Jason Cundy really liked the body language of one Chelsea player during the important win over Legia Warsaw.
On Thursday night, Chelsea secured a 3-0 away victory in Poland. Enzo Maresca’s side are now in total command of the Conference League quarter-final clash against Legia Warsaw after beating them in convincing fashion during the first leg.
Noni Madueke (two) and Tyrique George were on the scoresheet as the Blues scored three unanswered goals in a dominant second half.
Back in September, Chris Sutton claimed Chelsea must win the Conference League this season or it would be an embarrassment. In fairness, they’ve got nine wins out of nine in the European competition so far and one foot in the semi-finals already ahead of next week’s second leg versus Legia Warsaw.
Jason Cundy claims Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is finding his ‘swagger’ at Chelsea
Jason Cundy did pick out Chelsea’s Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, 26, as one of the positives from the Legia Warsaw victory. In particular, he thinks that the English central midfielder is visibly growing in confidence and stature during his debut season at the club.
When discussing Blues star Dewsbury-Hall, Cundy said via Chelsea’s official app (6:40pm, 10 April): “I think he’s starting to grow… It’s a big step up from Leicester to Chelsea. There is a bit more of a swagger about the way he plays at the moment.”
Cundy later added after the midfielder’s volleyed attempt (7:10pm): “It’s not an easy skill this. It drops out the sky, he watches it on his favourite left foot on the edge of the box, makes great contact. It goes maybe a foot over the bar. If we’re going to score the next goal, it feels like Dewsbury-Hall probably deserves it.”
Dewsbury-Hall has struggled for regular minutes so far during his first campaign as a Chelsea player, starting only twice in the Premier League. However, he’s slowly beginning to come into his own.
The left-footed midfielder has done his best work in the club’s Conference League run, starting eight of the nine matches in the competition. Based on the fact he had a few chances to score on Thursday, including a couple of headers, he may be disappointed he didn’t net his fourth goal of the season.
| Minutes played | Goals | Assists | Total shots | Chances created | Accurate passes | Duels won | Duels lost | Match rating |
| 90 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 46/49 (94%) | 6 | 1 | 8.6 |
Dewsbury-Hall is coming good at Chelsea at the right time, with head coach Maresca beginning to give him more and more responsibility.
Speaking in March, Joe Cole insisted Dewsbury-Hall has a Chelsea future despite a slow start to life in West London. If he can play an integral role in the club winning European silverware this season, perhaps he can kick on next year during his second season.
What John Obi Mikel previously said about Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
There were many people who questioned Chelsea’s decision to sign Dewsbury-Hall from Leicester City last summer, including John Obi Mikel.
Back in August 2024, Mikel claimed Dewsbury-Hall couldn’t help Chelsea. He said: “When I look at this team, Dewsbury-Hall. Again, I have nothing against this player, it’s not his fault, it was the club who brought him to the club, he cannot help Chelsea.”
Dewsbury-Hall has certainly been quite far down the pecking order for the Blues, even though he had the advantage of previously being managed by Maresca at Leicester
| Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 25 | 3 | 3 |
It’s worth pointing out that his game time has been restricted across the board, and it’s been hard to build any real momentum. We’ve certainly seen in glimpses that he possesses the individual quality to contribute to the squad.
We’re certainly fascinated to see what happens with Dewsbury-Hall once the summer transfer window comes around.
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