Player ratings as Blues win first leg of Conference League play-off

FROM STAMFORD BRIDGE – Enzo Maresca earned his first win as Chelsea head coach with a 2-0 victory over Servette in the first leg of their UEFA Conference League play-off.

The Blues have the advantage heading into next week’s second leg in Switzerland, with a place in the group stages up for grabs.

A Christopher Nkunku penalty just after half-time and a thumping strike from Noni Madueke ensured the west Londoners were triumphant on Thursday night.

How the game unfolded

Chelsea should have been ahead inside 90 seconds. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall won possession high up the pitch and slipped through Marc Guiu, whose touch was enough to take him past goalkeeper Jeremy Frick, but he was off balance and fell to his knees before being able to prod home, with the ball trickling just past the post instead.

Remarkably, the hosts had to wait until the 28th minute to have a shot. Guiu held the ball up well for Mykhailo Mudryk to latch on to, but he dragged his effort wide of the near post.

Debutant Filip Jorgensen was forced into a save when Steve Rouiller was allowed a free header from a free-kick as Servette looked to sneak the opening goal.

Two minutes into the second half, Chelsea were awarded a penalty when Nkunku was felled by Frick. The Frenchman stepped up and slotted home the first goal of the Maresca era to put the hosts ahead and ease the tensions around Stamford Bridge.

Frick’s up-and-down evening continued moments later when Guiu blocked a kick from the back, and he seemingly had an empty net to tap into. However, Frick retreated and made an astonishing triple save to deny the young striker.

With a quarter of an hour remaining, Chelsea doubled their advantage. Enzo Fernandez’s pass around the outside of the Servette defence was met by Madueke, who made his way infield and fired into the roof of the net.

Servette weren’t about to leave the English capital quietly and saw a shot from Tiemoko Ouattara deflect onto the crossbar, before another free header, this time from Timothe Cognat, whistled over from the following corner.

But Chelsea got through six minutes of added time with their two-goal cushion in tact and are now on the cusp of a place in the group stage.

GK: Filip Jorgensen – 7/10 – Had to come up with some far-from-simple saves on his debut. The bar isn’t particularly high, but he did look more comfortable on the ball than Chelsea’s other goalkeepers.

RB: Axel Disasi – 6/10 – Maresca’s use of an…