Heidenheim 0-2 Chelsea: Nkunku and Mudryk edge Blues closer to last 16

Chelsea maintained their perfect start to their Europa Conference League season by beating Heidenheim 2-0 on Thursday.

Two second-half goals from Christopher Nkunku and Mykhailo Mudryk kept the Blues at the top of the pile after four games, taking their tally to 18 goals in this year's competition.

The visitors thought they had been awarded a penalty when Mudryk tripped in the penalty area, and despite having to go to the monitor to review the decision, referee Serdar Gozubuyuk stuck to his original decision.

However, the Blues took the lead six minutes after half-time when Jadon Sancho's cross was met by Nkunku, who finished with aplomb from inside the penalty area.

Heidenheim continued to pile on the pressure late on and thought they had leveled through substitute Maximilian Breunig's diving header, but at the other end the offside flag was raised.

The victory was sealed in the 86th minute after an excellent build-up game between Sancho and Kiernan. Dewsbury-Hall saw the ball pulled back for Mudryk, who fired into the top corner.

The sending off of Cesare Casadei in second-half stoppage time took the shine off an otherwise impressive performance, with the Blues focus now on Aston Villa this weekend.

Four wins out of four! #CFC | #UECL pic.twitter.com/DAJ6BxXktM

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) November 28, 2024

Data debrief: Blues march on

After Chelsea's 8-0 defeat to Armenian minnows Noah in their last match, many placed the Blues as favorites to win this year's competition, but they had to work for their victory in Germany.

While Blues scored an expected goals (xG) of 2.9 to Heidenheim's 1.97, the hosts registered more shots on target (11) but were thwarted by the brilliance of Filip Jorgensen, who made 11 saves in the encounter.

Nkunku also continued his scoring streak in the competition, scoring his fifth Europa Conference League goal, while also producing more shots on target (three) than any of his teammates.