UEFA Conference League Chelsea Vs FC Copenhagen 1st Leg

Cold as Chelsea have gone in the recent months, but they manage to salvage a win at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Chelsea are the favourites to win the UEFA Conference League and they are enroute to do so. They managed to win the game 2-1 against FC Copenhagen in the 1st leg with the 2nd leg to be played at Stamford Bridge. 

This was Cole Palmer’s and Reece James’ first game in the competition as they were not registered for the league phase of the competition. The gigantic 2nd squad was handed the responsibility to see off the league phase. They did that with flying colours as they finished top in the League table and Marc Guiu scored 6 goals and Christopher Nkunku scored 5 goals in 6 matches. 

The Round of 16 has seen more 1st team players get into the team for Chelsea as the competition has entered the knockout phase.

Chelsea looked more like it in the 2nd half

The 1st half saw very few chances as there were mistakes happening from both the sides and Chelsea were happy to keep the possession and play around without any real intent to attack the Copenhagen goal. The only highlight was Malo Gusto was replaced by Marc Cucurella in the 25th minute and the Spaniard was as lively as he usually is.

Enzo Maresca would have had a great speech ready for the half time team talk as Chelsea looked more like it in the 2nd half, The first goal came in the 1st minute after the restart and was a low shot from outside the box from Reece James. 

The Captain announced himself to the Conference League in style, playing in a newer role in the midfield, he has struggled with the continuous injury situation but has looked good for a while now. 

The Chelsea attack finally found rhythm and it was only a matter of time the 2nd goal came. In the 65th minute, Enzo Fernandez scored the 2nd goal after a beautiful cut-back from T George. 

Chelsea also conceded from a set-piece with Gabriel Pereira scoring a beautiful header in the 79th minute. The defender kept the tie alive with the next leg to be played in Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea Squad

1st Team– Sanchez(gk); Chalobah, Tosin, Badiashile, Gusto; James(c), Caicedo; Dewsbury-Hall, Palmer, George; Mheuka

Substitutes: Jorgensen, Bergstrom, Acheampong, Colwill, Cucurella, Fernandez, Amougou, Neto, Sancho, Nkunku

FC Copenhagen Squad

1st Team- Ramaj(gk); Diks, Gabriel, Hatzidiakos, Claesson(c); Froholdt, Chiakha, Gocholeishvili; Meling, Achouri, Clem

Substitutes: Trott, Garananga, Mattsson, Huescas, Lopez, Robert, Rúnarsson, Falk, Németh