Despite advancing to the Conference League semi-finals, Thursday night was very much not Chelsea’s finest hour.
The Blues lost their 100% record in the competition so far this season when they were beaten 2-1 at Stamford Bridge by Legia Warsaw.
Enzo Maresca certainly took some risks when it came to naming his side, with the likes of Cole Palmer amongst the starters despite the commanding 3-0 lead they took into the game.
The responsibility of goalscoring once again fell to Marc Cucurella though. The Spaniard scored one and had another ruled out by VAR amidst another flat Blues display.
The atmosphere inside the ground reflected what was going on the pitch, with it being the Polish fans that dominated with their noise as they began to gain belief they could pull off a big victory.
Legia manager Goncalo Feio claimed he had a plan to beat the Blues before the game started, and whatever that was came off.
He told Nizaar Kinsella after the game that his side were aware that Chelsea fans are not always on top of their game, and they were able to bring the corner of Stamford Bridge where their supporters were into preceedings.
He said: “We knew this was not the loudest stadium and we will feel the presence of our fans.”
Chelsea fans turning on Maresca
Maresca has not proven to be the most popular figure in recent weeks amongst Chelsea fans, with him calling out their support inside the stadium a number of times recently.
Maresca criticised the environment the supporters created during the embarrassing draw against Ipswich Town, something fans did not take too kindly too.
Chants have been aimed at the manager in recent weeks as the football has dropped off greatly since the end of 2024, when they found themselves very much in a title race.
Maresca is reportedly safe in his role at Stamford Bridge, however will not have the backing of everyone if they don’t qualify for the Champions League next season.
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