On Thursday, October 3rd, KAA Gent will play an away match against Chelsea in the Conference League. At Stamford Bridge, the Buffalo’s will kick off their European campaign, following in the footsteps of Club Brugge, Union, and Anderlecht in other competitions. Chelsea will also play their first European match of the year, after a strong start in their domestic league. Read everything about this match in this article.
Chelsea – Gent
Chelsea hosts Gent in the UEFA Conference League, and the duel promises to be quite interesting. For Chelsea, it’s a chance to win all three major European competitions for the first time: the English side already won the Champions League in 2012 and 2021, and the Europa League in 2013 and 2019. For Gent, which has less European history than its opponent, this campaign is an opportunity to show their strength in Europe. Especially since in recent years, they’ve always come just short of the top in their own league.
Chelsea FC
This London club was founded in 1905 by Gus Mears, who converted Stamford Bridge from an athletics stadium into a football ground. Chelsea experienced great success in the 1950s, but their most successful period was in the 1990s and 2000s. With legendary managers like José Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti, Chelsea won several trophies, including multiple Premier League titles, FA Cups, and the UEFA Champions League.
Former coach Mauricio Pochettino was replaced this summer by Italian Enzo Maresca. Pochettino left Stamford Bridge after just a year, having led Chelsea to sixth place in the Premier League. Maresca was the assistant to City coach Pep Guardiola until the 2023-2024 season but moved to Leicester before coming to London this summer. His main task is to raise the team’s performance and prove that Chelsea’s spending over recent years has truly paid off.
Chelsea’s first-team squad includes no fewer than 43 players, though only 28 of them train together, which is not a healthy situation. Yet, among those 43, there are many quality players: for example, Cole Palmer, who scored the most goals for Chelsea last year, netting 25 goals across all competitions. This year, he has already scored 6 goals in 8 matches. In their last match, he scored 4 goals in just 20 minutes for the London team. Fellow midfielder Christopher Nkunku has also scored the same number of goals but played one more match.
Other players for the team include Marc Cucurella and Roméo Lavia. You might have heard of Lavia, the Belgian midfielder from whom much was expected when Chelsea signed him. However, due to injuries, he has yet to make a real impact. A month ago, he played an inspiring match against Manchester City, but we had to wait again afterward. He could make his return soon.
KAA Gent
This football club was founded in 1900 and plays its home matches at the Planet Group Arena, formerly known as the Ghelamco Arena. Their club colors are blue and white, and they have been playing continuously in the Belgian first division since 1989. Over the years, they have won the Belgian league title once and the Belgian Cup four times. They also won the Belgian Supercup in the same year they claimed their league title.
Last year, Gent finished at the top of the group in the Europe Play-offs, securing a spot in the qualifying rounds of the Europa Conference League. Currently, after nine matchdays in the Belgian league, Gent sits in third place. These good results are also thanks to Wouter Vrancken, who became coach of the Buffalo’s this past June. He once played for the club for two years and now replaces Hein Vanhaezebrouck.
Last year, Tarik Tissoudali and Hugo Cuypers were the top scorers for Gent, with 21 and 17 goals, respectively. Tissoudali left for the Greek league a month ago, where he will play for PAOK Saloniki. Cuypers made the move to the American league back in February and now plays for Chicago Fire. This season, Omri Gandelman has already scored 3 goals in 6 matches. The Israeli player is currently Gent’s most efficient scorer.
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