March 06, (THEWILL) – Chelsea gained a slim advantage in their Conference League last-16 tie against Copenhagen, winning 2-1 away from home on Thursday evening. The London club will take this result into the return leg at Stamford Bridge next week.
The first half saw Copenhagen making the stronger start with Elias Achouri forcing a save from Robert Sanchez in the opening minutes. Chelsea struggled to find rhythm and failed to register a shot on target before half-time in what was a largely uneventful opening period.
The match burst into life immediately after the interval when Reece James struck just 56 seconds into the second half, converting Marc Cucurella’s cutback with a powerful long-range effort. Chelsea doubled their lead later when substitute Enzo Fernandez finished from Tyrique George’s assist before Gabriel Pereira reduced the deficit for Copenhagen with a header from Marcos Lopez’s free-kick in the 79th minute.
Despite holding the higher percentage of possession throughout the match, Chelsea were evenly matched in attacking threat, with Copenhagen coming close when Viktor Claesson’s angled strike hit the inside of the post. The Danish side pushed for an equaliser in the closing stages but could not find a breakthrough against the Conference League favourites.
The match remains finely balanced despite Chelsea’s away victory, with both sides creating similar quality opportunities throughout the contest. Enzo Maresca’s side will need to deliver an improved performance when they host Copenhagen at Stamford Bridge next Thursday, with only a single-goal advantage to protect.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
