James and Fernández sink Copenhagen to put Chelsea in driving seat

Reece James celebrates scoring Chelsea's first goal with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Photograph: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC/Getty Images

Any jeopardy experienced by ­Chelsea in the Uefa Conference League is largely of their own making. The standard is low enough for Enzo Maresca’s side to play in bursts and still emerge victorious in a testing away game. Unlike Maresca, no other manager hoping to win this competition can afford to watch their side drift through a dismal first half and then sort themselves out by ­introducing an England international, a France forward and an Argentinian world champion during the break.

That show of strength was enough for Chelsea to find their poise at Parken, take control of this last-16 tie and beat FC Copenhagen with goals from Reece James and Enzo Fernández. Those flashes of ­quality aside, though, this was far from perfect. Chelsea rarely flowed and their inability to stay focused for 90 minutes flared again when they kept next week’s return at Stamford Bridge interesting by allowing Copenhagen to pull it back to 2-1 during the closing stages.

“A sloppy goal,” was the verdict from Maresca, who was nonetheless pleased with a first away win in three months. He is a coach looking for positives after a challenging period and he found it in the performance of James after the captain’s shift from right-back to central midfield. “He is in a very good mood,” Maresca said. “He is a fantastic player. We know with Reece the most important thing is to keep him fit. It is our duty.”

Troubled by a succession of knee and hamstring injuries during the past three years, it is good to see James rediscovering his rhythm. Maresca has long been an admirer of the 25-year-old. He talked about James, who made his name as an explosive wing-back when Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea won the Champions League, playing in midfield during a loan spell with Wigan six years ago.

Admittedly there will be tougher tests for the England international than Copenhagen. Although the ­Conference League has assumed greater significance for Chelsea after a poor run in the Premier League and a premature exit from the FA Cup, it was telling that Maresca was in a gambling mood. His decision to rotate heavily before hosting Leicester on Sunday was a reminder that qualification for the Champions League remains the main target.

A calculated gamble left Chelsea short of balance at first. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was on the left wing, the right-footed Malo Gusto was at left-back and a host of big hitters were on the bench. Nobody stretched Copenhagen. It was sterile domination in the purest sense; possession for possession’s sake.

Not that the lack of threat came as a huge surprise given that Cole Palmer was short of targets to hit in attack. Tyrique George and Dewsbury-Hall struggled on the flanks and Shim Mheuka, Chelsea’s youngest ever starter in a major European game at the age of 17 years and 137 days, was quiet after being given his full debut up front.

Maresca, who had to bring on Marc Cucurella when Gusto limped off early on, sought a reaction at half-time. Christopher Nkunku replaced Mheuka, Fernández came on for ­Moisés Caicedo, Benoît Badiashile made way for Levi Colwill and George was redeployed as a false nine.

The improvement was instant. Cucurella drove down the left a minute into the second half and got lucky when his rushed cutback found a teammate. James ran on to the ball and sent a low effort skimming beyond Diant Ramaj from 25 yards.

The replays suggested that Ramaj’s reflexes could have been sharper. The goalkeeper was beaten by accuracy rather than venom and Copenhagen were no less ­ineffective at the other end. Viktor Claesson should have equalised when he skipped beyond Trevoh Chalobah but Chelsea escaped when the Swede’s shot hit the inside of the far post.

Class told, Chelsea punishing Copenhagen’s profligacy when Cucurella won possession on the left and Nkunku released George. The 19-year-old winger dribbled into the area and had a second assist in as many games when he teed up ­Fernández to guide a lovely shot past Ramaj.

Game over? Not quite. Copenhagen had hope when poor defending from Colwill allowed Gabriel Pereira to head in a free-kick. Now the ­temperature rose. Chelsea wobbled briefly but dug deep and will expect to press home their advantage when the sides meet again.