Chelsea have one foot in the Europa Conference League group stage after beating Servette 2-0 in Thursday’s play-off first leg.
Christopher Nkunku’s penalty and Noni Madueke’s second sealed victory after an underwhelming first half left fans and Enzo Maresca furious.
Express Sport runs through the talking points from Stamford Bridge, where supporters witnessed the first win of the Maresca era.
Mudryk blows audition
Mykhaylo Mudryk was lucky to emerge for the second half after a woeful first-half display that left his head coach seething.
Maresca was spotted exploding in rage in his technical area throughout a dismal first-half performance from his side, and the £89million winger struggled in particular.
The Italian looked to be losing patience with Mudryk, who wasted multiple Chelsea attacks through indecisiveness on the ball and didn’t appear to understand when or where to press the Swiss visitors.
He was an unused substitute in Sunday’s Premier League opener against Manchester City and will likely return to the bench at Wolves unless he loses his place to another member of Maresca’s bloated squad.
Chelsea fans make pressure clear
Chelsea left the pitch at half-time to a chorus of boos from the Stamford Bridge crowd. At that point, Servette had taken 10 shots to the hosts’ four and looked the better side.
Maresca couldn’t have afforded a negative result in west London after his reign started in a 2-0 defeat to City last weekend.
And the home crowd made sure he was aware of that ahead of a crucial second half, in which Chelsea were improved but still unconvincing.
Marc Guiu – who has taken Raheem Sterling’s place in the attacking pecking order – should’ve calmed the nerves after forcing a goalkeeper mistake through his pressing but missed an open goal. Moments like that will always bring Maresca’s treatment of Sterling into debate.
Jorgensen stakes his claim
Filip Jorgensen watched Robert Sanchez start against City after joining Chelsea in a £21m deal from Villarreal this summer. Those fans who questioned the decision will be even louder now.
His performance, which denied Servette causing quite the upset, has left Maresca with a major dilemma ahead of the trip to Wolves on Sunday.
Jorgensen produced five saves, three of which denied shots from inside the box, and maintained a 94 per cent pass accuracy.
He completed three of his five attempted long balls and displayed impressive command of his area.
Maresca flexes his muscles
It may have been a play-off match for Europe’s third-tier competition, but Servette may have faced the most expensive squad in football history.
Maresca’s 21-player squad cost a staggering £834m, with the bench alone being worth an eye-watering £382m.
To put that into perspective… Servette’s club record signing is Eric Hassli. He joined for £849,000 in 2004.
You can probably forgive the boos from unsatisfied supporters at the break. And even in victory, Maresca has an almighty job on his hands.
