Chelsea narrowly reached the Conference League quarter-finals with a 1-0 win over Copenhagen at Stamford Bridge to secure progress with a 3-1 win over the two legs.
The patience of the team's fans has been tested by a recent lacklustre performance, but even the stifling boredom of a narrow first-leg win in Denmark pales in comparison to what Enzo Maresca's side produced in the return leg.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's goal shortly after the break was completely out of keeping with the quality of the game: it was a superb, darting run through the defence and confidently slotted into the corner, but it merely papered over the cracks in a sluggish performance.
The head coach can boast of four consecutive victories in all competitions and a place among the top eight in European competition, while his team have a good chance in the league of returning to the Champions League next season.
However, their performances show no significant signs of improvement.
Before kick-off, Maresca reiterated his commitment to possession football, with an emphasis on structure rather than style, forcing his players to maintain a measured tempo, and his side showed much the same in the first half.
Chelsea failed to muster a single shot on target in the first 45 minutes and rarely got close to Copenhagen's penalty area. After the fans' disappointment at the unconvincing nature of the first leg and league win, there was nothing left to feel like a change.
Josh Acheampong was the standout performer in blue, the 18-year-old nominally playing at left-back but moving into midfield when in possession and attacking the Copenhagen defence with an energy that few of his teammates could match.
The only positive aspect of the lacklustre performance was that it was only at half-time that loud complaints were heard from the home fans, who, following what has now become a traditional ritual, ridiculed their team during the break.
Maresca brought on Cole Palmer for the second half, but it took substitute Marc Cucurella's efforts to finally get Chelsea going.
The Spaniard charged for the ball in Copenhagen's half and then something extraordinary happened: Dewsbury-Hall, who had barely featured in the first half, took the initiative and, after a graceful dribble past four defenders, sent the ball low into the corner.
Palmer then broke forward and attempted to score from just inches away, looking to end his long goalless streak – he hasn't scored since January 14.
Rodrigo Huescas could have provided a boost in five minutes of stoppage time if he had kept his composure when firing into Philip Jorgensen's empty net but instead fired the ball into the net.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
