CHELSEA are Europa Conference League semi-finalists – but they made hard work of it at home to Legia Warsaw as they suffered defeat in the competition for the first time.
It took just ten minutes for the deadlock to be broken when Filip Jorgensen brought down Tomas Pekhart inside the box – and the Czech forward slotted his penalty into the bottom right corner.
With Chelsea behind, they needed someone to step up and it was Marcos Alonso re-born who did so, in Marc Cucurella.
The Spanish full-back converted a Jadon Sancho square ball to level the scoring, before being denied a second goal just moments later by the offside flag.
If the Warsaw fans hadn’t already stolen the attention of everyone at Stamford Bridge by taking their shirts off, they certainly did so in the second half, when they lit flares in celebration of their side’s second goal.
It was Steve Kapuadi who capitalised on more questionable Chelsea defending to put his side 2-1 up on the night and set the corner of the Shed End alight, much to the frustration of Enzo Maresca.
The Chelsea fans had one more moment of temporary joy, when Tyrique George finished off a Noni Madueke ball across the box, only for the hosts to be denied by the offside flag once again.
They’ll look to put this one behind them, but at least they’re into the semi-finals.
Here’s how SunSport’s Lloyd Canfield rated the players…
Filip Jorgensen – 1
Anxiety personified.
Gave away a penalty after just ten minutes which saw Legia Warsaw take the lead and give them belief that they could make a shock comeback at Stamford Bridge.
The Dane in goal just looked completely void of confidence, missed multiple crosses and struggled all around.
At least he’s decent at passing out the back *rolls eyes*…
Josh Acheampong – 4
Was caught on the ball on a few occasions, and didn’t look entirely comfortable in this one.
He did still make some good blocks for his side though, with some important tackles too.
A youngster who undeniably has a great amount of talent, this game will be a good learning experience for him.
Tosin Adarabioyo – 4
Tosin has been a leader at Stamford Bridge this season, and a key part in a lot of their good performances in this competition especially.
Tonight however wasn’t his finest night, as he was caught out of position by the ball that led to the penalty.
He didn’t have a real howler, but with two goals conceded it’s hard to give him higher than average.
Benoit Badiashile – 4
Not the performance he would’ve wanted in what was his 50th appearance for Chelsea.
Was well advanced up the pitch for Legia Warsaw’s second goal, and left his defensive line vulnerable when the Polish side grabbed their second and eventual winner.
Marc Cucurella – 8
I am from here on re-naming Marc Cucurella El Pinguino, in honour of how often we are seeing his penguin celebration this season.
He’s enjoying a fantastic season, and kept his name in the running for Chelsea’s player of the season with another goal in his most prolific campaign to date.
A left-back one minute, and a centre-forward the next, he arrived late in the box once more to finish Sancho’s cross and equalise, before having a second goal disallowed for offside.
The best player on the pitch in blue, again.
Reece James (C) – 5
Maresca’s insistence on playing Reece James in midfield continued tonight, after he was rested entirely in the draw with Ipswich.
For my money, he is still best utilised in the right-back role where he is able to bomb forward and use his attacking prowess and strength to his advantage.
Wasn’t bad in midfield by any means, but didn’t stamp his authority on the game as he has done previously.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall – 6
Kept up a decent run of form in this competition with another solid performance tonight in midfield.
KDH was comfortable in possession and looked after the ball, while also working hard off it to win possession for his side on a few occasions.
Jadon Sancho – 7
With a point to prove before the end of the season, Sancho was back on the right wing for Chelsea tonight after his wonder strike against Ipswich from the left-hand side of the box.
He played a vital role in Chelsea’s equaliser, beating his man and squaring a perfect ball across the box for Cucurella to tap home.
Worked really hard throughout, doing his defensive duties well too.
Cole Palmer – 3
If this game took place in the first half of the season, Cole Palmer would’ve had two goals in the opening five minutes…
The curious case of Cole in 2025 is one that I have studied up close this year, and after being a shock starter in this game, it should have been the perfect chance for him to end his barren run.
He picked up a knock early on, but still had chances and just cannot get the ball in the back of the net at the moment.
He is really struggling out there right now, which is hard to see for a player with so much undeniable quality.
Christopher Nkunku – 2
One of the most frustrating players I have seen in a Chelsea shirt.
It is bizarre how a player can go from genuinely looking like a star destined for the heights of football for RB Leipzig, to so lacklustre in blue.
The Frenchman has so, so much talent, but just doesn’t even look bothered about using it with the form he’s in at the moment – he looks worlds away from the player we saw in pre-season.
If you gave most fans a choice between him and Timo Werner at the moment, they would probably choose the latter.
Nicolas Jackson – 2
Utterly toothless in the first half and didn’t even look like scoring when he was on the pitch.
Was hooked at half-time and replaced by Tyrique George as Palmer moved into the striker position.
This should have been a game for him to build his confidence after returning from injury, but if anything it would’ve done some damage to him in that aspect.
SUBS
Tyrique George (for Jackson, HT) – 6
George is surely deserving of another start in this competition by now.
He was denied a goal by the offside flag, but looked generally better than most of his peers when he came on at half-time.
He was a little hasty at times with the ball at his feet around the edge of the box, but you can’t blame him at least for trying to score.
Malo Gusto (for Cucurella, 57) – 5
Played in the pivot in midfield for the most part, alongside Reece James in an experiment that didn’t really work.
Cucurella was far better when he was on the pitch but it was the right decision for Maresca to take him off in the grand scheme of things as they will need him for Fulham away at the weekend.
Noni Madueke (for Palmer, 57) – 6
Was easily Chelsea’s most threatening player after coming off the bench.
Took plenty of shots, and should be applauded for that despite none of them hitting the back of the net tonight – at least he injected some energy into his side.
Was unfortunate not to get an assist as his run was slightly offside before he squared the ball for George who tapped into an empty net.
Pedro Neto (for Sancho, 83) – 5
Didn’t have enough time to make a real impact on the game, and didn’t have many touches at all.
Read the full article here
