Polish media say one Chelsea player was ‘phenomenal’, even saw Benoit Badiashille give him an applause

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Chelsea have more than one foot in the semi-finals of the Conference League after a dominant first leg of their quarter-final tie with Legia Warsaw.

The Blues were 3-0 winners in Poland despite a frustrating first half, with Enzo Maresca’s changes in personnel and system being the key to them taking the lead back to Stamford Bridge.

The introduction of Noni Madueke breathed new life into the attack, and he found himself on the scoresheet twice to mark his strong performance.

The manager got a lot of things right from the off to. Tyrique George started and scored his first senior goal, while Maresca waxed lyrical about Josh Acheampong after his display away from home.

In a game which Chelsea completely controlled, there was very little to do for those in defence, as well as Filip Jorgensen between the sticks.

Levi Colwill praised by Polish media after Chelsea win over Legia Warsaw

Despite their relatively quiet evening, there was still a change at the break, with Tosin Adarabioyo being replaced by Levi Colwill.

The Cobham graduate is widely touted as one of the best young talents the Blues have in their ranks right now, however fans are still waiting to see the very best of what has been promised already.

There was a moment after his introduction though that showed exactly what he is about, and one that caught the eye of the Polish media too.

Przegladsportowy were full of praise for Colwill’s pass in a move that led to a penalty for the Blues, noting that even teammate Benoit Badiashile stood and applauded.

They said: “Chelsea dominated in many parameters — speed, technical and tactical. Perhaps the most symptomatic action took place in the 70th minute. Levi Colwill sent a great cut ball from the defense line to Marc Cucurella.

“It was such a phenomenal pass that his partner Benoit Badiashile rushed to applaud. The action immediately moved to Legia’s goal and ended in a penalty kick.”

Colwill’s impressive passing

While defending is what all centre-backs need to excel in, being able to play with the ball at their feet has become crucial in recent years.

There are very few in the Premier League better at this than Colwill, something that has been noticed by many already in the early stages of his career.

Chelsea fans have praised Colwill for his distribution before, and in the first gameweek of the season Colwill had the highest pass success rate of any player in the top flight.