A heavily rotated Chelsea side, featuring 11 changes from their Premier League win over Brighton, cruised to a 4-2 victory against Gent in their opening Conference League match.
Defender Renato Veiga opened the scoring with a well-placed header in the 12th minute, converting a cross from Mykhailo Mudryk. Just after half-time, Pedro Neto doubled Chelsea’s lead, smashing in a near-post finish after a long pass from Axel Disasi.
Gent briefly sparked hope when Tsuyoshi Watanabe’s 50th-minute header was allowed after a VAR check. However, that optimism quickly faded when Christopher Nkunku seized on a loose ball to net his seventh goal of the season with a low strike that went through Gent goalkeeper Davy Roef.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who had missed a clear chance in the first half, made amends by adding Chelsea’s fourth after Watanabe failed to clear the ball. Gent managed a late consolation through Omri Gandelman following some lax defending down Chelsea’s left.
READ MORE: Nkunku hat-trick propels Chelsea past Barrow in 5-0 thrashing
The victory highlighted Chelsea’s squad depth, as the team fielded a completely different starting XI compared to their last league outing. It also underlined the disparity in resources between clubs competing in Europe’s third-tier competition.
Chelsea’s aim in the newly formatted 36-team Conference League is to finish in the top eight to secure automatic qualification for the knockout stages.
Ultimately, they hope to become the first club to win the Conference League after their previous triumphs in the Europa League and Champions League.
