Any jeopardy experienced by Chelsea in the Uefa Conference League is largely of their own making. The standard is low enough for Enzo Maresca’s side to play in bursts and still emerge victorious in a testing away game. Unlike Maresca, no other manager hoping to win this competition can afford to watch their side drift through a dismal first half and then sort themselves out by introducing an England international, a France forward and an Argentinian world champion during the break.
That show of strength was enough for Chelsea to find their poise at Parken, take control of this last-16 tie and beat FC Copenhagen with goals from Reece James and Enzo Fernández. Those flashes of quality aside, though, this was far from perfect. Chelsea rarely flowed and their inability to stay focused for 90 minutes flared again when they kept next week’s return at Stamford Bridge interesting by allowing Copenhagen to pull it back to 2-1 during the closing stages.
