Hello and welcome to football.london for live coverage of Chelsea's Conference League quarter-final first-leg tie away at Legia Warsaw this evening.
The Blues, who are strong favourites to get their hands on the European trophy for the first time in the club's history, will be looking to cement a first-leg advantage in Poland ahead of next week's decisive match at Stamford Bridge. Enzo Maresca has made at the very least six changes in every Conference League match to date and we can expect more of the same tonight at the Marshall Jozef Pilsudski's Municipal Stadium.
A few days after the goalless stalemate at Brentford, Maresca has had a bit of time to work with his players before jetting off to Poland yesterday (Wednesday). However, there will be less time between this evening's match and the Premier League meeting with Ipswich Town on Sunday afternoon, so it will be interesting to see what the head coach does regarding his team selection.
That should drop at around 4:45pm UK time, with kick-off an hour later at 5:45pm. You can follow all of the pre-match build-up, live coverage of the game itself and the reaction afterwards right here with Bobby Vincent in Warsaw for us.
Key Events
FULL-TIME
Chelsea have one foot in the semi-final of the Conference League. Straightforward in the end. Three-nil win after a poor first-half was rectified with a great performance in the second period. Half of the job (and perhaps a bit more) done.
Goal! Legia Warsaw 0-3 Chelsea (Madueke)
The missed penalty doesn't matter! Madueke grabs his second goal of the game. A peach of a cross from Sancho and a tap in for Madueke.
Close!
Close to three. Sancho beats his man but cannot beat the goalkeeper. Good effort.
Goal! Legia Warsaw 0-2 Chelsea (Madueke)
Madueke makes it two! Great composure from Sancho to pick out the winger inside the box and it's a top finish.
Goal! Legia Warsaw 0-1 Chelsea (George)
Chelsea have the advantage and it's a first senior goal for Tyrique George! James' shot is saved but the ball falls to George, who tucks the ball into the back of the net. The perfect start to the second period.
Half-time Chelsea ratings
Filip Jorgensen - 6
Josh Acheampong - 7
Tosin Adarabioyo - 6
Benoit Badiashile - 6
Malo Gusto - 6
Reece James - 6
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall - 7
Tyrique George - 5
Cole Palmer - 5
Jadon Sancho - 5
Christopher Nkunku - 4
What a save!
Great save from Tobiasz to deny Dewsbury-Hall from the edge of the box. His left-footed strike was curling in after Palmer's shot was blocked. Chelsea's best chance yet!
Legia chance
Legia counter and Morishita strikes it but it is well wide of Jorgensen's post. Let off for Chelsea.
Missing something
As has been the case in the last few games, something is missing for Chelsea in attack. Plenty of the ball, as you would expect, but nothing in the way of chances just yet.
Palmer concern
Palmer is moving very gingerly. He is going to continue but he looks in some discomfort.
Early possession
Legia started on the front foot with back-to-back corners but Chelsea dealt with the threat. The Blues now, smartly, are keeping the ball and trying to take the sting out of the game.
'Palmer will get back to his best soon'
Alan Shearer believes it’s only a matter of time before Cole Palmer gets back to his best for Chelsea.
Speaking to Betfair, Shearer said:
Cole Palmer is human - he's not a robot and you go through bad spells and you find out a bit more about yourself as a footballer.
Ever since he's been in that Chelsea shirt he's been nothing but phenomenal, but he's having a dry spell. That's my attitude towards it - he's too good a player for it to continue.
It's only a matter of time before he gets a goal, or an assist, or hits top note again. I'm not worried at all - I just think that it is what it is, it's the life of a footballer unfortunately.
You have good times, and you've got to get through and be measured when the bad times come along, and he's going through a tough spell right now - that's football.
It's what happens - he's not a centre-forward but he's a forward thinking player who loves to score goals and has made it look ridiculously easy.
He'll get through it - when he gets one goal, all of a sudden he'll feel amazing and that's what happens. He'll get one and the rest will follow, you watch.
Teams are in
The two sides have now headed down the tunnel as we approach kick-off. It's getting louder and louder with every passing minute.
Team news hint
Jadon Sancho warming up on the right with Tyrique George on the other side. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall alongside Cole Palmer as a No.10, as we expected.
Warm-ups
A chilly one in Warsaw as the players look to get themselves warm with around 25 minutes until kick-off. Chelsea currently doing some passing drills, while the substitutes are on the other side of the pitch, doing a running exercise.
A sneak peak at Chelsea's dressing room
Back in the side
A rare Conference League start for Cole Palmer, just his second in the tournament, in fact. After being left on the bench against Brentford at the weekend, the 22-year-old has returned to the team.
Fancy a bet?
Legia Warsaw vs Chelsea
Legia Warsaw - 5/1
Draw - 11/4
Chelsea - 2/5
Outright Winner 2024/25
Chelsea - 8/15
Betis - 4/1
Fiorentina - 6/1
Jagiellonia Bialystok - 14/1
Rapid Vienna - 14/1
Legia Warsaw - 25/1
Djurgardens IF - 40/1
NK Celje - 80/1
TEAM NEWS
Chelsea XI vs Legia Warsaw: Jorgensen; Acheampong, Tosin, Badiashile, Gusto; James, Dewsbury-Hall, Sancho, Palmer, George; Nkunku.
Chelsea subs: Sanchez, Cucurella, Colwill, Neto, Fernandez, Madueke, Jackson, Chalobah, Caicedo, Amougou, Rak-Sakyi, Mheuka.
Djordje Petrovic praise
Djordje Petrovic could become the number one goalkeeper at Chelsea after a strong season on loan at Strasbourg, according to former Blues defender Frank Leboeuf.
Speaking to football.london, via BetVictor, Leboeuf was asked if Petrovic could be Chelsea's number one next season. "That could happen, definitely," he said.
"I think that Sanchez is doing good for the past two, three games so there are ups and downs. It's all about confidence, trust from your teammates as well and the coach, especially for goalkeepers. But Petrovic has a bright future, for sure. We can feel [it].
"It's what it is with goalkeepers. I used to be a centre-back and what you need to feel is that your goalkeeper feels invincible and that's very important for you because you can take any risk. You know that he's gonna back you up and that's very clear for me that Petrovic projects that kind of feeling for defenders, so it's always a plus.
"I played with very good goalkeepers like Fabian Barthez, for example, [and] you could feel that even if you make a mistake you have somebody behind you who’s going to save you, so Petrovic seems to have that. Again, we'll have to wait and again it's one thing to adapt your life and your lifestyle at Strasbourg and it's another thing when you are at Chelsea. Because if you make one mistake the world's gonna see it when you are Chelsea. When you are at Strasbourg, you know, you can escape at some points if it’s not an important game."
'Andrey Santos can be one of the best'
Chelsea youngster Andrey Santos has been told he has all the attributes to become one of the best players in the world.
The 20-year-old is currently thriving at French side Strasbourg, where he has scored 10 goals and assisted a further three in 28 appearances. Frank Leboeuf, who played for both Chelsea and Strasbourg during his illustrious career, has watched Santos closely this season and believes he has an extremely bright future.
Speaking to football.london, via BetVictor, Leboeuf said: "[He's had] a very, very encouraging start in his career. You can feel the potential and you can feel that the guy has a promising future.
"The problem in football is about consistency. So, it's hard to make a statement after, let's say, six months. We'll have to wait until maybe the next season or maybe the season after to say that Andrey Santos is a great player and he deserves to play for the biggest clubs. And maybe sign for Chelsea or be at Chelsea.
"So, all the lights are green for him. We can feel the confidence that he has in his football, the way that he enjoys it. That's the most important thing, I think. He's in the right club right now because Strasbourg is very much a family club. It's another world when you sign for Chelsea or when you sign for Arsenal or any other big club in the world.
"You discover a bigger competition between the players, bigger expectations from the fans and the media. So it's good for him to start with Strasbourg. The fans are unbelievably nice, crazy and they love their club and they're ready to forgive anything from any players.
"So, it's a perfect atmosphere to start your career. I went there and it was great. You get the confidence to make sure when you're going to sign for another club, you're going to be ready to compete."
Asked whether he thinks Santos has what it takes to become a regular first-team player for Chelsea next season, Leboeuf said: "Yeah, definitely. Because we can feel that he has the sniff when he has to score goals, when he has to position himself. He knows exactly what to do.
"Technically, he has very good abilities and we can feel the body is there. The strength, the physical aspect of the game is not an issue for him.
"So really he has everything to become one of the best players in Europe or maybe in the world, but it's really up to him. Again, making a statement right now, having expectations from him or for him, it's too soon really. It will give too much pressure on him.
"He’s just started. I know we're living in a dictator of emergency nowadays, but we'll have to be a little bit patient with him, like with all young players. And Chelsea is the best example of the patience we need to have."
