Chelsea's Persistence Pays Off As Caicedo Seals Tight Champions League Win Over Pafos

Chelsea moved closer to the Champions League last 16 with a narrow 1-0 win over Pafos at Stamford Bridge, a result that keeps Liam Rosenior's side in an automatic qualification place ahead of their decisive

trip to Napoli next week.

The victory leaves Chelsea among eight clubs sitting on 13 points after seven group matches, occupying the final automatic qualifying position for the knockout stage. Their final group fixture comes away to Napoli at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, where they will meet former manager Antonio Conte.

Rosenior stressed that Chelsea must balance European ambitions with immediate domestic demands, as a difficult Premier League match against Crystal Palace on Sunday comes before the squad can fully focus on the meeting with Napoli. Preparations for that league fixture will influence how Chelsea approach their crucial trip to Italy.

"Of course you want to score more goals and win by bigger margins, but the reality of our situation is we are in the top eight," Rosenior added. "If we win, we have a fantastic chance to go through. We have a very difficult game against Crystal Palace on Sunday that we need to prepare for first. Then we will assess the game against Napoli and how we go about it. We know it will be a difficult game, but we are not daunted by that prospect. "

Chelsea needed patience to overcome Pafos, who defended deep and restricted clear chances for long spells on Wednesday. Enzo Fernandez had an early effort ruled out, while visiting goalkeeper Jay Gorter delivered an outstanding display, recording six saves and repeatedly denying the hosts during long periods of pressure.

The deadlock finally broke in the 78th minute when Moises Caicedo met a cross with a powerful header into the bottom-left corner. That decisive effort was Caicedo's fourth shot on target of the match, the highest number the midfielder has managed in a single Chelsea appearance in any competition.

Chelsea's dominance was underlined by the underlying numbers. Rosenior's team attempted 21 shots and produced 1.68 expected goals, while Pafos were limited to only 0.15 xG. That is the lowest xG total recorded by any side facing Chelsea in a Champions League fixture since Malmo registered 0.06 in October 2021.

Chelsea also maintained a perfect home record in this season's Champions League. The win over Pafos means they have taken maximum points from four matches at Stamford Bridge, a feat matched only by Bayern Munich, Sporting CP and Tottenham in the current campaign.

#CFC | #UCL pic.twitter.com/m7AwplhSOtChelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 21, 2026

Chelsea Champions League reaction from Liam Rosenior

Rosenior praised the persistence shown by Chelsea as Pafos blocked shots and defended their area with determination. Fernandez's disallowed goal frustrated the head coach, yet Rosenior felt the group maintained control and pressure until Caicedo finally delivered the winner late in the second half.

"You have to keep banging on the door," said Rosenior. Obviously, you want to get the breakthrough earlier to open up the game. I felt it was a harsh decision on Enzo. Maybe he puts his hands on him but in the Premier League it's probably a goal. You just have to keep going. There are things I was pleased with, things we need to improve on, but overall we kept going. They were making block after block, save after save, and I was delighted for Moi to get the goal and the result we deserved.

The result strengthens Chelsea's position heading into the final Champions League matchday and reflects an improving level of control at Stamford Bridge. With qualification still not guaranteed, focus now turns to maintaining momentum against Crystal Palace before the group make the difficult journey to face Napoli and determine their European fate.