CHELSEA 1-2 LEGIA WARSAW (4-2 AGG): Chelsea are into the last four of Europe’s third-tier competition but were beaten on the night by a spirited Legia Warsaw side
Don’t put your shirt on Chelsea to win the Thursday Night Smorgasbord Cup after all. Maybe they were spooked by the topless parade of 1,000 grown men in the Shed, but they made horrendously hard work of securing their passage to the semi-finals.
What should have been a formality turned into a night to hide behind the sofa as the Blues gave a masterclass in making a three-goal lead from the first leg look like a minefield. And although the fans didn’t turn on under-fire coach Enzo Maresca this time, there were boos on the final whistle.
With a helicopter hovering overhead and the mounted cavalry patrolling Fulham Broadway, police were taking no chances with Legia’s notorious fans.
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The Polish club’s allocation was capped at 1,021 tickets after six bans and 17 fines after 17 of their ties in Europe in the las two years alone.
And Maresca, stung by criticism that he has presided over a catalogue of boring performances as Chelsea slipped out of the top five in the Premier League, rose to the bait.
If the famously cautious Italian’s selection was not a prescription for target practice, it was sponsored by those well-known Chinese advocates Gung & Ho.
But Maresca’s sense of adventure didn’t work.
Cole Palmer spurned a yawning chance to score his first goal since January 14 inside the opening 90 seconds.
And from the Poles’ first excursion into Blues territory, Filip Jorgensen brought down Legia skipper Tomas Pekhart, who squeezed his penalty into the corner.
All 1,021 away fans, including those in the disabled enclosure, removed their tops in celebration – not a pretty sight.
And goodness knows what else would have come off next if Ryoya Morishita had not dragged a great chance to reduce the deficit further just wide not the far post.
Chelsea’s nerves were settled when Marc Cucurella turned home Jadon Sancho’s cut-back after 33 minutes his sixth goal of the season, and on-loan Sancho’s 10th assist.
But they were lucky when Reece James coughed up possession on halfway and Claude Goncalves’ audacious 50-yard lob left Jorgensen stranded but drifted wide.
And eight minutes after the break, they fell behind again, the unmarked Steve Kapuadi nodding home Goncalves’ mishit volley from three yards.
That was the cue for Poles who had smuggled dozens of pyrotechnic toys past several layers of security to leave the Bridge under a pall of smoke with their bright red devices.
They were not the only red neon lights flashing for Maresca, as the fans finally converted their anxiety into voluble support.
And Chelsea were relieved to reach the last four without further erosion to what should have been a foregone conclusion.
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