- Funny verbal exchanges between fans sometimes led to unpleasant incidents.
- And before the game, a sea of red flares paraded across sleepy Parsons Green.
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Gent fans ‘threw chairs’ and ‘torn banners’ in the stands at Stamford Bridge as their team lost 4-2 to Chelsea, after causing chaos in west London earlier that afternoon.
A second-string Blues team produced a fluid attacking display to give Enzo Maresca some selection headaches as they equaled Saturday’s Premier League victory over Brighton, albeit against weaker opposition.
After an avalanche of early opportunities, Chelsea, who fought during a play-off round against Serviette to be here, found the first goal through Renato Veiga, who scored his first goal for the club thanks to a beautiful header to the second suit.
Emphatic finishes from Pedro Neto and Christopher Nkunku came either side of a Tsuyoshi Watanabe goal against the run of play, before Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall raced into the box to add a fourth.
But the action off the pitch often threatened to overshadow the display of creative football on it, with frequent verbal exchanges between groups of fans sometimes leading to more serious incidents.
Gent fans ‘threw chairs’ and ‘torn banners’ in the stands at Stamford Bridge as their team lost 4-2.
The action off the field often threatened to overshadow the display of creative football on it.
The most unpleasant scenes in the stadium occurred in a hectic atmosphere created before the match (credit: anthony celentano in X)
As the police watched helplessly, a red glow created by the various pyrotechnics made its way through the normally quiet neighborhood of the capital (credit: anthony celentano in X)
Footage circulating after the European Conference League match showed Gent fans knocking over seats and tearing up banners placed on the stands.
While visiting fans could be heard throughout the match, the chants seemed generally benign. At one point, Chelsea fans appeared to respond to their counterparts’ celebration of holding their phones up with the torch lit with the rebuttal: “What the hell is that?”
They then further mocked Gent fans by making the same gesture with their devices after their team scored.
The ugliest scenes at the stadium stemmed from a hectic atmosphere created before the match, where the Belgian visitors could be seen paralyzing the plush streets of west London as they marched.
Gent fans lit flares and chanted at passers-by at Parsons Green and Fulham as they prepared for the big clash at Stamford Bridge.
As the police watched helplessly, a red glow created by the various pyrotechnics made its way through the normally quiet neighborhood of the capital.
Fans waved their scarves over their heads and danced in the middle of the road as cyclists tried to push their way through different members of the march and buses came to a complete stop.
They eventually saw their team defeated by a spirited Chelsea team, full of players hoping to fit into the manager’s plans.
Chelsea found the first goal thanks to Renato Veiga, who scored his first goal for the club.
A powerful shot by Christopher Nkunku came after a shot by Tsuyoshi Watanabe against the run of play.
Gent was loaned out by an energetic Chelsea team, full of players hoping to break into the manager’s plans.
Veiga, the 21-year-old from Basel in the summer, was the best player of the night and then set up Nkunku to mark his France call-up with a goal yesterday.
“Every game is complicated,” said Maresca, unhappy with how they conceded twice. “We have a lot of things we can do better: attack better, defend better.”
Chelsea fans noticed a familiar surname in Gent’s forward: Andri Gudjohnsen, son of Eidur. The 22-year-old was born in London on January 29, 2002 and it was at Stamford Bridge the following day where his famous father scored within two minutes of a 2-0 Premier League victory over Leeds.