Chelsea all but ensured they will play in the Conference League final on May 28 as Nicolas Jackson’s two goals helped them sweep past Djurgarden 4-1 in Stockholm.
The second leg at Stamford Bridge will be little other than a formality after this win, which also saw Jadon Sancho score just his fourth Chelsea goal while Noni Madueke got in on the act too.
Djurgarden proved as weak as any opponent Enzo Maresca’s side had faced since the early weeks of their European campaign.
Nevertheless, this was a young Chelsea line-up that started with several of their most senior players on the bench, and amid the deafening cauldron of the 3Arena – complete with fireworks, flairs and fanfare customary of European away trips – they took care of the first leg with consummate professionalism.
There was also the matter of an artificial pitch to contend with which had the effect of slowing down the ball and limiting its bounce. Both the Djurgarden manager Jani Honkavaara and members of his squad had recently criticised the surface but it was Chelsea who struggled at first as the players got used to the pitch of the ball.
Against stronger opposition it might have been more of an issue, but Djurgarden were a poor second best throughout and Chelsea stamped their superiority on the tie in the 12th minute.
Enzo Fernandez’s cross was flighted too high for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall but there waiting at the far post was Sancho who took the ball under control, stood up his man and hit a shot that deflected into the corner off defender Marcus Danielson.
The first half had passed with near total Chelsea dominance and they doubled their lead before the break.
Madueke had been their liveliest threat down the left, getting in behind the back line and cutting back two decent crosses that were shovelled away. The third time, he did it all by himself, collecting Fernandez’s pass before driving the ball inside Rinne at his near post.
Hampus Findell fired a half-volley a hair’s breadth wide of a post from a corner, then Adam Stahl came as close as anyone in Djurgarden blue to scoring, getting across his defender and glancing a header goalwards that drew an excellent one-handed stop from Jorgensen.
It would be Djurgarden’s last stab at reviving the tie and by the hour mark they trailed by three. Jackson had broken his long scoring drought last time out against Everton, and after coming off the bench here he was given the simple task of walking the ball in following a mix-up in the hosts’ defence.
His second and Chelsea’s fourth was a grander affair, the striker belting the ball into the top corner from outside the box.
Better organisation in the box might have prevented Isak Mulugeta from heading in to make it 4-1 and giving home fans some slim recompense for their ceaseless vocals.
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