Chelsea 4-2 Gent (Veiga 12′, Neto 46′, Nkunku 63′, Dewsbury-Hall 70’| Watanabe 50′, Gandelman 90′)
STAMFORD BRIDGE — As Christopher Nkunku launched Chelsea’s third goal through a Renaissance fresco of flailing bodies, Stamford Bridge morphed into a Coldplay concert.
30,000 fans in blue held their phones torches to the sky, united by an oddly beautiful idea, and took a deep breath.
“Who are ya, who are ya!”
The dancing horde of Gent fans, who began singing 30 minutes before kick-off and didn’t stop, were reprimanded for having the temerity to celebrate their opening goal with a light show of their own. For all the gags about Chelsea’s slide into Europe’s third tier, you couldn’t say the home fans weren’t buying into the spirit of the Conference League.
The two-time Champions League winners are having fun again, with five consecutive wins cause for genuine optimism.
And given the last two years have been quite so draining and alienating and agonising, every night like this is a personal session of footballing therapy, a reminder this is supposed to be enjoyable. It may not have been hugely memorable, but it wasn’t complicated. That’ll do.
Enzo Maresca will undoubtedly find plenty to criticise in the performance, often sloppy and lackadaisical, but equally functional and without great trepidation. The first 30 minutes had the air of an exhibition game, with Chelsea afforded a degree of respect their name commands but their players largely didn’t.
Fading after a positive start, Mykhailo Mudryk took an occasional break from standing on the touchline like a poorly-disguised Hollywood henchman to produce a slick first-time cross from the right wing for Renato Veiga’s first Chelsea goal.
Pedro Neto jolted about like an electric shock, a nuisance capped off by scoring a sweet half-volley just 39 seconds after half-time.
Nkunku was largely absent bar his goal, while this was Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s best performance since his move, capped off by scoring a sharp fourth. Conceding twice for the second consecutive game was an aide-memoire there’s still a lot of defensive work to do.
But overall, this was a sign that Europe’s third tier will provide opportunity for both fans and players to enjoy themselves, an odyssey from Astana to Armenia for the proliferation and preservation of vibes. If Uefa’s seeding holds any weight, this could well be Chelsea’s most difficult game of the entire competition.
Fans are right to believe anything but a perfect run to the trophy is failure given Chelsea spent more this summer than every other Conference League club combined, but that’s missing a key point – sometimes this is allowed to be fun. The destination is a long way away. Just enjoy the journey for now.
