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It looked as though Liam Rosenior's first taste of Europe's premier club competition would be a sour one, as Pafos stood firm for 78 minutes.

But when Pedro Neto's in-swinging corner from the right was flicked on by Wesley Fofana, Caicedo stole a march on the well-drilled Pafos defence to head into the left side of the goal.

Chelsea had previously put the ball in the net just 17 minutes in, but Enzo Fernandez's header – from another Neto corner – was chalked off after the Argentine was deemed to have committed a foul in the build-up.

Pafos spent long periods crowding its penalty area, but one rare foray forward saw Jaja fire against the post, and the visitor's claims that the ball rebounded onto Reece James's arm fell on deaf ears. 

Jorrel Hato also worked Jay Gorter, as did Caicedo on two occasions, while a tremendous last-ditch challenge from Bruno Felipe kept Alejandro Garnacho at bay.

But the minnow was ultimately caught out from a set-piece, leaving it two points adrift of the play-off cut-off, but with a winnable game at home to Slavia Prague to come.

Chelsea is eighth and on course for automatic progression to the last 16, but there are five teams – including Barcelona and Manchester City – behind the Blues on goal difference and their final match is a daunting trip to Napoli next Thursday.