Chelsea with half throttle through Legia's rampart

After a first half where we saw almost nothing from either side, the second half was much more exciting, with three goals from the London team, giving them a comfortable lead ahead of the return leg.

Considering the lineup Chelsea put on the field, as well as Legia’s tactics in the first half, it’s no surprise that there was hardly anything noteworthy in the opening 45 minutes. The London side held possession, trying to break through, but almost none of their chances came close to threatening the goal of the team from Warsaw.

As for the visitors, the only moments worth mentioning came from a few isolated situations. In the 28th minute, Benoit Badiashile rose above everyone in the box after a corner kick, but his header lacked both power and accuracy to beat Legia’s goalkeeper. The only player who showed any real spark for the Blues was Dewsbury-Hall, who threatened the hosts’ goal twice.

First, in the 34th minute, he fired from a good position, but Legia’s keeper managed to save it. That chance was arguably the best opportunity of the half for either team. The second came in the final action before halftime, when he connected with a solid header following a good cross, but the ball went wide.

As for the Polish side, they spent most of the half defending, with their only serious attempt coming in the 26th minute when Ryoya Morishita took a shot after a well-executed counterattack, but it was far too inaccurate to trouble the opposing goalkeeper.

As if awakened by a halftime talk—most likely delivered by Enzo Maresca—Chelsea came out much more focused in the second half. Just four minutes after the restart, the visitors found the back of the net. Following a shot from Reece James, the Legia goalkeeper failed to properly clear the ball, and Chelsea academy product Tyrique George pounced on the rebound, slotting it home to give his team the lead. You can se the goal HERE!

Chelsea didn’t rush things after the opening goal, maintaining a composed approach throughout the match. Then in the 57th minute, they capitalized on a mistake by Legia’s goalkeeper and followed it up with a well-executed team move. Sancho provided the assist to Madueke, who controlled the ball and calmly finished from close range to make it 2–0. This is the GOAL!

The Polish team's game fell apart after the second goal (or perhaps the English side simply stepped up their intensity), and in the 68th minute, within a matter of seconds, we saw two chances—one for Dewsbury-Hall and another for Madueke. However, the Legia net remained untroubled.

To make matters even worse for the hosts, in the 70th minute, Chelsea were awarded a penalty after a foul on the well-performing Dewsbury-Hall. Nkunku took the spot kick, but Legia’s goalkeeper made a great save. However, just 20 seconds later, Chelsea found the back of the net once again. Sancho broke through on the left side, and Madueke was in the right place at the right time, calmly finishing into the empty net. You can se the goal HERE!

Legia managed to control possession somewhat in the latter part of the match, but by the end, there was no real chance to threaten the visitors' goal. It’s almost certain now which of these two teams will progress to the Conference League semifinals.

UEFA CONFERENCE LEAGUE - QUARTER-FINALS

First leg

Thursday

Legia - Chelsea 0-3 (0-0)

/George 49, Madueke 57, 74/

22:00: (1.33) Betis (5.50) Jagiellonia (8.50)

22:00: (7.50) Celje (4.60) Fiorentina (1.42)

22:00: (2.75) Djurgarden (3.20) Rapid (2.65)

***odds are subject to change***