Which fringe players impressed?published at 08:06 4 October
Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter at Stamford Bridge
Image source, Getty ImagesChelsea's second string mostly played well in the 4-2 win at home to Gent in their opening Conference League match.
After rotating their entire starting XI from the 4-2 win against Brighton on Saturday, Renato Veiga scored an early header, Pedro Neto powered in a finish seconds after half-time and Christopher Nkunku and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall both plundered loose balls to kill the match.
It could have been a risky move but they looked comfortable, despite conceding twice, with further significant rotation expected against Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
Although the likes of Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson and Jadon Sancho will no doubt return for Sunday, those players on the fringes made their case for more minutes against stronger opposition in the league.
With a seventh goal in nine matches this season, Nkunku continues to show off his sharp finishing, with all of his past five league appearances coming from the bench.
On Saturday, Dewsbury-Hall did not even make the Chelsea squad but was among the better performers here, with Neto another knocking on the door, along with Veiga, who looks a bargain for £11.8m.
But Benoit Badiashile was poor again defensively for some of the goals, while Mykhailo Mudryk was devastating in attack but sometimes sloppy in possession.
Overall, it was a positive exercise for those involved - but it does not feel like Maresca needs to make any major changes to his line-up for Sunday.
