Chelsea secured their first win under new coach Enzo Maresca with a 2-0 victory over Servette in the first leg of their Conference League play-off on Thursday.
After a goalless first half at Stamford Bridge, Christopher Nkunku broke the deadlock with a 50th-minute penalty, marking his fourth goal for the club. Noni Madueke doubled the lead, converting from an Enzo Fernandez pass, putting Chelsea in a strong position ahead of next week’s second leg.
Servette nearly pulled one back when Tiemoko Ouattara’s deflected shot hit the crossbar late in the game. This victory was a relief for Chelsea following their 2-0 defeat to Manchester City in Maresca’s debut match.
The Blues are returning to European competition after finishing sixth in the Premier League last season under Mauricio Pochettino.
In other matches, Panathinaikos lost 2-1 to 10-man Lens, with Wesley Said scoring the winner for the French side. David de Gea had a tough debut as Fiorentina were held to a 3-3 draw by Puskas Akademia, while St Patrick’s Athletic drew 0-0 with Istanbul Basaksehir, keeping their group stage hopes alive.
In the Europa League play-offs, Ajax cruised to a 4-1 win over Jagiellonia in Poland, with Chuba Akpom netting a hat-trick. Besiktas squandered a 3-1 lead to draw 3-3 with Lugano, and Hearts suffered a 1-0 defeat at Viktoria Plzen.
