Chelsea made hard work of their progression to the Conference League semi-finals, falling to a 2-1 defeat at home to Legia Warsaw on Thursday but still winning the tie on aggregate. With a three-goal advantage from the first leg, Enzo Maresca's side were expected to breeze through to the next round but, despite naming several of his big names in the starting lineup, Chelsea never looked comfortable at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues began the game with a burst of activity, and really could’ve scored at least once in the first five minutes, but neither Christopher Nkunku nor Cole Palmer could come up with the telling touch. Just as they looked to settle in for some sustained pressure, a bit of rash goalkeeping from Filip Jorgensen gifted a penalty to Legia against the run of play. Tomáš Pekhart won and duly converted the penalty, despite taking it quite poorly and Jorgensen getting both hands to it.
Following the penalty, Chelsea's confidence appeared to crumble, and it took them a good 20 minutes to rediscover their rhythm and produce some semi-useful football. An incisive foray forward on the flank got them level not long after, with Jadon Sancho setting up Marc Cucurella for a tap-in. Cucurella then had a second goal called back for offside, and they went into halftime all even at 1-1.
However, some horrendous defending on a corner made things interesting again, and not in a good way, with Legia going back ahead on the night just minutes into the second period as Steve Kapuadi nodded home. A couple of substitutions re-injected some pace and endeavor into Chelsea's game, but Legia’s goalkeeper Vladan Kovacevic made a few good saves to deny them. Tyrique George also saw an effort cleared off the line.
Meanwhile, at the other end, Jorgensen nearly gave away another penalty, but the referees decided it was Luquinhas who had initiated the contact. Chelsea then had a second goal ruled out for offside, again rightly called, before things settled back down for a fairly tame final 10-15 minutes. Both sides had a couple of sights at goal, but it never really looked like another goal would happen for either team.
Despite the defeat, Chelsea progressed to the semi-finals of the UEFA Conference League, winning 4-2 on aggregate. The club-record winning run in European competitions ended at nine, marking their first defeat since the second leg of the qualifier against Servette. Chelsea will face the winners of the Rapid Vienna vs. Djurgarden match in the semi-finals on May 1 and May 8.
Chelsea's player ratings reflected the mixed performance on the night. Filip Jorgensen received a 6.0/10 for his efforts, while Marc Cucurella earned the highest rating of 7.8/10 after scoring the equalizer. The match saw the fans express their frustration, with some comments highlighting a lack of urgency and creativity from the team. "Overpaid, overrated and no idea," one supporter lamented, while another remarked, "Poor again - no urgency and happy to pass sideways and backwards all day."
Looking ahead, Chelsea will next face Fulham away on Sunday, April 20, 2025. The pressure will be on Maresca and his squad to bounce back from this disappointing display and regain the confidence of their supporters as they continue their campaign in the Premier League.
