Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca expressed concern at the “easy chances” his team are missing after they limped into the Conference League semi-final despite a second-leg defeat to Legia Warsaw at Stamford Bridge.

The 2-1 loss to the team currently fifth in the Polish Ekstraklasa drew boos from supporters at full-time and was the second home game in a row in which fans had loudly voiced their growing discontent.

Things could have been different had Cole Palmer taken a straightforward chance to end his three-month goal drought inside the opening five minutes, skewing his shot wide when through on goal, whist Christopher Nkunku also spurned a good opening.

The inclusion of Palmer and striker Nicolas Jackson was a surprise given the first-leg score and that Chelsea are locked in a tight battle to qualify for the Champions League and face a London derby away at Fulham on Sunday.

“The (chances) that we are missing unfortunately are very easy goals,” said Maresca.

“Tonight the first five minutes we had two chances, but it can happen. Hopefully very soon Nico and Cole can start to score goals because they are very important for us.

“The idea was just for them, especially for Nico after more than two months out, the idea was to continue to build the physical condition for him. To give them a bit of tempo to be better for Sunday.

“If they are able to score it could be a good boost for them. But we managed in the wrong way the first leg result, but the good thing is we have six Premier League games that are important for us. Fortunately we can rotate players.”