Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall seizes Chelsea chance to send Enzo Maresca reminder

The goal that delighted Enzo Maresca most on a night when Chelsea again looked at times irresistible in attack was their fourth and final strike, slotted home by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

Maresca had made 11 changes as his side began their Conference League campaign proper with a 4-2 victory over Gent, and just as proceedings were opened by a summer signing netting his first goal for the Blues (Renato Veiga), Dewsbury-Hall ensured it finished that way too.

“It meant a lot”, the Englishman said at full-time. “I’ve been waiting for that moment since I came here. To get it at that end as well, I won’t forget that.”

Dewsbury-Hall was the second man to swap Leicester for Stamford Bridge this summer, joining Chelsea in July for £30million just a month after his previous Foxes head coach Maresca had departed the King Power Stadium for the Blues.

Maresca insists he doesn’t have two teams at Chelsea, but in reality he does, and Dewsbury-Hall is currently a member of the side who will be used in the Carabao Cup, Conference League, and FA Cup when it begins in January.

The 26-year-old midfielder took his goal well against Gent and stated the evening off as his disguised pass slipped Mykhailo Mudryk through, allowing the Ukrainian to cross for Veiga to head Chelsea into the lead. Dewsbury-Hall’s influence, guiding 21-year-old midfield partner Cesare Casadei through the game, was a positive one. Maresca admitted he celebrated more for Dewsbury-Hall’s goal than the others.

“Yes, probably”, he said, “because I know Kiernan very well from last year.

“I said last week, I completely understand how difficult it is in this moment for Kiernan, in terms of [being] the main player at Leicester. You join Chelsea and become one of the players. You are on bench, not in the squad, not playing from the start. You struggle a little bit at the beginning.

“He has to understand the reason why he’s here is because we want him. The celebration is probably because I know that he needs that [goal].”

The challenge for Dewsbury-Hall and plenty of other Chelsea squad players is to use the Conference League in particular as a platform to perform. Play well, and Premier League minutes should follow.

That is particularly testing for Dewsbury-Hall, who knows he has to dislodge £222million duo Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo or, indeed, one of the Premier League’s best players in Cole Palmer if he is to break into Maresca’s thinking for the most important matches.

Chelsea midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall

He did all he could against Gent, spraying passes around, always playing forward, and opening his account for his new club. This was an opportunity seized.

“I think, personally, this squad is one of the strongest in the Premier League,” Dewsbury-Hall said. “The amount of quality we’ve got is breathtaking. It’s important for the lads that come in to try and give the manager a decision to make. That’s all you can do.

“I feel really good. I started the season with an injury, but that’s behind me now. Hopefully it’s onwards and upwards from here.”