Chelsea moved within one win of securing a spot in the Conference League last 16 with a 2-0 triumph over Heidenheim, maintaining their flawless record in the competition.

Christopher Nkunku and Mykhailo Mudryk netted second-half goals to seal the victory. Nkunku opened the scoring shortly after the interval, capitalising on Jadon Sancho’s precise cut-back to fire home his 11th goal of the season. Mudryk rounded off proceedings with a stunning strike into the top corner in the closing stages.

Heidenheim, managed by Frank Schmidt—who has spent 17 years at the helm—offered Chelsea their toughest test in Europe this season. Schmidt has guided the German side from the fifth tier to the Bundesliga and now onto the European stage, defying expectations. Despite their spirited performance, Enzo Maresca’s side, reduced to 10 men after Cesare Casadei was sent off in stoppage time, ultimately proved too strong.

Maresca, Chelsea’s 18th head coach during Schmidt’s tenure, made 10 changes to the line-up from their weekend Premier League win over Leicester, relying heavily on his second-string players.

This included a start for 18-year-old forward Marc Guiu, who nearly broke the deadlock early on with a sharp attempt from Mudryk’s pass. Heidenheim’s goalkeeper, Kevin Müller, reacted swiftly to deny the youngster. Bayern Munich loanee Paul Wanner then tested Chelsea’s goalkeeper, Filip Jørgensen, with a dangerous strike, while Müller’s quick reflexes stopped another Guiu effort shortly afterwards.

Chelsea’s Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall came close with a powerful long-range shot, forcing Müller into a superb save. Wanner continued to threaten and had the best chance of the first half, only for Jørgensen to pull off a fine stop to keep the scores level.

Just before half-time, Tosin Adarabioyo narrowly missed giving Chelsea the lead, his close-range attempt from a whipped free-kick drifting inches wide.

The breakthrough came five minutes into the second half. Axel Disasi won possession with a strong challenge in midfield, allowing Dewsbury-Hall to feed the ball to Sancho on the right wing. Sancho delivered a perfect cross to Nkunku, whose deft first touch set him up to smash the ball into the far corner.

Heidenheim nearly equalised moments later, as Leo Scienza’s powerful strike was expertly saved by Jørgensen. Scienza came close again with a curling effort that narrowly missed the target, keeping Chelsea under intense pressure.

Jørgensen delivered an outstanding performance, denying Wanner’s one-on-one attempt in the 69th minute and breathing a sigh of relief when Maximilian Breunig’s header, which found the back of the net, was ruled offside.

Chelsea, however, had the final say. With four minutes remaining, Mudryk met Sancho’s low cross with a spectacular rising shot into the roof of the net, securing the win and Chelsea’s commanding position in the group.

This victory leaves Chelsea just one step away from advancing to the next round, with their perfect record intact.