Chelsea staged a dramatic second-half turnaround against Napoli, as a Joao Pedro brace sealed a top-eight Champions League finish and dumped the Italian side out of the tournament.
The visitors had started well, with Enzo Fernandez opening the scoring from the penalty spot, but Napoli flipped the contest before the break. Antonio Vergara and Rasmus Hojlund both found the net to leave Chelsea on the brink of elimination at halftime.
The match swung decisively after the interval with the introduction of Cole Palmer. The England international made an immediate impact, playing a key role in both of Joao Pedro’s decisive goals.
Full-time brought despair for Napoli and celebrations for Chelsea, who confirmed their place in the last 16.
Chelsea made a lively start, and captain Reece James won a penalty in the 18th minute after his free-kick struck the arm of Juan Jesus. Fernandez kept his nerve, sending the spot-kick into the corner.
Going behind sparked a response from Antonio Conte’s side, with Mathias Olivera and Giovanni di Lorenzo both testing Chelsea before the breakthrough arrived.
Napoli’s equaliser was a moment to savour, as hometown favourite Antonio Vergara scored his first goal for the club. He weaved past Moises Caicedo, shrugged off Wesley Fofana, and calmly finished beyond Robert Sanchez.
Ten minutes later, Napoli took the lead when Rasmus Hojlund beat Fofana to Olivera’s low delivery and steered a sharp first-time effort into the net.
At halftime, Palmer—returning from a thigh issue—replaced Pedro Neto and changed the complexion of the game.
His influence showed on the hour mark when he found Joao Pedro, who powered past his defender and smashed an equaliser from outside the box.
Palmer then set up the winner on the break, slipping Joao Pedro through to fire an 82nd-minute shot between the legs of goalkeeper Alex Meret.
Romelu Lukaku had a late chance to snatch something for Napoli against his former club, but his stoppage-time attempt was weak and easily saved by Sanchez.
Napoli’s European campaign comes to an end, while Chelsea skip the February play-offs and progress directly into the Champions League last 16.
