Three things we learned from Chelsea win as Blues to reap reward of hard-fought victory

Chelsea kept their hopes of a top-eight finish in the league phase of the Champions League on track with a 1-0 win over Pafos.

Victory moved them up to eighth in the table on goal difference, but whether they can keep hold of the position is another matter, with Napoli to come in their final game next week.

It could prove to be a very important win indeed. Under their relentless schedule of playing almost non-stop, Chelsea could do without being involved in a two-legged play-off round to reach the round of 16.

Those who finish in the top eight of the league phase advance straight to the last 16 with no play-off round needed, so getting over the line against Pafos – however underwhelming the performance and scoreline – could prove to be huge for the Blues.

Chelsea were comfortably the better team throughout but were unable to create presentable openings from close range, relying chiefly on speculative efforts from distance by Pedro Neto and their eventual man of the match, Caicedo. The Ecuadorian’s planted header from a second-half corner was the breakthrough but did not prove the catalyst for further goals to come.

That Chelsea got over the line is crucial, as their final group game is a tough test away to Napoli — but they are one of no fewer than eight teams on 13 points, so racking up more goals on the night to improve their goal difference will feel an opportunity missed for Rosenior’s men. Winning, though, was the priority, and they did that.

Opportunities remain relatively few and far between for Jamie Gittens right now, but in his 20 minutes off the bench he was as positive and forward-thinking as any of Chelsea’s attacking players on a difficult night.

The Englishman came on in the 70th minute for Alejandro Garnacho — who had been anonymous. The Englishman was certainly not that.

Gittens produced one outrageous piece of skill to stick the ball between the legs of Bruno Felipe and burst past him before crossing.