Pedro Neto ready to lead Chelsea into Conference League final after lucky escape on holiday

Pedro Neto was lucky to get out of Madrid in time to join smorgasbord feast here after being caught in the giant Iberian grid blackout. Now the livewire Portuguese winger is looking to add one more power surge to the Blues’ nine-month European campaign against Djurgarden on the Swedish underdogs’ synthetic pitch on Thursday.

Neto was even luckier to escape a 130mph Alexander Zverev serve which almost gave him the coconut shy treatment as a front-row spectator watching the No.2 in action at the tennis. Along with team-mates , and Nicolas Jackson, Neto flew to Spain last weekend and they took in some tennis at the Madrid Open.

But they got a hairier break than they bargained for after ducking to avoid big-serving German Zverev’s target practice and then escaping the panic across Spain and Portugal when the lights went out, flights were grounded and rail travel was suspended.

Neto revealed: “I remember walking with my girlfriend in the city of Madrid and somehow there were no lights, but luckily we went to the airport and we made it out. The flights were not departing so we were lucky to get out of that - and the next day we were training.”

And ducking Zverev’s serve like a batsman dodging a fast bowler’s bouncer? To be honest, I didn't watch tennis for a long time and the ball was so fast,” he laughed. “In the first one I was laughing to him and this is why I was surprised in the second one.”

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Neto’s spectacular winner at last month could yet prove the turning point of ’s domestic season, turning the tide after the fans were rounding on head coach Enzo Maresca. He said: “It was a moment that we showed that we are ready for these situations. We were losing 1-0 and to turn around that game was a really good job because it gave belief to the team that we can do even better.”

On their first trip to Stockholm since the 1998 European Cup Winners Cup final against Stuttgart, when Gianfranco Zola stormed off the bench to fire the winner, Chelsea will be favourites to get the job done - even if the grass growing under their feet is plastic.

Their squad cost 44 times the value of Djurgarden’s unsung group, but if Maresca’s players mistake them for Herdy Gerdy Rovers who will roll over easily, they are in for a rude awakening. Maresca warned: “You don't win games and titles with money, and we know very well that.

“It's not about how much you spend in the transfer market. You are not going to win games or titles just because you spend big money. You have to spend money, but in the right way. And this season we are now in the Conference League semi-final, we are fighting in our league at home, and hopefully we can finish better in both competitions.”

Djurgardens head coach Jani Honkavaara admitted: “We must try not to think too much about the amount they have spent or the value of their players - our main focus must be what is happening on the pitch.

“We know we are facing a massive challenge, and we are proud to find ourselves in a major semi-final against such a big team, but we must put all those zeros (on the price tags) to one side.”

Captain Jacob Une said: “You always want to compete and it’s a bit surreal to see these world-class players coming here. But I hope they are surprised by what they find - we are comfortable playing in front of our supporters and hope we can surprise them with our good organisation and the massive noise from the stands.”

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