João Pedro’s double dumps out Napoli as Chelsea avoid playoff

The onus was on Chelsea to silence the jibes about their lack of experience.

- Jacob Steinberg

Behind to a goal from Rasmus Hojlund at halftime, they were facing the inconvenience of a two-legged playoff to reach the last 16 of the Champions League. Another lead had been thrown away and the momentum was with Napoli after they cancelled out a penalty from Enzo Fernandez at a bouncing Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Yet the night ended with a humiliating early exit for Napoli and another failure for Antonio Conte in Europe. The former Chelsea manager watched in despair as Cole Palmer came onto undo his depleted side with a devastating cameo. Palmer set up Joao Pedro for two outstanding goals as Liam Rosenior’s Chelsea finished in the top eight thanks to their first away win at this level in over three years.

Rosenior sought to neutralise Napoli by matching Conte’s 3-4-2-1 system. Malo Gusto and Pedro Neto lined up as wing-backs, Reece James and Marc Cucurella joined Wesley Fofana at the back and there were opportunities for the young Brazilians, Estévao Willian and Andrey Santos, to build on bright displays against Crystal Palace.