Chelsea Champions League Win over Pafos kept the European campaign of the Blues alive but only after a frustrating and tense evening at Stamford Bridge where patience, composure and belief were put to the test. Chelsea debuted in the champions league and ultimately received a snowball drive through a late diving head by Moises Caicedo, which earned them crucial three points that would keep them alive in the competition to avoid play-off round and still achieve the top eight spots.

It was clear that it was going to be quite challenging as the opening whistle was the cue. Any defeat would have been considered as a big blow to Chelsea especially since their dream of evading the play-off round was at stake. To start with, the reality in the field did not reflect the disparity in fame or the value of the squad between the two teams. As they were making their first appearance in the champions league, Pafos held deep, were disciplined and long spilled the time of the Chelsea.

The first indicators came during the first 20 minutes. Enzo Fernandez believed that he scored the first goal when he headed it in following a close-range strike but the goal was disallowed after the referee decided he pushed off defender Derrick Luckassen during the move. Cheers were led by the home crowd with the decision and were the beginning of a frustrating night. Nevertheless, even prior to this event, Chelsea had been informed about the threat of their opposition. The subsequent services of the pafos were cut short by a rapid counter-stroke by Jaja who bashed the post after the ball had ricoched off the hand of Reece James in the penalty-box, and he received numerous appeals to allow an imaginary spot-kick, which was unanimously rejected.

During the first half, the possession of Chelsea persisted, but did not have a tempo and incision. They could take such a long time to die that Pafos was free to hold his positions and lines of defense on the defensive lines with a sense of security. Jorrel Hato just missed the tie, before the interval, but was blocked out at point-blank distance by Jay Gorter that made possibly the finest reflex save to preserve the scores at a draw.

But the feeling of impending inevitability that somehow one day Chelsea would be successful did not completely manifest itself. Rather, Stamford Bridge succumbed to some anxiety at the beginning of a second half as in the earlier pattern. Liam Rosenior, who was in charge of his fourth match since his appointment and his first in the champions league, made an effort to add vigor by bringing on a teenage winger Estevao Willian at half time. The boy jumped the crowd at once, and drove an opening salvo, half a shot all the way, which landed too near to be caught.

Nonetheless, the time passed and the superiority of Chelsea did not translate into the goals. Pafos was well organised and took in the pressure soaking, making appearances in the counter and moments to think and guess, and Chelsea looked ponderous and predictable in the last third. The game was becoming like a typical European banana-skin.

Eventually, after 77 minutes the breach came. The corner of Pedro Neto led to uproar in the Pafos box, flicking out a substitute Nany Dimata, and falling at the feet of Moises Caicedo. The PS115 million midfielder was the fastest to react and he took a step forward to send home the ball in point-blank range that caused massive celebrations in the stadium. it was hardly a graceful moment, though it was firm.

There, however, Chelsea handled the final phases in a professional manner such that nothing came at the end to ruin the night. But the performance left things to be desired even in triumph. This huge disparity between the values of the two squads, which are PS1 billion and PS26.2 million respectively in the case of Chelsea and Pafos, did not translate to a difference on the field. One of the oldest teams in the match the Cypriot champions managed their strategy well without luck not to score at least a point.

The end was more important to Rosenior than the means. The number one priority is not going through the play-offs of the Champions League, and by making it to the top eight, Chelsea would save two more knockout games in February. The additional time to breathe would be priceless to a coach who has just begun his term in office, as he will have more time to execute and build the squad on the training ground.

In the future, the difficulty is increased. When it comes to the last day of the match the chelseas will most probably have to get their result in Napoli, which is not an encouraging prospect considering Antonio Conte and his players are also in need of winning the match. Rosenior was, though, adamant he is not intimidated by the task but pointed out that it is necessary to focus first on domestic duties before refocusing on Europe once more.

To sum up, the Chelsea Champions League victory over Pafos keeps the campaign going but is a reminder that during this stage, reputation cannot be assured of anything. Chelsea went away with three points, managed to escape the risk of being embarrassed once, and have a second chance. And the test will be the actual one, however, in Naples where advancement will require more assertive effort, such as may well be expected of their visions.

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