Tyrique George scored his first senior goal before substitute Noni Madueke netted twice to put Chelsea in complete control of their Conference League quarter-final with a 3-0 first-leg victory at Legia Warsaw.
George, who joined the Blues at the age of eight, tapped in the opener four minutes into the second half after Chelsea had laboured during the opening period despite dominating possession.
Madueke came on for Cole Palmer at half-time, a change that had been planned by head coach Enzo Maresca, and added a deserved second for Chelsea with a smart finish into the bottom-right corner from inside the box.
Chelsea were much improved in the second half, moving the ball quickly and threatening every time they went forward, having been frustrated by the hosts.
However, Christopher Nkunku was unable to improve his poor form, which has now seen him score only once in his last 12 appearances, after having his penalty saved by Kacper Tobiasz.
Madueke, though, scored 25 seconds later with a simple tap-in from Jadon Sancho’s square pass into the six-yard box to give Chelsea a commanding lead ahead of the second leg at Stamford Bridge on April 17.
Maresca: We planned to have our best players for this game
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca:
“We planned to try and have our best players for this game and give chances to the rest of the players to recover energy. Overall, a professional performance, a good result.
“We were much better in the second half compared to the first half for different reasons. We need to learn to play different kinds of games.”
On Tyrique George and Josh Acheampong: “Happy first of all for the Chelsea academy because he is one of our boys. He was quite good in the first half, taking responsibility. He was probably better in the middle.
“The one I fall in love with tonight is Josh Acheampong. He can be a fantastic player for this club. A good player can play in different positions and he showed that. Since we started, I’m in love with him but tonight he showed he can be a very good player for this club.
“He can be good in different positions. The best thing for Josh is that he’s open – he wants to learn. ‘Full-back? No problem, what do I have to do?'”
Maresca’s changes pay off
Sky Sports David Richardson:
Enzo Maresca was criticised for his Chelsea line-up against Brentford but his changes paid off at Legia Warsaw.
Chelsea are all but through to the Conference League semi-finals, barring an almighty collapse at Stamford Bridge, and once again, Maresca used his squad to full effect in the competition.
Tyrique George capitalised on his start by scoring a first senior goal, Cole Palmer was given 45 minutes on his return from injury and his replacement at half-time, Noni Madueke, scored his first goals since his long absence.
It was an easy victory after a slow start, which has been somewhat of a theme in Europe for Chelsea. This was the fifth occasion on which they’ve failed to score in the first half.
Maresca said after their last 16 win over Copenhagen that they had planned for a strong second half and their improvement in this tie after the break was clear.
They are continuing to make light work of the Conference League as expected.
