Chelsea narrowly secured their place in the Conference League group stages with a 3-2 aggregate victory, despite suffering a 2-1 defeat to Servette in the second leg.
After winning 2-0 at Stamford Bridge the previous week, the Blues appeared to be on track for a smooth passage to the group stages. Christopher Nkunku’s penalty extended their aggregate lead to three goals, seemingly putting them in a commanding position to reach the competition’s league phase for the first time.
However, the Swiss side, currently seventh in their league, staged a dramatic comeback. Jeremy Guillemenot scored with a low strike past Filip Jorgensen to level the match on the night, and Enzo Crivelli came off the bench to head Servette into the lead, causing concern for Chelsea as they fought to maintain their aggregate advantage.
Earlier in the match, Enzo Fernandez nearly scored with a powerful 30-yard shot, which was expertly saved by goalkeeper Joel Mall. Chelsea took the lead in the 14th minute when Mykhailo Mudryk was brought down in the penalty area by Keigo Tsunemoto. Nkunku calmly converted the resulting penalty, replicating his performance from the first leg and giving Chelsea what seemed to be a decisive lead.
Despite the late scare, Chelsea’s first-leg performance was enough to see them through to the next stage of the competition.
