Just like the first leg in Denmark, it was far from convincing at Stamford Bridge on Thursday, but Chelsea conjured up just enough to down Copenhagen 1-0 at home to advance to the UEFA Conference League quarterfinals by a 3-1 aggregate score.
A well-worked goal by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall made the difference on what was the only truly dangerous move by the Blues the entire game. As they did last week, Copenhagen frustrated a rotated Chelsea squad throughout the match, with a lot of possession but little end product from it.
With the game scoreless at halftime, Enzo Maresca brought on Cole Palmer to create a spark, but it was Dewsbury-Hall who did most of the work himself after a giveaway by the Copenhagen defense.
The Danish side impressed in the first leg and were ultimately let down by errors, and such was the case again here as Kevin Diks gave the ball straight to Marc Cucurella to begin the play.
Chelsea will be happy, of course, with the result, but know they must improve if they are to break down Arsenal on the weekend in a big Premier League meeting. They will then look ahead to a quarterfinal against either Legia Warsaw or Molde FK.
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Chelsea vs. Copenhagen final score
| Score (Agg.) | Goal scorers | |
| Chelsea | 1 (3) | Dewsbury-Hall (55′) |
| Copenhagen | 0 (1) | — |
Starting lineups:
Chelsea (4-2-3-1, right to left): 12. Jorgensen (GK) — 34. Acheampong (Cucurella, 46′), 4. Adarabioyo, 5. Badiashile, 23. Chalobah — 25. Caicedo (James, 78′), 8. E. Fernandez (Palmer, 46′) — 32. George, 22. Dewsbury-Hall, 19. Sancho (Nkunku, 65′) — 7. Neto (Antwi, 90′).
Copehagen (5-4-1, right to left): 41. Ramaj (GK) — 13. Huescas, 2. Diks, 5. Pereira, 6. Hatzidiakos, 24. Meling — 7. Claesson (Chiakha, 59′), 36. Clem (Falk, 77′), 17. Froholdt (Mattsson, 83′), 10. Elyounoussi (Larsson, 59′)— 30. Achouri (Robert, 77′).
Chelsea vs. Copenhagen stats
| Chelsea | Stat | Copenhagen |
| 10 | Shots | 7 |
| 4 | Shots on target | 1 |
| 0.93 | Expected goals | 0.58 |
| 56% | Possession | 44% |
| 494 | Accurate passes | 369 |
| 1 | Corners | 5 |
| 9 | Fouls | 7 |
| 2 | Yellow cards | 1 |
Chelsea vs. Copenhagen updates, highlights, key events
FULLTIME: Chelsea 1-0 Copenhagen
A wholly drab and toothless effort by both sides ends with just the moment of magic from Dewsbury-Hall to separate the sides.
Like a week ago, Chelsea were poor on the whole, but at least they managed to keep a lid on the opponent too, as Copenhagen could not recreate their danger from the home leg here at Stamford Bridge. Neither side was convincing, but Chelsea did just enough to see themselves through to the quarterfinal.
55th min: GOAL! CHELSEA! Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall gets his third Conference League goal of the season as Chelsea finally break through! Copenhagen, again, ruin a good performance with a miserable giveaway, as they feed Marc Cucurella a pass right outside their own penalty area.
Dewsbery-Hall does most of the hard work from there, using his strength to remain on the ball through a challenge and finishing with style from a tight angle. Their first real threatening move of the whole game pays off!
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2nd half kickoff: With Chelsea again looking listless in the first 45 minutes, Enzo Maresca is wasting no time bringing his regulars on to improve their fortunes.
Cole Palmer comes on to begin the break, alongside Marc Cucurella. Interestingly, Enzo Maresca comes off, as does Josh Acheampong.
HALFTIME: Chelsea 0-0 Copenhagen
Just like in the first leg, the first half was unbelievably drab, as Copenhagen did very well to lock down the putrid Chelsea attack.
The Blues will be happy to keep their aggregate lead, but the one-goal advantage feels nervy if it continues like this for much longer and the visitors grow in confidence of an upset.
Kickoff: The match is under way in London! Chelsea going out at this stage would be hugely embarrassing, but Enzo Maresca has trusted their European journey to a rotated squad.
Chelsea vs. Copenhagen lineups, team news
Chelsea are thin in the attacking third, with Nicolas Jackson still out injured and Marc Guiu yet to return from his hamstring injury. Guiu is expected back soon, but Maresca confirmed he would not return for this game. Noni Madueke is also sidelined with a hamstring issue, leaving the front line looking bleak.
Despite that, he’s still decided to play it safe with both Cole Palmer and Reece James, who missed training early in the week and have been left on the bench. The same is true for Christopher Nkunku who has struggled mightily filling in up front for the injured forwards.
Young Shumaira Mheuka has been rotated out, but fellow youngster Tyrique George gets another run-out as he did in the first leg. Malo Gusto is out, the full-back yet to recover after limping off in the first leg.
Chelsea starting lineup (4-2-3-1, right to left): Jorgensen (GK) — Acheampong, Adarabioyo, Badiashile, Chalobah — Caicedo, E. Fernandez — George, Dewsbury-Hall, Sancho — Neto
Chelsea subs: Sanchez (GK), Bergstrom (GK), Colwill, Murray-Campbell, Cucurella, Antwi, James, Amougou, Walsh, Palmer, Mheuka, Nkunku
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Lukas Lerager and Oliver Hojer missed the first leg through injury, as did attacking duo Andreas Cornelius and Roony Bardghji, and none of them returned for Copenhagen’s weekend league match, meaning they were likely to miss out today and do indeed sit. Only Lerager makes the bench, while the others are absent entirely.
Former Southampton player Mohamed Elyounoussi was not in the squad for the first leg, but he came off the bench over the weekend and now slots into the starting XI. Thomas Delaney missed the weekend match due to illness, and only passes fit for the bench today.
Manager Jacob Neestrup decided that neither 18-year-old Amin Chiakha, who struggled in the first leg, or fellow youngster Magnus Mattsson are right for the striker position, instead turning to Tunisian international Elias Achouri.
Copenhagen starting lineup (5-4-1, right to left): Ramaj (GK) — Huescas, Diks, Pereira, Hatzidiakos, Meling — Claesson, Clem, Froholdt, Elyounoussi — Achouri
Copenhagen subs: Trott (GK), Runarsson (GK), Gocholeishvili, Garananga, Lerager, Falk, Delaney, Mattsson, Chiakha, Larsson, Robert
Chelsea vs. Copenhagen live stream, TV channel
Here’s how to watch this UEFA Europa Conference League knockout match across selected areas of the world’s major regions:
