Chelsea – Paphos, Getty Images January 22, 2026, 12:21 AM

Chelsea won a difficult home victory over Paphos in the match of the 7th round of the main round of the Champions League. The match at Stamford Bridge ended with a score of 1:0, and the fate of the meeting was decided by the standard in the second half.

The Londoners could not break the organized defense of the Cypriot club for a long time. Already in the 17th minute, Enzo Fernandez sent the ball into the net after serving, but the referee canceled the goal because of a foul in the attack against Derrick Lucassen.

Soon after, Paphos responded with a dangerous counter-attack – Zhaza hit the post after a ricochet from the hand of Rhys James in the penalty area, which caused violent protests from the visitors.

Chelsea had another great chance to open the scoring before the break, but Yorrell Gato’s close-range effort failed to beat inspired Paphos goalkeeper Jay Gorter.

At the beginning of the second half, the game was enlivened by the appearance of young Estevan, who immediately made the stands applaud with a spectacular free kick.

The hosts scored the winning goal only in the 78th minute. After a corner by Pedro Netu, the ball ricocheted off Nani Dimata and ended up in front of Moises Caicedo, who reacted the fastest and headed it into the goal from close range.

Thanks to this victory, Chelsea kept their chances of reaching the top 8 of the main round. However, for a direct exit to the 1/8 finals, the team will probably have to beat Napoli on the road in the final round.

Chelsea: Jorgensen (Sanchez, 46) — Gusteau, Fofana, Badiashil, Gato (Cucurella, 70) — James (Estevan, 46), Caicedo — Netu, Fernandez, Garnacho (Gittens, 70) — Delap (Pedro, 70)

Pathos: Gorter — Sema (Langa, 83), Lucassen, Pileas — Bruno, Pepe, Shunjic, Zhaza (Kina, 65) — Orsic (Bassuamina, 83), Dragomir (Glover, 89) — Silva (Dimata, 65)

Warning: Gittens, Fernandez — Orshic, Sema, Shunjic