Chelsea had a successful outing against Legia Warsaw in Poland. They secured a 3-0 win in the first leg of the UEFA Conference League quarter-final. A convincing result like this puts them firmly in control and with one foot in the semi-final of the competition. Here are the positives and negatives from the match.
Positives
1. Second-half transformation
After an underwhelming first-half performance, Chelsea stepped it up in the final 45 minutes. There were two personnel changes at the break, first, Cole Palmer was subbed off for Noni Madueke, and Levi Colwill came on for Tosin Adarabioyo. The introduction of Madueke also led to a shift in player positions compared to the first half.
Jadon Sancho, who started on the right, moved to the left, while Tyrique George, who began on the left, played up top, replacing Christopher Nkunku, who filled the role vacated by Palmer.
Within five minutes of the restart, Chelsea were in front. Clever anticipation from George saw him react quicker to a ball parried away by the goalkeeper, opening the scoring. Minutes later, Madueke added one before netting his second in the 74th minute.
Sancho’s move to the left and Madueke’s arrival on the right led to both players making direct, purposeful runs toward the opposition box. As a team, Chelsea looked far more progressive, moving the ball forward instead of waiting for space to open up.