Conference League: Dewsbury-Hall’s lone strike enough to seal Chelsea’s progression

Chelsea sailed through to the quarterfinals of the Europa Conference League after beating FC Copenhagen 3-1 on aggregate.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall scored the only goal of the second leg after Chelsea won the first leg 2-1 in Denmark last week.

Cole Palmer started on the bench after missing a penalty against Leicester City on Sunday – his first failed spot-kick in the Premier League.

The England international did not train in the build-up due to a sickness bug and only returned to training on Wednesday after playing 73 minutes against Ruud van Nistelrooy’s men.

It was the first time Palmer was left out of a Chelsea starting XI since January 11 against Morecambe in the FA Cup third round.

Without their talisman, it was not the best start for the Premier League side. They failed to register a shot in the first half.

Copenhagen presented Pedro Neto with a one-on-one opportunity, but he refused to pull the trigger, running with his head down and throwing himself to the ground, trying to win a penalty instead.

The Blues registered their first shot two minutes into the second period, and Palmer was unsurprisingly involved, crossing to Trevoh Chalobah at the back post.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall scored the opener on his seventh Europa Conference League start of the season, grabbing his third goal in the competition.

The former Leicester midfielder wriggled through the Copenhagen defense and somehow ended up with only the goalkeeper to beat, blasting it hard and low across the goal.

Chelsea were much improved in the second half to win 3-1 on aggregate and advance to the quarterfinals of the Conference League, where they will face Molde or Legia Warsaw, who are currently in extra-time.

At half-time, the Danish side had more corners, four shots, one shot on target, only 40 fewer passes than their hosts, and had committed fewer fouls, while possession was far from one-sided at 54-46.

If any team looked like scoring, it most certainly was not Chelsea.

And with Cole Palmer going through his paces down the touchline, it was no surprise to see him introduced for the second half.

Marc Cucurella also came on, with Enzo Fernandez and Josh Acheampong relocating to the bench.