The Blues fell behind early as Sander Alamaa punished us on the counter-attack with a fine curled finish, but we responded well, creating plenty of chances and continuously threatening Flora’s penalty area.

Our equaliser arrived in the 18th minute through Greenwood, who was given space to drive a powerful shot past goalkeeper Andero Tatrik. Captain for the night Ezenwata then remained composed to put us ahead before half-time.

In an eventful second period, we were reduced to ten men when Dante Waite was dismissed and then conceded a penalty, which Alamaa converted to level the score on the hour mark.

The Blues went down to nine men in the final minutes after Isaac Badu was shown a second yellow card and then a red, but we held out to ensure we return to Cobham next week with the tie level.

Early setback

We walked out to a lively atmosphere at the Lillekuma Stadium, which was only heightened when Flora took the lead after just five minutes.

Patrick Pihlak played the ball through to Alamaa, who cut inside and found the back of the net to give the hosts an advantage.

However, it was one that didn't last long. In the 18th minute, Greenwood marked his UEFA Youth League debut with a goal – and a fine one too.

Sol Gordon started the move, playing a pass to Ezenwata, who held up the ball well before turning his man and passing out to Greenwood. The 17-year-old dropped a shoulder and cut inside before unleashing a thumping strike into the top right corner.

Going ahead

Minutes before the interval, Ezenwata put us in front. The Blues skipper collected the ball on the edge of the box and, with none of the Flora defenders coming to engage, it enabled Ezenwata to take his time and pick out the bottom corner.

Showing resolve

We went down to ten men early in the second half when Waite was shown a straight red card. Freddy Bernal made a fantastic stop from the subsequent free-kick, which was on its way into the top corner.

It wasn’t the only occasion Bernal rose to the challenge when called upon, making a series of vital stops in the second period.

However, on the hour mark, Flora equalised from the penalty spot, with Alamaa scoring his second of the evening.

We came close to regaining the lead with Mathis Eboue producing a shot that flew a whisker wide of the far post. The Blues winger went down the line when he received the ball on the left side and had the keeper beaten with his low effort.

With 12 minutes to play, we had a golden opportunity to net the winner. Eboue used a referee's advantage after Ezenwata was fouled to thread a pass through Yisa Alao. The defender was one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but couldn't take the chance.

Late on, Badu was shown a second yellow card, reducing us to nine men. But saw out the final minutes with the numerical disadvantage and there remains all to play for in the second leg next week.

What it means

It’s half time in the second-round tie and our 2-2 draw means we go into the home leg with it all to play for.

What comes next?

Cobham Next Gen host the return leg of this UEFA Youth League tie on Wednesday 4 November, when we face Flora Tallinn at Cobham Training Ground. The game gets underway at 1pm GMT and supporters can watch the match live with a CFC+ subscription.

The teams

Chelsea (5-2-1-2): Freddy Bernal; Sol Gordon, Alfie Osborne, Dante Waite, Calvin Diakite, Jacob Dako (Jacob Hall 72); Isaac Badu, Reggie Watson; Mathis Eboue (Ibrahim Rabbaj 86); Jashayde Greenwood (Yisa Alao 55), Chizaram Ezenwata (c)
Unused subs: Toby Bell, Gabriel Sambou, Riley Ebho, Isaac McGillvary, Heze Grimwade, Andrew Pennie
Scorers: Jashayde Greenwood 18’, Chizaram Ezenwata 40’
Booked: Badu 80, Watson 93, Harry Hudson 94
Sent off: Waite 54, Badu 88 (second yellow)

Manager: Harry Hudson

Flora Tallinn (4-3-3): Andero Tatrik (C); Mark Kukk, Ronald Sammul, Joosep Palts, Patrick Pihlak (Ron Neltsas); Kregor Kalvik (Uku Korjus, Eerik Paltser), Marten Kukkonen, Remo Valdmets; Denis Zotov, Karl Lorenz (Nikita Kalmokov), Sander Alamaa
Unused subs: Ron Miss, Karel Isok, Mattias Luup, Jaan Poldma, Rocco Oja
Scorers: Sander Alamaa 5, 60
Booked: Alstaar Andris (Manager), Denis Zotov

Manager: Alstaar Andris