Chelsea trio torment Enzo Maresca as Mudryk makes case to play new position in Gent win

Renato Veiga and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall notched their first Chelsea goals in a 4-2 win over Gent in the Europa Conference League.

A powerful strike from Pedro Neto and a clinical finish by Christopher Nkunku put the Belgian side to bed as the Blues made a winning start to the European campaign under Enzo Maresca.

Tsuyoshi Watanabe’s header briefly brought the game back to 2-1, and Omri Gandelman grabbed a consolation in stoppage time, but Chelsea’s dominance was still reflected in the scoreline as they picked up three precious points.

Here, Express Sport takes you through four key talking points from the contest…

Trio torment Enzo Maresca

Chelsea’s squad depth presents the manager with an unenviable selection call ahead of every game. Having made 11 changes to the side that beat Brighton last time out, a team full of fringe stars were given the chance to impress against Gent.

And three of them did enough to give Maresca a headache going into Sunday’s clash with Nottingham Forest.

Dewsbury-Hall started slowly but visibly grew in confidence as the game went on, opening his Chelsea account and staking his claim for more minutes in central midfield. Joao Felix once again showed that his precocious talent poses a real threat to those currently in the Premier League starting XI. And Veiga was a commanding presence in the hybrid role between left-back and midfield. Could Marc Cucurella be looking over his shoulder?

Mudryk makes case to play new position

Maresca has not been shy in telling Mykhaylo Mudryk that he must improve certain aspects of his game, and the Ukrainian showed that he has been listening on Thursday with flashes of top quality against Gent.

It was interesting to note that his sumptuous assist for Veiga came from a right-footed cross. Mudryk, who plays primarily on the left wing, temporarily drifted over to the opposite flank and picked out an exceptional ball in with his stronger right foot.

With final product being one of the elements Mudryk needs to work on, that moment may give Maresca food for thought regarding a possible positional change for the 23-year-old, who has struggled on the left since landing at Stamford Bridge.

Palmer and Jackson play by the rules

Maresca is making sure those who are not selected in Chelsea matchday squads still attend the games at Stamford Bridge to support their team-mates. Cole Palmer has been left out of the Blues’ Conference League squad entirely with a view to managing his workload, but he was still in the stands on Thursday. Nicolas Jackson was alongside him after being rested by the manager, and he watched on as Christopher Nkunku scored again to apply more pressure on his starting spot up front.

Legend returns to the Bridge

Andri Gudjohnsen, son of Chelsea legend Eidur, was just a young boy when he tottered onto the Stamford Bridge pitch with his dad in 2005. The 22-year-old started up front for Gent on his father’s old stomping ground, and with Eidur in the stands, he could have marked the occasion by scoring in the first half, but his near-post shot whistled narrowly over.