Christopher Nkunku Penalty Secures Maresca’s First Chelsea Win

Christopher Nkunku’s penalty earned Enzo Maresca his first win as Chelsea manager with a 2-0 victory over Servette in their Conference League play-off first leg. Chelsea, who had struggled to break down their Swiss opponents, finally made their breakthrough early in the second half when Christopher Nkunku drew a foul from goalkeeper Jeremy Frick. The France forward converted the penalty to score the first goal of Maresca’s tenure and celebrated by inflating a blue balloon for the Chelsea fans.

Although Chelsea dominated, they missed a chance to double their lead when 18-year-old Marc Guiu failed to capitalize on a mistake by Frick. However, substitute Noni Madueke clinched a 2-0 lead with a powerful finish from a tight angle in the 72nd minute. Chelsea will travel to Geneva for the second leg on August 29 in a strong position to advance to the group stage of the Conference League.

Maresca expressed concern about Chelsea’s performance, noting they “played with fire” and were fortunate not to concede with Servette registering 22 attempts compared to Chelsea’s 14. Tiemoko Ouattara’s late shot that hit the bar added to the tension. Maresca made nine changes from the team that lost to Manchester City, giving debuts to goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen and defender Tosin Adarabioyo.

He also handed first starts to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Marc Guiu, Renato Veiga and Pedro Neto. Neto, a £54m signing from Wolves impressed with his pace before Madueke replaced him. Chelsea’s victory helps ease the sting of their previous defeat and marks a positive start to Maresca’s managerial reign amid a turbulent summer for the club.