Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca defended a lacklustre display as his team edged past Copenhagen with a 1-0 aggregate win to secure a 3-1 aggregate success and passage to the Conference League quarter-final.
A drab first half at Stamford Bridge saw the hosts fail to muster a shot on goal, frustrating supporters with their lack of pace, movement and width.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall bucked the trend of a poor tie by scoring the game’s only goal, a dazzling run through the Copenhagen defence before slotting confidently into the corner, but it only briefly enlivened a forgettable second leg.
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“We planned both games that way,” said Maresca, whose team will play Legia Warsaw in the last eight.
“The first game we tried to analyse the first half then push in the second half in case we needed. Because we won there (in the first leg) we prepared exactly the same way tonight.
“First half we analysed, we see what we need to improve, then we changed the structure.
“We were attacking with five (but) we needed to attack with six players. Second half I think was much better.”
Despite failing to excite in recent weeks, Chelsea have won four matches in a row, albeit they have been against a limited Copenhagen side and the Premier League’s bottom two teams, Southampton and Leicester.
A sterner test will come when they face back-to-back London derbies beginning with a trip to the Emirates to face Arsenal on Sunday before hosting Tottenham after the international break.
They currently sit fourth in the league and with the top five almost certain to qualify for the next season’s Champions League they are in a strong position to return to the competition for the first time since 2023.
It was also a fifth consecutive home win in all competitions, and despite an unconvincing display the team are undoubtedly building momentum at an opportune moment in the season.
“In terms of results we’ve won the last four in a row, had three clean sheets,” said Maresca. “Now we have the last effort on Sunday.
“Hopefully we can finish good before the international break. Then we’ll have back Nico (Nicolas Jackson) and Noni (Madueke) and we can go for the final sprint.
“The last four games have been good in terms of results. We’re in the quarter-final and we’re fourth in the league, so we are there. Now just need to finish in the best way.”
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall settled the game
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall settled the game(Zac Goodwin/PA)
The game’s highlight was Dewsbury-Hall’s superb solo goal, the midfielder taking advantage of a rare start to stake his claim to Maresca ahead of the run-in.
“He’s now much better compared to the start of the season, probably because he’s understanding his position, his role better,” said Maresca. “He’s working fantastic.
“Tonight he shows how important he can be for us and hopefully he can be even more important from now on.”