Chelsea will face Danish Superliga leaders Copenhagen for a place in the quarter-finals of the Conference League.
Enzo Maresca’s side were handed a two-legged last-16 tie against the Danes in Friday’s draw in Nyon, the reward for their 100 per cent group-phase record which allowed them to top the table with 18 points.
Copenhagen made it to the knockout stage the hard way, losing the home leg of their play-off against Germany’s Heidenheim 2-1 before securing a nail-biting 3-1 extra-time victory in the return to secure their passage.
Our #UECL Round of 16 opponents have been confirmed! 👇
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) February 21, 2025
The sides met in the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1998 with the Blues going through 2-1 on aggregate after Brian Laudrup scored the decisive goal in Denmark.
However, they last went head-to-head in the last 16 of the Champions League in 2011 when Nicolas Anelka’s double in the away leg handed the Blues a 2-0 advantage to take to Stamford Bridge, where a 0-0 draw pitched them into last-eight battle, ultimately unsuccessfully, with Manchester United, who would go on to lose to Barcelona in the final at Wembley.
The ties will take place on March 6 and 13.
For Maresca, the competition represents an opportunity to secure a first trophy of his reign following his appointment in July last year.
The road to Wrocław is set 🤩#UECLdraw | #UECL pic.twitter.com/PzwIi42MvI
— UEFA Conference League (@Conf_League) February 21, 2025
The Italian has guided the club into the Premier League’s top six but, with just six points separating Nottingham Forest in third and seventh-placed Newcastle, the battle for European places is likely to go to the wire.
For a club which won the Champions League as recently as 2021, European club football’s lowest-profile competition may not represent the big a prizes, but a trophy is a trophy and would represent a building block along the way to where it wants to be once again.
Victory over Copenhagen would pitch the English side into a quarter-final tie with either Molde, conquerors of Irish side Shamrock Rovers in the play-offs, or Legia Warsaw, while one of Pafos, Djurgarden, Borac and Rapid Vienna would await in the semi-finals.
In the other half of the draw, the most eye-catching tie is Panathinaikos’ duel with Serie A outfit Fiorentina.
