- Mikhailo Mudryk contributed a goal and an assist in a dominant display
- Before the game, fans held signs with Baldock’s team number 32.
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Anyone with a heart was moved by the outpouring of grief for George Baldock from his Panathinaikos family, but Chelsea’s players had a job to do, and Enzo Maresca’s reserves were relentless in Athens.
Even without Cole Palmer, Levi Colwill, Reece James, Moisés Caicedo, Malo Gusto, Nicolas Jackson, Romeo Lavia and Wesley Fofana, they achieved victory to remain at the right end of the Conference League table.
Mykhailo Mudryk was among 11 Maresca substitutions to step up as the Ukrainian scored one and set up two for Joao Felix, European football’s once-great wunderkind who seized the opportunity from a rare start. Christopher Nkunku scored the visitors’ fourth through a penalty.
If Chelsea are to win the Conference League, they will face a tougher test than Panathinaikos, whose most threatening representative sometimes felt like the fan who spent the entire game pointing a laser pen at the visiting players.
However, this left Maresca with some doubts as to whether any of these characters should be worrying his Premier League lineups, with Newcastle next up at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Joao Félix sent a message to coach Enzo Maresca in the form of an inspired double
Chelsea’s B team put in an impressive performance in Athens on Thursday night
The Europa Conference League clash began in an emotional atmosphere after tributes were paid to George Baldock.
Pedro Neto gained a meter of space on the right before launching a tempting ball into the home area, where Mudryk got ahead of his marker to score the second.
Christopher Nkunku ignored the distraction of a green laser shined into his face by an unconscious member of the crowd to calmly take a penalty for four.
“What we want is exactly what they are doing: take advantage of the opportunity when we give it to them,” Maresca said. “They showed it.”
As kick-off approached, a live band began playing David Bowie’s Starman while 70,000 fans, including Chelsea fans, held up green cards with Baldock’s number 32 on them. There were banners describing him as “immortal” and a minute’s silence was observed.
Panathinaikos would have taken the lead after 90 seconds if it weren’t for Filip Jorgensen. The 22-year-old goalkeeper made a spectacular save, the kind that won’t hurt him as he attempts to unseat Robert Sanchez as Chelsea’s number one to prevent Tin Jedvaj from going home.
Chelsea took the lead in the 22nd minute when Felix launched a long ball from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to Mudryk. He returned the favor and set up Felix to take a touch to complete the team’s move.
Mudryk was hoping for another assist when he squared the ball to Enzo Fernandez, whose 20-yard rocket was brought down by Bartlomiej Dragowski as Chelsea went into the break with a 1-0 lead.
In the 48th minute, Chelsea doubled their lead when Pedro Neto’s cross found Mudryk, who beat Giannis Kotsiras at the far post to head a header past Dragowski.
Mudryk was also involved in the 3-0 lead when he passed the ball to Félix, who scored from 20 meters thanks to a wicked deflection from Nemanja Maksimovic. Maresca may not see Felix as a starter in the Premier League, especially given Palmer is his competition at number 10, but he spent these 90 minutes making his case emphatically.
When Félix’s cross was blocked by Maksimovic’s arm, Chelsea were awarded a penalty. Instead of letting the Portuguese complete his hat-trick, Nkunku took advantage, ignoring the laser pointers, and made it 4-0.
Panathinaikos scored a goal when Georgios Vagiannidis crossed for Facundo Pellistri, but his fans booed him at the end of the match. As for Chelsea, their Conference League campaign shows no signs of faltering despite Maresca’s numerous changes.