Unconvincing Chelsea were booed off after limping into the Conference League semi-finals 4-2 on aggregate despite a 2-1 defeat to Legia Warsaw at Stamford Bridge.
Much like Sunday’s draw with Ipswich, the Blues started brightly on home soil before falling behind to the visitors’ first attack of the night, with Tomas Pekhart beating Filip Jorgensen from 12 yards after the goalkeeper had brought him down inside the area.
Legia head coach Goncalo Feio had said his side would dare to dream of an unlikely comeback if they took the lead in London.
Those fantasies almost moved a step closer to reality as Ryoya Morishita narrowly missed the far post with a golden chance to add a second soon after when played in behind.
Having fielded questions about fan frustrations in his pre-match press conference, Enzo Maresca again was subjected to murmurs of discontent until Marc Cucurella, Chelsea’s top Premier League scorer in 2025, came to the rescue again before half-time.
The left-back netted his fourth goal of the calendar year by tapping home Jadon Sancho’s cross to relieve the growing angst around Stamford Bridge.
But the Blues would again be frustrated after the break, when Claude Goncalves’ half-volley from a corner was bundled home from close-range by Steve Kapuadi, to again give Legia a glimmer of hope.
They may rue referee Alejandro Hernandez’s decision not to award them a second penalty of the night soon after, when Jorgensen again appeared to clean out Luquinhas after spilling a cross – though VAR Guillermo Cuadra was similarly unconvinced.
That left Chelsea to see out their aggregate victory in relative comfort, despite an unconvincing performance on the night, with more boos from the stands at the final whistle following a second unconvincing home performance in four days.
The Blues will face one of Djurgardens or Rapid Vienna in the semi-finals, with the two legs played on May 1 and May 8.
More to follow…
