Buoyed by the expectedly raucous home crowd, Heidenheim came out of the blocks strong and nearly scored inside of two minutes. Chelsea rose to the task quickly however and settled in for a fairly even contest for the next 20-25 minutes.

The Blues are in Germany tonight looking to continue their fine Conference League campaign, taking on a team who could not be more different in stature. While Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca is just in his sixth month at the helm, Heidenheim boss Frank Schmidt has been in the role since 2007, a remarkable 17 years.