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Chelsea have now lost just one of their last 15 home games in all competitions after kicking off their maiden UEFA Conference League (UECL) campaign with a 4-2 victory over KAA Gent at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea are used to the glamour of the UEFA Champions League but, following a year in the European wilderness last term, a return to any form of European competition is welcome.
Still, given the abundance of quality at his disposal in comparison to this year’s League Phase opponents, Enzo Maresca felt he could do without the services of the imperious Cole Palmer for the entire first stage of the competition. Joining him in stands here were Jadon Sancho, Nicolas Jackson, Moises Caicedo and a number of other first-team players, yet the Blues were still on top for the majority of the first period.
Admittedly, their first real chance didn’t fall their way until the 12th minute, but it ended up in the back of the net as Renato Veiga scored his first goal for the club by heading home Mykhaylo Mudryk’s cross to the back post. Until the half-hour mark, the visitors struggled to get out of their own half for an extended period, but they were then able to create a couple of opportunities to show they could cause problems.
First, Archie Brown shot straight at Filip Jorgensen when played through on goal before Andri Gudjohnsen, son of former Chelsea hero and two-time Premier League winner with the Blues Eidur, fired over the bar from inside the area. Following a first period that had, for the most part, been rather quiet, the beginning to the second was frantic.
Within 60 seconds of the restart, Pedro Neto doubled his team’s lead by hammering in from a tight angle and netting his second strike for the club in the process. However, Gent’s deficit was soon halved as an unmarked Tsuyoshi Watanabe headed Gudjohnsen’s cross to the back post beyond Jorgensen. Again, though, one of a plethora of Chelsea stars restored the two-goal lead as Christopher Nkunku, who had up until that point effectively been a passenger, struck through Gent goalkeeper Davy Roef from the edge of the box.
From then on, Gent were somewhat deflated and, before long, they were even further back when Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall also opened his Chelsea account by sliding under Roef. That effort ultimately allowed Maresca’s men to see out the remainder of the game with relative ease, although Omri Gandelman did bag a consolation late on.
The London outfit are overwhelming favourite to lift this trophy - which would make them the first club to win all of UEFA's major club competitions - and this was the perfect way to start their quest. Gent, meanwhile, will know this was always going to be an uphill challenge and will see the visit of Molde after the international break as a far more winnable fixture.
