Chelsea secured their first victory under new manager Enzo Maresca with a 2-0 victory over Servette in their UEFA Conference League play-off round first leg on Thursday.
The hosts struggled to break down their opponents in the first half at Stamford Bridge in London before Christopher Nkunku put them in front with a 50th-minute penalty, just his fourth goal for the club.
Marc Guiu somehow contrived to miss an open goal a few minutes later, but Noni Madueke moved Chelsea closer to a group-stage place ahead of next week’s second leg by firing home from Enzo Fernandez’s pass.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Tiemoko Ouattara almost pulled one back for Swiss side Servette late on when his deflected strike hit the crossbar.
It was a welcome win for Chelsea after losing 2-0 in Maresca’s debut game against Manchester City on Sunday last week.
The Blues are making their return to European competition after finishing sixth in the English Premier League last season under Mauricio Pochettino.
Photo: Reuters
“We are learning how to manage the game,” said Maresca, who led Leicester to promotion to the Premier League last season.
“It was important to win the game with nine changes. There were many good thing,” he added.
However, there was a scare for Chelsea, as key player Cole Palmer went down the dug-out holding the back of his leg at full-time after coming on as a second-half substitute.
“Cole felt something but he looks fine. Hopefully it is no problem and he can be available for Sunday’s game [against Wolves],” Maresca said.
Elsewhere, Greek club Panathinaikos lost 2-1 against 10-man Racing Club de Lens in their first leg, with Wesley Said scoring what proved to be the winner for the Ligue 1 side.
Former Spain and Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea endured a difficult debut as Fiorentina were held to a 3-3 home draw by Hungary’s Puskas Akademia.
Irish club St Patrick’s kept their hopes of qualifying for the group stage of a European tournament for the first time alive, drawing 0-0 with Istanbul Basaksehir.
In the Europa League playoffs, Dutch giants Ajax thrashed Jagiellonia 4-1 in Poland, with English forward Chuba Akpom scoring a hat-trick.
Turkey’s Besiktas blew a 3-1 lead to draw 3-3 with Lugano in Switzerland, while Scottish outfit Hearts lost 1-0 at Viktoria Plzen.
Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev was the only athlete to “beat” a world record on Sunday at the Enhanced Games, winning the men’s 50m freestyle at the divisive competition where athletes were free to take performance-enhancing substances. His time of 20.81 seconds — which is not considered official — came in the final event of the night in Las Vegas, sparing the blushes of organizers who made claims that multiple world records would be surpassed due to a sophisticated doping regime. Gkolomeev, who was wearing a synthetic “supersuit” long banned at events such as the Olympics, outpaced Australia’s Cameron McEvoy’s 20.88 set in
Fred Kerley is competing unaugmented against drug-fuelled athletes at this weekend’s Enhanced Games and still hopes to race in the 2028 Olympics, the suspended former 100m world champion said on Friday. Arguably the biggest name at the divisive event in Las Vegas, where doping is permitted, the US sprinter said he had chosen not to take any of the banned substances including testosterone and steroids that his competitors have been using. “I don’t need it. God gave me fast feet for a reason. And I’m here to showcase my talent,” Kerley said. Kerley last September became the first US competitor and first track
VICTORY ABROAD: The team took home a fistful of medals and secured spots for the autumn’s Asian Games, scheduled for September in Nagoya Taiwan’s women’s team captured the overall title at the Asian Taekwondo Championships in Mongolia on Sunday, finishing with two golds, one silver and one bronze medal. The strong showing, led by gold medalists Wang Chieh-ling and Chang Jui-en secured the full quota of available spots for Taiwan at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, in September. Wang opened Taiwan’s medal run by winning gold in the women’s under-46kg class on Thursday, the first day of competition. Liu Yu-yun later earned a silver in the under-49kg class. On the final day on Sunday, Chang won Taiwan’s second gold medal in the under-62kg event, and
The manager of the Yomiuri Giants, one of Japan’s most popular baseball teams, resigned yesterday after he was arrested for allegedly physically attacking his teenage daughter. Shinnosuke Abe allegedly grabbed the 18-year-old and forced her to the floor at their home in central Tokyo on Monday evening, reported national broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News, citing unnamed police sources. “Leaving like this really means I’m causing you a lot of trouble, and I feel truly sorry about that,” Abe told a hastily arranged news conference, his eyes red with tears. The former star catcher, who is among baseball-obsessed Japan’s most recognized sports figures,
RSS