Joao Pedro Scores Brace As Chelsea Beat Napoli

 

Chelsea secured an important 3-2 victory against Napoli, with a comeback led by Joao Pedro's brace for the Blues to qualify for the Champions League knockout stages. 

Napoli were heading to what could have ruined Chelsea's quest to avoid slipping into the play-off zone when the Italians were leading by two goals to one. Pedro came to the rescue of the Blues midway through the second half and turned the tide. 

Enzo Fernandez put the Blues in the lead from a penalty before Antonio Vergara leveled the terms for Napoli. Vergara neatly dribbled past the defense line and finished off. 

In the closing minutes of the first half, Rasmus Holjund snatched the lead for Napoli, tapping home Mathias Olivera's cross. Pedro responded for Chelsea midway through the second half. 

Esteban darted into space on the right and released the ball to Pedro. The striker moved into space and curled the ball from the edge of the box into the top right corner. With eight minutes remaining to play, he darted into the box from the centre and finished off a fast break to give Chelsea their third goal. 

Napoli failed to finish outside of the elimination zone. They are in the 30th position with eight points. Meanwhile, Chelsea finished in the top eight of the league phase and avoided the playoffs.   

Overview 

Chelsea came into the game, carefully orchestrating their gameplan until a handball gave away a penalty. Enzo's conversion of the spot-kick not only put Napoli on the back foot but also instilled confidence in the Blues. Meanwhile, the Italians' comeback was meticulous. 

The Blues centre-back had shown to be floppy, allowing penetration into the box. Vergara took the chance amidst five Chelsea players and made it past four in the box. He was unimpeded from the edge of the box,  having enough room to dazzle. A similar situation gave away the second goal, as Holjund gained an advantage on Reece to tap in Olivera's cross.