Chelsea started their Europa Conference League league phase campaign with a 4-2 win against Gent on Thursday evening. , as expected, completely changed his starting XI following last weekend's 4-2 win over Brighton & Hove Albion.
The west London club started brightly against their Belgian opponents and . Chelsea were dominant from the off and had an opportunity through Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to double their lead but they did struggle to turn their possession into clear-cut chances after that.
Always needing a second goal to give themselves some breathing space, it arrived seconds after the interval as Pedro Neto collected Axel Disasi's pass to emphatically fire into the roof of the net. Chelsea's two-goal lead would only last a matter of minutes, though, as Tsuyoshi Watanabe took full advantage of having no Blues defenders around him to head home at the back post.
The hosts were to restore their two-goal cushion just after the hour mark with effort proving too powerful for Davy Roef in the Gent goal. Dewsbury-Hall then scored his first for the club not long after before Omri Gandelman reduced the deficit in stoppage time.
Here are five things we spotted in the game at Stamford Bridge:
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Rotation, rotation, rotationIt isn't just about a few changes here and there when it comes to the Chelsea team in the Europa Conference League. It is literally wholesale changes.
Due to the size of Maresca's squad and the level of players at his disposal, the Italian has the chance to rotate in Europe and give everyone sufficient playing time. Maresca has rotated heavily in the team's last three games and that is likely to be the case when Nottingham Forest visit the capital this weekend.
Firstly making 11 changes for the recent Carabao Cup tie against Barrow, only remained in the team for last Saturday's home game against Brighton & Hove Albion as ten alterations were made in total. The Chelsea boss was to make one more for Thursday's game against Gent as he rotated all 11 players and handed opportunities to players such as Veiga, and Cesare Casadei.
Mudryk impacthad another chance to make his case to Maresca with Premier League minutes extremely few and far between for the winger in 2024/25. Having a number of players ahead of him in the pecking order as things stand, .
Registering assists against Servette and Barrow already this season, the youngster added another one to his name after teeing up Veiga for the opener. Dewsbury-Hall had a big part to play in the goal following a fine ball to Mudryk, who in turn lifted an inch-perfect ball to the onrushing left-back at the far post to head across goal and into the far corner.
It was a delightful ball from the Chelsea ace and he perhaps could have had another assist to his name moments later when in a good position but his cross went straight into the arms of Roef when a couple of his teammates were charging into the six-yard box.
Dewsbury-Hall goal and Maresca reactionThe main man in Maresca's Leicester City team that won the Championship title last season, things are rather different for Dewsbury-Hall at Chelsea. , with the midfielder even left out of the squad for the win over Brighton due to the amount of players available to Maresca right now.
That is why Thursday's game against Gent was so important for him. Starting in midfield alongside Casadei, the summer addition looked to attack at every opportunity and he wasn't too far off scoring his first Chelsea goal in the opening stages.
Following some good play from Neto, Dewsbury-Hall brushed the side of the net with a first-time effort from just inside the box. His reaction said it all as he dropped to his knees and had his head in his hands.
He was quite clearly desperate to get off the mark for his new club and put himself in a position where he is once again a key figure in Maresca's team. The ex-Leicester City man did manage to get the goal he has been craving after latching onto a loose ball and firing under the goalkeeper on 70 minutes.
His celebration said it all and so did the reaction from Maresca, who could be seen jumping for joy and punching the air on the sidelines as soon as the ball hit the back of the net. The head coach certainly enjoyed the goal from his midfielder.
Neto thanks Disasiis another player who currently finds himself on the periphery of Maresca's first-choice Chelsea XI despite joining in a big-money move from Wolves this summer. Jadon Sancho has immediately forced his way into the Chelsea XI following his move from Manchester United, .
Getting a goal in the recent 5-0 win over Barrow in the FA Cup, the 24-year-old added another to his name with a brilliant finish against Gent after Disasi released him down the right seconds after the break. It was a fantastic chipped ball from the Chelsea captain on the night and Neto fully appreciated the play from the Frenchman.
Rather than running straight off to celebrate in front of the Chelsea fans in the Matthew Harding Stand, the winger immediately turned back, pointed to Disasi and jumped into his arms after making a beeline for him. The duo were soon joined by a number of teammates as they celebrated the goal. As good as the finish was from Neto, the pass from the defender was just as good.
Roles almost reversedFollowing that brilliant link-up between and Neto for Chelsea's second goal of the evening, the duo almost combined to perfection again as the team searched for a fifth of the night. This time the Portugal international was the architect as he swung in a wicked delivery from the right that looked destined to find the goal.
Some Chelsea fans actually thought that the ball had gone into the net along with Disasi, who was now lying on his back with his hands over his face. It was perhaps no surprise to see why the Frenchman covered his face as he somehow chested the ball the wrong side of the post from one-yard out.
It would have been a great way for both players to finish the night after doing so well together for Chelsea's second goal.
