Djurgarden vs Chelsea LIVE SCORE: Conference League semi-final updates as Blues take early advantage in Sweden
Evening and welcome to your comprehensive coverage of tonight's Europa Conference League action in Stockholm as Chelsea travel to Djurgårdens in the first leg of this semi-final.
Simply put, Djurgårdens are massive outsiders with nothing spectacular standing out in their run to this position. Long gone the domestic stranglehold they had on the Allsvenskan in the 90s, with their last title coming in 2019.
For Chelsea being overwhelming favourites in a European tie this year. Apart from Real Betis and Fiorentina, who are contesting for a final spot on the other side of the draw, the West Londoners are a class above the competing rest.
The Blues are back in Stockholm for the first time since our triumph in the 1998 Cup Winners' Cup final. Not quite the glory days back then, but certainly a step up in quality to what the lot nowadays serve.
That being said, Chelsea's squad is 43x more valuable than their artificial pitch-playing opponents. Anything other than a resounding win would reignite questions about Enzo Marseca's pedigree.
Kick off at 8pm.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
20 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Enzo Maresca sends five-word statement to Chelsea fans after Premier League opener
The FIFA Club World Cup winners are champions of the world after their triumph in the United States during early summer but if they're to challenge for the Premier League title they'll need to be much better than they were against Crystal Palace on Sunday Enzo Maresca clung to Chelsea's clean sheet like a comfort rug after the big-spending Blues began their season with a whimper, but told fans: "We're going to be better". After pre-match fireworks to celebrate their Club World Cup triumph, Maresca's side served up the equivalent of soggy blue touchpaper. And as Chelsea immediately lost ground on the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City on the first day of term, their Italian boss refused to be too downhearted. He said: 'I don't think about (where we will finish) in May or June - I only think about the next game. For now, it's just about Friday (at West Ham), no more than that.' Maresca tried not to use Chelsea's truncated pre-season as an excuse for their lack of sharpness, adding: 'Palace played about eight games, we played just two, so we tried our best. We didn't lose a clean sheet. "Until the end, we competed, we tried to win the game and we had some chances at the end with Estevao and Andrey Santos. We tried to share minutes (around the squad) but for sure, slowly, slowly we're going to be better.' Chelsea were relieved when Eberechi Eze's bullet free-kick was disallowed because Marc Guehi was too close to the defensive wall, and goalkeeper Robert Sanchez thought it was was for a foul by the Eagles skipper on Moises Caicedo. Sanchez said: 'Moises gets pushed into the gap - that's why I couldn't see at all and the ball goes over my head, so that's why it has to be a foul, 100 per cent.' Palace boss Oliver Glasner praised Guehi and Eze's unflinching commitment to the cause, despite both players being linked repeatedly with big-money moves before the transfer window shuts. When he was substituted six minutes from time, Eze's pause to applaud the travelling fans looked suspiciously like a player saying goodbye. But Glasner said: 'I know the truth, I watch these players in every training session, and if most of the things written about them were true, they could not perform like this and they could not be as committed to each other and the group as they are. 'I expect Eb to be back playing for us against Fredrikstad on Thursday. He has a contract with Crystal Palace, he is a Palace player, and as long as he performs like this, he will continue to play for us. 'I was a little bit surprised when his free-kick was not allowed. Hopefully next time we can celebrate.'
Daily Mail
20 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Chelsea should be grateful for football's free-kick laws after suffering summer hangover in 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace, writes KIERAN GILL
Forget the Lord Mayor's Show. This was all a little after the Club World Cup for Chelsea on their first return to competitive football since that FIFA carnival in the United States. There was no Robbie Williams singing in a white tracksuit this time. No brass band fighting to be heard over the fireworks. No Donald Trump sticking around to celebrate. There was only Chelsea and their gratitude for the existence of Law 13. Were it not for that singular line in the game's laws – the one which says Marc Guehi had moved to within a metre of the Chelsea wall when Eberechi Eze blasted his free-kick beyond Robert Sanchez – Enzo Maresca 's side might have lost their Premier League opener here at Stamford Bridge. They struggled to overcome the Crystal Palace block which forced them sideways more times than Maresca would have liked with Cole Palmer, unlike in his Club World Cup demolition of Paris Saint-Germain, limited in his influence from start to finish. They looked like a team who were playing after a 13-day pre-season facing another who had been back together for 40 days, give or take. Chelsea face West Ham at the London Stadium this Friday, by which time Maresca hopes his side will have shaken away any hangover that may have held them back in this match. 'We could have counter attacked better, we could have defended better, but it is only the first game of the season,' he said. 'For sure, slowly, slowly, we're going to be better. 'They (Palace) played about eight games (in pre-season). We played just two. We tried our best. We didn't lose a clean sheet.' That is true. Technically, Chelsea stopped Palace from scoring, even if they did rely on VAR James Bell recommending that our referee Darren England disallow Eze's strike in the 10th minute for a rule that a fair few inside Stamford Bridge did not even know existed. But watching Chelsea struggle to stitch together attacking sequences thereafter, you could not help thinking back to what was said during the pre-match press conference at Cobham on Friday. Maresca had underlined the importance of Levi Colwill. Not only in how he defends but in how he is used to build attacks from the back with the line-breaking passes he is capable of producing. That is why Chelsea's head coach wants to sign a suitable centre back this month with Colwill's ACL injury set to sideline him for the foreseeable. Despite Chelsea having more central defenders than many of their rivals, Maresca believes no like-for-like replacement exists within his squad, and he was further hamstrung here by losing Tosin Adarabioyo to a knock in training. Chelsea's decision-makers disagree with Maresca, and essentially, they have told him that he must find an internal solution because their chequebook is closed for centre backs. They have already spent significant sums this summer – £48.5million on Jamie Gittens, £37m on Jorrel Hato, £60m on Joao Pedro, £30m on Liam Delap and so on – and reckon their squad is strong enough. With that, one of the club's own in Josh Acheampong was selected at the heart of Maresca's defence instead. At 19 years and 104 days, he was the second-youngest player to start for Chelsea in their opening game of a Premier League season, after Glen Johnson in 2003-04. When Marc Cucurella inverted into midfield to leave Chelsea with a back three, it was on Acheampong to pretend to be Colwill with Reece James on his right and Trevoh Chalobah on his left. Acheampong was 'the guy in the middle', as Maresca likes to describe it. Acheampong held his own overall, though he was the one who gave away possession while trying to pass from the back as Palace won their free-kick from which Eze scored. While the visitors celebrated, Chelsea's set-piece coach Bernardo Cueva immediately began badgering the fourth official, Michael Salisbury, alerting him to Guehi's position next to Chelsea's wall. Maresca was asked again on signing a replacement for Colwill afterwards and spikily said: 'You like to talk about central defenders? I already spoke. Thank you very much.' With Maresca having seemingly lost his battle with those above him over a centre-back signing, he must find a solution and fast, given how crucial that position is to the way his team play. Chelsea had chances to score, especially towards the end. Andrey Santos skied one in stoppage time which was such a waste of a chance that Palmer sank to his knees upon witnessing it. But overall, this was not how Chelsea's supporters imagined their afternoon going after arriving with such optimism, even singing 'champions of the world' within 10 seconds of kick-off as new artwork was unveiled above the Shed End to remind everyone of that fact. Cucurella had a header cleared off the line at the very start, but it was not until the 90th minute when Dean Henderson would next be tested as Liam Delap blasted the ball directly at Crystal Palace's goalkeeper. No club had seen more players grab goals on their Premier League debut than Chelsea. Their record stood at 27, but Delap could not add to that total here, nor Joao Pedro or Jamie Gittens or Estevao Willian, who was brought on as a second-half substitute.
Daily Record
an hour ago
- Daily Record
Thibault Klidje repays record Hibs transfer vs tame Livingston to set up Rangers quarter final
David Gray's men continued their early season momentum in the Premier Sports Cup Thibault Klidje marked his first start with a goal against Livingston as Hibs set up a Premier Sports Cup quarter-final date with Rangers. Josh Mulligan made sure of the win in the dying stages with a howitzer from distance just minutes after coming off the bench. Record £1million record signing Klidje glanced home Martin Boyle 's corner just before the break and put in a lively display before being subbed in the 68th minute. The Togo international had been restricted to four sub cameo outings before this clash and finally made the most of his chance to shine. Klidje was one of six changes to the starting XI as boss David Gray mixed it up ahead of Thursday's crucial Conference League play-off first leg against Legia Warsaw. Hibs wasted little time in finding their feet and could have gone ahead inside the first minute. Klidje outmuscled Shane Blaney to get on the end of a long ball and his dipping shot from the edge of the box was tipped over by the backtracking Jerome Prior. From Boyle's corner Klidje then found himself unmarked at the backrest but the 24 year-old made a mess of his header and Prior gathered. The Lions enjoyed success down the right flank but their deliveries into the box came to nothing. Lions keeper Prior then did well to push a Josh Campbell drive from distance away. But Hibs broke the deadlock two minutes before the break through Klidje. Boyle whipped in a corner from the left and Klidje met the delivery at the front post to glance past Prior. Livingston upped the pressure after the break but Hibs made sure keeper Rafa Sallinger had a quiet debut with a solid defensive display. And sub Mulligan wrapped up the win with a rocket from 25-yards that found the top corner in the 87th minute. Hibs' debut This was Hibs' seventh game in 25 days as they juggle domestic and European football and Hibs boss David Gray tinkered with the team that progressed in the Conference League with an extra-time aggregate win over Partizan Belgrade on Thursday. That meant handing full debuts to three of his new recruits. As well as Klidje, goalkeeper Salinger and midfielder Miguel Chaiwa also got the chance to impress. Towering Austrian stopper Sallinger's appearance came on the back of number one Jordan Smith being at fault for two goals against the Serbians. Pace in attack Kieron Bowie delivered a textbook display in forward play against Partizan and with the marksman enjoying a well earned rest from the starting XI Martin Boyle and Klidje led the line. Hibs were happy to hit high balls over the top for the pacey pair to run onto. That caused problems for the Lions centre backs Ryan McGowan and Shane Blaney. And McGowan picked up a booking in the 16th minute for a cynical foul on Klidje on the far touchline. Record transfer makes a mark After four sub outings amounting to only 33 minutes record signing Klidje was finally handed the chance to show what he is all about from the start. There was not even a minute on the clock when the former Luzern man forced a save from Jerome Prior. He put in a shift and his overeuberance got the better of him when he was booked for barging into Shane Blaney. But he had the Hibs chanting his name with the opening goal in the 43rd minute when he forced home Martin Boyle's corner. Klidje went off to a standing ovation from the Hibs fans in the 68th minute Tame Lions Livingston were blunt in attack in the first half as they failed to even register a single shot on target. It was an easy first start for Sallinger in the Hibs goal. Robbie Muirhead went into the game with four goals in six outings but he had an off day in front of goal. The experienced striker was set up by Andy Winter after the break as the hosts chased an equaliser but he failed to get a shot away from a promising position. Livingston 's first shot on target came after 54 minute but even that was a tame effort from outside the box from Scott Pittman that was easily collected by Sallinger. Euro boost This result and performance ticked all the right boxes for Hibs boss David Gray ahead of Thursday's Conference League play-off first leg visit of Legia Warsaw. As well as giving much needed game time to some of his squad as they booked a quarter-final against Rangers, it also meant there was a well earned rest for others who needed it. The likes of Bowie, Chris Cadden and Rocky Bushiri also watched on from the bench without being needed.
