and Noni Madueke both netted in the second half of their 2-0 victory, earning Maresca his first win in charge of the Blues.

However, it was almost a different story as Chelsea came under late pressure, with Jeremy Guillermenot squandering two chances in stoppage time to half the deficit for the Swiss side.

Despite seeing improvements from their Premier League defeat against Manchester City, Maresca says there is still a lot of work to do if they want to find some consistency.

"I was a bit worried because in the last 10 minutes, we played a little bit with fire because we could manage the game completely differently," he said after the game. "It was good that we didn't concede, but we can learn.

"We are learning how to manage the game. Keeping the ball is the correct intention at 2-0 up but where is not good, in our half.

"We need to do the same on the opposite side. It was important to win the game with nine changes. There were many good things."

With as big a squad as Chelsea's, this game was the perfect chance for Maresca to give more players minutes.

Mykhailo Mudryk's performance caused some frustration with the Italian as he struggled to make an impact, especially in a hesitant first half, but Maresca is keen to help him find his consistency.

"This is the mission, this is Mudryk, not only tonight but since he joined the club," he added.

"I think he had good moments but when he has the ball you don't know if you'll get one thing or another. It is consistency.

"We are going to try and help him to change. When he is in the final third, it is making the right decision. Most of his mistakes are about the choice."

There was also some cause for concern among Chelsea fans as Cole Palmer was seen holding his hamstring as he left the pitch, but Maresca brushed off any worries, claiming it is only a minor problem.

"Cole felt something but he looks fine. Hopefully, it is no problem, and he can be available for Sunday's game [at Wolves]," he said.

Christopher Nkunku and Noni Madueke's second-half goals gave Chelsea a 2-0 advantage over Servette in their Europa Conference League play-off tie.

The Blues put the disappointment of their Premier League defeat to Manchester City behind them, taking control of qualifying in the first leg at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea made a slow start to the game, with Gael Ondoua causing an early scare for Filip Jorgensen from a tight angle, though the goalkeeper was equal to it.

The Blues then stepped up the pace after the break – Nkunku darted in behind Servette's defence before being taken out by Jeremy Frick, and he made no mistake with the resulting penalty, emphatically firing it into the back of the net.

Marc Guiu should have doubled their lead moments later, picking Frick's pocket outside the box, but the goalkeeper recovered brilliantly to race back and smother both attempts by the Spaniard, who should have done better.

Madueke then made sure of the win with 14 minutes left on the clock, latching onto Enzo Fernandez's throughball before rifling his shot over Frick and into the roof of the net. 

Jeremy Guillermenot should have halved the deficit in stoppage time but lifted his volley over the bar from point-blank range before Jorgensen denied him again with the last touch of the game.

Data Debrief: Blues up and running

Chelsea look like they are starting to gel in the final third, after struggling to do so in their opening league game.

They had seven shots on target out of 14, both more than they managed last Sunday, generating 1.87 expected goals, and had 56 final third entries.

There is still work to do at the back though, as they gave up 22 shots from the Swiss side, but Enzo Maresca will still take confidence from their clean sheet. 

Fiorentina have left winger Nico Gonzalez out of their squad for Thursday's Europa Conference League clash with Puskas Akademia amid suggestions he is close to joining Juventus.

Gonzalez is reportedly a top target for new Juve head coach Thiago Motta, with the Bianconeri expected to sell Federico Chiesa and bring in another wide player.

The Argentina international joined Fiorentina in 2021 and has become one of their foremost attacking threats, contributing 12 goals and two assists in 29 league appearances last term.

However, he was left out by new boss Raffaele Palladino as Fiorentina started their Serie A campaign with a 1-1 draw at Parma last week.

He will also play no part when they host Hungarian side Puskas Akademia at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in the first leg of their play-off tie.

La Gazzetta dello Sport have reported Juventus submitted an improved bid of €32million for Gonzalez on Wednesday, with the 26-year-old believed to be keen on the move.

 

Chelsea have been drawn to face Braga or Servette in the Europa Conference League play-off round later this month.

The Blues will feature in UEFA's third-tier club competition in their first season under Enzo Maresca, after Manchester United's FA Cup triumph saw them take England's final Europa League place.

Portuguese side Braga and Swiss Super League outfit Servette face off in the first leg of their Europa League third qualifying round tie on Thursday, with the second leg taking place on August 15.

The loser of that tie will drop into the Conference League and face Chelsea for a spot in the group stage of that competition.

Stamford Bridge will host the first leg of that tie on August 22, with the return fixture taking place one week later.

Meanwhile, Rangers will face either Salzburg or FC Twente in the Champions League play-off round if they beat Dynamo Kyiv in the third qualifying round.

Philippe Clement's men go to Poland for the first leg of that tie on Tuesday, with Hampden Park hosting the second leg next week, due to delays in getting Ibrox ready for the new campaign. 

Vincenzo Italiano says Fiorentina "really believed we could have a different ending", after La Viola suffered Europa Conference League final heartbreak for the second year running.

Italiano's side were beaten by West Ham in last year's showpiece, with Jarrod Bowen snatching a last-gasp winner in Prague.

Fiorentina suffered a similar fate 12 months later, as Ayoub El Kaabi struck four minutes before the end of extra time to give Olympiacos their first title in a major European competition.

La Viola embarked on a club record 13-match unbeaten run to reach their second successive Europa Conference League final.

But Italiano, who will depart the club at the end of the season, admitted it counted for nothing, with his side once again left to wonder what might have been.

"We really believed this time. It hurts," he told Sky Sports Italia. "It's disappointing for the second time.

"It's disappointing because again we had many situations to score goals, but the players did everything they could. It hurts to see my players cry. We really believed this time we could have a different epilogue to this campaign.

"Losing hurts; going all the way for two years running is something good, but naturally you have to lift a trophy, and we didn't manage it.

"The journey feels ruined when you have to watch the others lift the silverware. At this moment, I feel too bitter, disappointed, let down, because I really believed we could have a different ending."

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