Chelsea must be the first team in history to be booed into a European semi-final. Such is life for Enzo Maresca at the moment. Losing 2-1 to Legia Warsaw on the night was embarrassing. Chelsea, who seemed intent on giving the fifth-best side in Poland hope of pulling off a comeback for the ages at a disgruntled Stamford Bridge, were shambolic and easily could have crashed out.
No wonder Maresca is not feeling the love from the crowd. Nobody celebrated Chelsea squeezing into a Conference League semi-final against Djurgården after winning 4-2 on aggregate. The defending was miserable and the attack was poor. Filip Jörgensen, Robert Sánchez’s understudy, was jittery in goal and the worries around Cole Palmer’s slump are not going away.
Palmer, who has gone 15 games without scoring, again cut a frustrated figure. He was not alone, though. Nobody had turned up expecting that they might be about to witness a Polish attempt at a remontada. Initially there was intrigue about Maresca naming such a strong side when Chelsea led 3-0 from the first leg. There was no rest for Marc Cucurella at left-back, although it was possible to interpret starts for Palmer and Nicolas Jackson as an opportunity to play themselves back into form.
That seemed a sound theory when Palmer surged through in the second minute, only to shoot wide. Will his goal drought ever end? Palmer toiled. He spurned another chance moments later, failing to turn in a rebound after Jackson had a shot saved by Vladan Kovacevic, and Maresca’s gamble was looking decidedly foolish when a nasty challenge from Tomas Pekhart left Chelsea’s chief creator hobbling in the 20th minute.
Chelsea were behind by that stage, Pekhart squeezing a penalty past Jörgensen after being fouled by the goalkeeper, and were far from secure. The first hint of discontent from the home support came when Ryoya Morishita shot just wide after sprinting past Cucurella.
“It was a poor performance,” Reece James, Chelsea’s captain, said. “We had a 3-0 lead – maybe that played a part in taking our foot off the gas. Maybe we disrespected the competition today. If you don’t prepare right, you will pay. It’s going to affect the mindset. It’s going to be in the back of people’s heads. I understand the frustration. Fans come to see excitement. We were frustrating to watch.”
The mood improved when Cucurella, Chelsea’s top scorer in 2025, met a cross from Jadon Sancho to make it 1-1. It dipped when the hosts, who brought Tyrique George on for Jackson at half-time, started the second half badly. Chelsea’s distribution was poor and a mistake from Josh Acheampong almost led to Claude Gonçalves heading past Jörgensen.
Chelsea have produced a lot of great defensive performances in Europe but this was not one of them. Tosin Adarabioyo and Benoït Badiashile were unconvincing in the middle and Legia regained their lead when Steve Kapuadi punished dismal marking at a corner.
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Maresca responded by bringing Palmer off for Noni Madueke. Chelsea hunted for an equaliser but remained vulnerable at the other end. Jörgensen almost conceded another penalty after spilling an effort from Luquinhas.
Chelsea, who had not tasted defeat in this competition proper before, limped over the line. Their main target this season is to return to the Champions League but they look a long way off Europe’s elite.