The partying in the stands was at odds with everything taking place on the artificial pitch. There was no irony about the celebrations from the noisy Djurg?rden fans when their team finally found the back of the net. The roar was deafening and the emotion was genuine. The only problem, though, was that Chelsea were already four goals to the good by the time Isak Alemayehu Mulugeta got the underdogs on the scoresheet in Stockholm.
It was not a great look for a competition that Uefa invented for the benefit of Europe?s smaller clubs. Chelsea against the 11th best team in Sweden for a place in the final of the Conference League? It was never going to be much of a contest. Chelsea played a weakened team but still headed back to London with a 4-1 lead after Enzo Fern?ndez continued his impressive form by making early goals for Jadon Sancho and Noni Madueke before Nicolas Jackson came off the bench to score twice in the second half. The only disappointment for Enzo Maresca was Cole Palmer failing to end his goal drought.
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