Legia Warszawa 0-3 Chelsea: George scores first senior goal in comfortable win

Chelsea cantered to a comfortable 3-0 win over Legia Warszawa in the first leg of their Conference League quarter-final tie.

Tyrique George netted his first senior goal and Noni Madueke helped himself to a brace as the Blues, who also missed a penalty, put themselves firmly in control in the second half.

Chelsea were pegged back in the opening stages at the Polish Army Stadium, as Legia forced two corners inside the first minute, but Enzo Maresca's team swiftly gained a foothold.

Cole Palmer set Christopher Nkunku up with a neat pass on a fast break in the 15th minute, but the Frenchman’s effort drifted wide.

Palmer once again played a hand in setting up Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall following a blocked shot just past the half-hour mark, but the midfielder’s curling volley was saved brilliantly by Kacper Tobiasz.

But Legia's resistance was broken just four minutes into the second half, as youngster George tabbed home the rebound from Reece James' powerful shot.

Madueke doubled Chelsea's lead eight minutes later, drilling in low after Tobiasz’s poor clearance turned the ball over to Jadon Sancho.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall won a penalty that was confirmed by VAR when Patryk Kun dragged him down inside the box, but Nkunku's attempt was comfortably saved.

Just 28 seconds later, though, Madueke made it a brace with a close-range finish from Sancho's pass.

Legia’s only real threat came in the 90th minute, when Kun forced Filip Jorgensen into a sharp save, but it was too little, too late for the hosts.

Advantage Chelsea! #CFC | #UECL pic.twitter.com/wdJIxOqI4s
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 10, 2025

Data debrief: A tale of two halves

After a tepid first half, Chelsea’s second-half surge made the difference. In the first half, the Blues registered 10 shots, two of them on target, producing just 0.62 expected goals (xG).

By contrast, following the break, they fired 14 shots, eight of them on target and 11 coming from inside the box, at an xG of 3.45. In total, Chelsea amassed 24 shots, 10 on target, at an xG of 4.08.

Legia, meanwhile, managed just one shot on target from their eight total attempts, ending the contest with a modest xG of 0.44. Their tally of attempts was their lowest in a Conference League match this term.