Revealed: Five shocking things we learned from Chelsea’s 4-2 victory against Gent
Chelsea leads the Conference League group stages with three points following a home victory over Gent.
Chelsea won their first Conference League game on Thursday night, defeating Belgian club Gent 4-2 at Stamford Bridge.
Renato Veiga, Pedro Neto, Christopher Nkunku, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall all scored as the Blues demonstrated their attacking prowess once more this season.
Chris Sutton has advised Chelsea that failing to win the Conference League would be embarrassing. They’re off to a great start, and their next European match is against Panathinaikos on October 24.
Renato Veiga is a bargain
There’s been plenty of hits and misses from Chelsea in the transfer market in recent years, but you can already put a huge tick by the signing of Renato Veiga.
The Blues completed a £12m deal (BBC) in the summer to sign Veiga from Basel, which is already looking like such a shrewd piece of business.
Yet again, Veiga impressed in his latest Blues display versus Gent as the left-back that often inverted into midfield.
The 21-year-old netted his first goal for Chelsea to open the scoring on Thursday evening. Following some great work from Mykhailo Mudryk, Veiga produced an excellent header to give the hosts an opening goal.
We can’t see Marc Cucurella losing his starting position any time soon because of his form, but Veiga is turning out to be such a superb understudy and incredible value for money in the current market.
Filip Jorgensen is supremely confident
Chelsea goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen, 22, did impress in one area duriing midweek on just his fourth competitive appearance for the club.
The young shot-stopper couldn’t do much about the two goals that he conceded. However, we did learn a bit more about just how good the keeper is with the ball at his feet.
Jorgensen really showcased in the European tie that he’s supremely confident in possession and he’s a real weapon when building out from the defence.
Chelsea fans have been calling for Robert Sanchez to be dropped as the club’s first-choice keeper following his recent horror performance in the weekend’s Premier League win over Brighton. If Jorgensen can keep shining in cup competitions, perhaps it’ll be something for the manager to seriously think about soon.
Pedro Neto is coming for the league XI
We’d be shocked if Pedro Neto isn’t starting the majority of Premier League games as this season progresses.
Neto, 24, put in another eye-catching cup display to increase his chances of starting in the league.
The right-winger scored a thunderous goal to put the hosts 2-1 in front at the time. Also, he looked a threat all evening in attack with his pace, directness and cultured left foot.
It’s over to Noni Madueke to perform at his very best if he wants to stay in Chelsea’s best line-up.
Mykhailo Mudryk is improving
There’s always so much to talk about when it comes to Chelsea’s Mykhailo Mudryk.
Based on what we saw from the left-winger on Thursday, Mudryk is slowly beginning to build up confidence this season and make more regular positive impacts on the football pitch.
The rapid attacker assisted Veiga’s opener with a clever cross that he stood up to the back post. In addition, he showed some classic wing play throughout the match with plenty of direct and impact dribbles.
We’re frustrated that he didn’t get in on the goalscoring act and he’s still waiting for his first of the season, but he’s actually looking quite threatening and creative.
The second string is powerful
As you can see above, there’s plenty of positives to take from a Chelsea perspective tonight. We’ve not even mentioned Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall dropping his best performance for the club.
The fact that Maresca changed his entire starting line-up and could still field a team that strong is extremely telling.
We expect this second string to get better and better the more they play together. The bulk of this side dispatched Barrow in the League Cup last month, and they were offensively powerful on the European stage against Gent.
It’s another reminder that the Blues have managed to assemble a magnificent squad with the potential to achieve big things this season.