Chelsea gives Maresca first win as Blues beat Servette in Conference League

The Blues are making their return to European competition after finishing sixth in the Premier League last season under Mauricio Pochettino.

Chelsea’s head coach Enzo Maresca celebrates at the end of the Europa Conference League play-off first leg football match between Chelsea and Servette, at Stamford Bridge. | Photo Credit: AP

Chelsea secured its first victory under new coach Enzo Maresca with a 2-0 victory over Servette in its Conference League play-off round first leg on Thursday.

The host struggled to break down its opponents in the first half at Stamford Bridge before Christopher Nkunku put the side in front with a 50th minute penalty, just his fourth goal for the club.

Noni Madueke moved Chelsea closer to a group-stage place ahead of next week’s second leg by firing home from Enzo Fernandez’s pass.

Tiemoko Ouattara almost pulled one back for Swiss side Servette late on when his deflected strike hit the crossbar.

It was a welcome win for Chelsea after suffering a 2-0 loss in Maresca’s debut game against Manchester City at the weekend.

The Blues are making their return to European competition after finishing sixth in the Premier League last season under Mauricio Pochettino.

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Elsewhere, Greek club Panathinaikos suffered a 2-1 defeat at 10-man Lens in their first leg, with Wesley Said scoring what proved to be the winner for the Ligue 1 side.

Former Spain and Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea endured a difficult debut as Fiorentina were held to a 3-3 home draw by Hungarians Puskas Akademia.

Irish club St Patrick’s kept its hopes of qualifying for the group stage of a European tournament for the first time alive, drawing 0-0 with Istanbul Basaksehir.

In the Europa League play-offs, Dutch giant Ajax thrashed Jagiellonia 4-1 in Poland, with English forward Chuba Akpom scoring a hat-trick.

Besiktas blew a 3-1 lead to draw 3-3 with Lugano in Switzerland, while Scottish outfit Hearts lost 1-0 at Viktoria Plzen.