WINNER WINNER BREAKING DINNER BLACK AND YELLOW WALL
Few would be surprised to see Chelsea’s second encounter with Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League this season unfolding quite similarly to what we saw the Blues do in the opener. There was a lot of urgency in our game and players like João Félix and Ben Chilwell made great plays to score us a goal. But luck was apparently not on our side.
The finish wasn’t great either, as the Blues insisted on shooting the keeper instead of trying to avoid him on most of the chances they got. By the time they didn’t via Kai Havertz with a fine shot from distance, Raheem Sterling – who started the game – was offside so the goal was a draw.
Sterling himself will correct the record a few minutes later. Yet another great cross from Chilwell did not go unpunished this time around as the England winger, even fumbling for possession on his first touch, had the chance to recompose himself in the box and fire on the goalkeeper to move us forward and tied. the aggregate.
Chelsea insisted on getting a goal before the first half but couldn’t add a second before the referee whistled. They had to do it in the second half to avoid extra time, and they got it thanks to Dortmund invading the box on Kai Havertz’s failed penalty attempt. He wouldn’t waste his second chance, though!
Fatigue, tactics and/or substitutions invited Dortmund into our defensive third. Still, Chelsea had the best chance to score through Conor Gallagher after Sterling found himself on the break with only the keeper to beat. As the midfielder buried the chance in the back of the net, the goal was ruled offside as Sterling was offside by less than a quarter foot.
It’s not a perfect performance, but what matters is the overall score. And we got that in our favour, fair and square, despite our apprehensions.
Carefree!
- Starting from a 3-4-3 with Marc Cucurella in the baseline, and Reece James and Ben Chilwell as wingers.
- Replacements include Conor Gallagher for João Felix, Christian Pulisic for Raheem Sterling, Ruben Loftus-Cheek for Mateo Kovacic and Denis Zakaria for Enzo Fernandez.
- Still not convinced that Felix is the second coming of Eden Hazard, as some claimed after his debut with the Blues. But he has his moments.
- Seeing Chelsea with the urgency to score is good but that’s not what we miss under Graham Potter. The patterns of play need to be improved a lot if we are to justify holding him for more than one season, regardless of the results.
- By the way, the sooner the head coach realizes that Enzo needs a better defensive midfield partner, the better for him and for the club.
- Kai Havertz needs a rock salt bath.
- Will we ever find a way out of 3-4-3 to get proper wins?
- Nice to see you again, Pulisic!
- Next stop: Leicester in the Premier League.
- KTBFFH!
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