Once the Blues had settled down and begun to quiet the vocal Swedish crowd, we rarely looked troubled as we raced into a promising lead at the halfway point in our semi-final and took a big step towards reaching a European final.

Once Jadon Sancho was found by a brilliant Enzo Fernandez pass to open the scoring, Chelsea were well in charge of this game, a fact only underlined when Fernandez was at it again to tee up Noni Madueke for our second shortly before half-time.

It was a similar story after the break as Jackson, one of four half-time substitutions by Enzo Maresca, quickly extended our advantage following a mix-up at the back by Djurgarden. When the striker fired his second into the top corner it was clear who will go into the second leg in charge of this tie, even if Isak Alemayehu got one back to give the Swedes a glimmer of hope at the Bridge.

The selection

There were eight changes by Enzo Maresca, as Filip Jorgensen came in between the posts. Ahead of the goalkeeper, only Marc Cucurella continued in our defence from the win over Everton, with Josh Acheampong, Tosin Adarabioyo and Benoit Badiashile all coming in.

Reece James captained the side from midfield, alongside Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Enzo Fernandez and Noni Madueke were the other two players to retain their place for this Conference League tie, the latter joining Jadon Sancho and Tyrique George in the front three.

Blocking out the noise

The game got under way in an electric atmosphere inside the 3Arena, and a haze of smoke, as the travelling Chelsea supporters did their best to make themselves heard alongside a vocal home crowd, the latter cheering their side on in the first appearance by a Swedish side in a European semi-final since 1987.

In the deafening noise, the start was a little scrappy. It took five minutes for Madueke to have the game’s first shot, having been released down the right by a fine Fernandez pass, but his effort curled high. An almost identical effort by Djurgarden then bounced wide at the other end moments later.

As the clock ticked past the 10-minute mark the Blues were beginning to settle, though, and a long spell of possession took some of the early enthusiasm out of the Djurgarden players.

Taking charge

We then went a step further in trying to quieten things down, on the pitch and in the stands, when we made our spell of pressure pay off with an important early goal.

The Djurgarden players got sucked towards the ball and were punished ruthlessly by a brilliant cross from deep by Fernandez to find Sancho unmarked at the back post. The winger took the time to steady himself and pick his spot, meaning the Swedish defender rushing back in a last-ditch attempt to block was unable to keep the shot out.

After the goal, we were now firmly in control. The home side barely got a touch of the ball for the next 10 minutes, although the closest we came to extending our lead during that period was a Cucurella snapshot from the edge of the box, which whistled past the foot of the right-hand post.

James was dropping deep in midfield to dictate play and Fernandez continued to find pockets of space from which to look for passes into the box. Teenage forward George was providing a focal point while making space for Sancho and Madueke either side of him.

The home fans kept singing, but the volume had notably dropped as our ever-longer spells of possession made it clear who was in control, even if more chances remained elusive. When one did arrive, thanks to a beautiful scooped pass over the back line by James, the keeper was quick off his line to deny Madueke.

Djurgarden managed to threaten our goal for the fist time with around 10 minutes left until half-time, but Jorgensen was able to make a simple save.

Instead, Madueke was given a second chance, and this time he gave the keeper no chance. The winger was found on the right side of the box in a quick attack, by that man Fernandez pulling the strings again, and picked his spot perfectly, rolling a finish inside the near post to send us in for the break two goals ahead.

Still work to do

Maresca made four changes at half-time as we continue to balance our European and domestic commitments, with Trevoh Chalobah, Moises Caicedo, Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson all coming on, Cucurella, James, Fernandez and Madueke the players making way.

With the home crowd finding their voice again at half-time, though, it was the home who started the second half with their best spell of the match so far, although the only time they managed to threaten the Chelsea goal, Jorgensen did well to tip a header over the bar from a corner.

Game opens up

The balance of possession remained more even than it had been during the opening 45 minutes for a while, but before long we pulled further ahead when Jackson took full advantage of a defensive mix-up by Djurgarden. When the defender attempted, and failed, to shepherd the ball back to his goalkeeper, our striker was only too happy to take it off their hands and tap into the empty net.

Just six minutes later Jackson had the ball in the back of the net for the second time, with a wonderful strike. His fellow sub Caicedo did well to win possession and find the striker on the edge of the box, but the left-footed finish to find the top corner was spectacular.

Djurgarden's own substitute Alemayehu then gave the home support something to enjoy with a shot which bounced up off the turf and down off the crossbar to evade Jorgensen and cut the deficit back to three, but by now there was no question which team was in control of this semi-final.

After that flurry of goal, things settled back down again with the game played predominantly in the Djurgarden half. That meant we were able to see out the last 15 minutes without much in the way of incident, the highlight being the introduction of 16-year-old Reggie Walsh late on to make his senior debut - becoming the third-youngest player ever to represent Chelsea - as the Blues secured a healthy 4-1 lead going into the second leg at Stamford Bridge.

What is next

Attention switches back to the Premier League when we host newly crowned champions Liverpool at Stamford Bridge for a 4.30pm kick-off this Sunday 4 May. That is followed by the second leg of this UEFA Conference League semi-final against Djurgarden, also at the Bridge, at 8pm next Thursday 8 May.

Westview tickets for the home leg of this UEFA Conference League semi-final are on sale for £60pp, available exclusively to CFC Members. Hospitality packages are available on general sale here, starting from £160pp.

The teams

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Jorgensen; Acheampong, Tosin, Badiashile, Cucurella (Chalobah h-t); Fernandez (Caicedo h-t), James (c) (Palmer h-t); Madueke (Jackson h-t), Dewsbury-Hall, Sancho; George (Walsh 88)
Unused subs: Bergstrom, Curd, Colwill, Gusto, Amougou, Neto, Mheuka
Scorers: Sancho 13, Madueke 43, Jackson 59, 65

Djurgarden (4-3-3): Rinne; Stahl, Une (c), Danielson (Tenho 64), Kosugi; Finndell, Stensson, Gulliksen; Haarala (Alemayehu 64), Nguen, Priske
Unused subs: Croon, Bergh, Manneh, Selfven, Persson
Scorer: Alemayehu 68

Referee: Sandro Scharer (Switzerland)