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Match Report

Match Highlights – Chelsea v Brentford: Chelsea suffer first home league defeat since September against visitors, Brentford 

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Chelsea v Brentford: Saturday saw Chelsea host Brentford – who spanked them 1-4 in a bewildering game – at Stamford Bridge, making it the Blues’ first home league defeat since September.

It seemed as if fate was compensating Chelsea for their off-pitch woes by giving them a cause for optimism on the field as Chelsea had been enjoying a successful run of unbeaten games ever since their club was plunged into disarray after the government sanctions imposed on the owner, Roman Abramovich. However, their already brief run was further cut short by the least anticipated side, Brentford, who finally rose to the challenge of recording their first victory over the relentless Blues since 1939, that too in a stunning fashion.

Chelsea starting lineup (4-3-3):

Mendy | Alonso, Rüdiger, Silva, Azpilicueta (c) | Mount, Loftus-Cheek, Kanté | Werner, Havertz, Ziyech

Substitutes: Arrizabalaga, James, Christensen, Sarr, Jorginho, Kovačić, Saúl, Barkley, Lukaku

Brentford starting lineup (3-5-2):

Raya | Pinnock, Jansson (c), Ajer | Henry, Eriksen, Nørgaard, Janelt, Roerslev | Toney, Mbeumo

Substitutes: Fernández, Canós, Jensen, Wissa, Ghoddos, Zanka, Fosu, Baptiste, Bech

Kick-off – Chelsea v Brentford

The game started with an early foul from RLC in midfield that gave Brentford an opportunity to score but fortunately for Chelsea, the attempt didn’t find the net as Eriksen’s shot went well over the bar.

Despite the first-half ending in a goalless draw, the 45 minutes were anything but a bore. Brentford were all over Chelsea with their remarkable possession and attacking opportunities.

During the second-half, in a breakthrough moment, Antonio Rüdiger’s 35-yard screamer finally found the back of the net in the 48th minute, giving Chelsea the lead.

Chelsea v Brentford

However, the lead barely lasted 2 minutes before Brentford equalised through Janelt. Chelsea had completely lost their discipline after Rüdiger’s lead which inevitably saw them concede 4 goals with Vitaly Janelt twice finding the net to establish Brentford’s dominance at the Bridge.

The Bees swarmed all over their hosts to comprehensively beat them thanks to goals from Vitaly Janelt, Christian Eriksen and Yoan Wissa.

Brentford were able to breach Chelsea’s backline not once, not twice but on multiple occasions within the space of 90 minutes. This proved to be a much needed reality check for the blues as they got comfortable after the lead, which the visitors capitalised on.

Rüdiger had a couple more speculative efforts in the second-half of the game, though not with the same success as earlier on.

Kai Havertz also had two golden opportunities, one of which, he failed to convert and the other one got ruled out for handball. Not a lucky day for Chelsea’s rising talent.

Moving on into the game, Ziyech, Kovačić and Lukaku all had their shots blocked for Chelsea but by that point, Brentford were already 1-4 up.

The last goal was scored by Brentford substitute Wissa, capitalising on a moment of confusion – as both Thiago Silva and Rüdiger attampted to clear the same ball – making sure there was no way back for Chelsea.

Chelsea will have to refocus, prepare well and come back stronger for their upcoming Champions League first-leg fixture against Real Madrid.

 

 

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Match Report

Match Report: Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea – Goals from Alonso and Ronaldo result in shared points at Full Time 

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2 years ago

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April 29, 2022

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Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea: 

If there has been any criticism of Chelsea so far this season, it’s that they can’t convert to save their lives. The pattern was again observed in yesterday’s game v Manchester United. Despite controlling most of the game, Chelsea were unable to capitalize on a multitude of chances created, failing to make their superiority pay. The Blues got things underway with a number of high balls but United saw most of them clear. Marcos Alonso and Cristiano Ronaldo eventually traded goals that proved the end of the scoring. Thomas Tuchel set Chelsea up well but the lack of cutting edge from the likes of Kai Havertz cost the Blues a deserved win.

Chelsea’s bid to overturn their nine-year winless record at Old Trafford ends in a stalemate yet again as the Blues fail to clinch a win over a struggling Manchester United side. The point allows Chelsea to maintain a stranglehold on the third place in the Premier League standings, six points clear of the nearest pursuer, guaranteeing them a Champions League berth.

Chelsea started the game with real intent as was evident in their performance throughout the game, running rampant in the opening half hour, earning a few goal scoring opportunities – all of which unfortunately went off-target, leading to a goalless first-half. 

Kai Havertz had the best of our chances but was twice denied by David De Gea, who did well to maintain a degree of normality for the Red Devils throughout the one-sided affair. Timo Werner, N’Golo Kante and Reece James also had decent efforts that they couldn’t convert. 

Chelsea’s woes didn’t continue for much longer as Marcos Alonso’s left-footed strike in the first quarter of the second-half gave them the edge over a depleted Manchester United side. 

Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea

It took three first-half misses for Chelsea to finally wake up and produce a moment of brilliance through Marcos Alonso. It was a Kai Havertz cross that found the feet of an unmarked Marcos Alonso inside the United penalty area, who eventually fired a low-effort pass past David de Gea, giving Chelsea the lead on the hour mark. 

United were thoroughly outplayed in every facet of the game as Chelsea tried to carve out chance after chance throughout the match. Despite being unable to offer any attacking threat earlier, United were quick to string together a response through Cristiano Ronaldo – with the help of a Nemanja Matic ball – as he cancelled out Alonso’s opener with an equaliser just two minutes later, making the scoreline even at 1-1. 

Since the equaliser, momentum had swung back and forth and although Chelsea pushed hard to regain the lead, displaying a sense of urgency and keeping the ball in United’s third, they still struggled to convert the chances they created.

Reece James delivered a highly creditable performance last night and so nearly got the goal he deserved in the dying moments of the game however his left-footed strike ended up hitting the post. 

Besides the obvious star performer Reece James, there was another Chelsea player on the pitch buzzing around collecting and distributing the ball, leading up to an accomplished offensive performance. It was none other than N’Golo Kante. Kante was involved in two very good chances for Chelsea that were unfortunately wasted by forward, Kai Havertz. Nevertheless, after last night’s events, Kante looks to be approaching the sort of form that had deserted him for most of the season.

The closing stages of the game were packed with action and drama as Matic got away with treading on James, Antonio Rüdiger was booked for a foul on Fernandes, Chelsea made double substitution bringing on Romelu Lukaku and Christian Pulisic for Kai Havertz and Timo Werner – which didn’t prove influential in swaying the matters in Chelsea’s favour – Reece James ALMOST restored the lead for the Blues, only for it to be denied by the woodwork. 

Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea

NEXT: Chelsea take on Everton in an away game at Goodison Park, coming Sunday. 

 

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Match Report

Real Madrid vs Chelsea: The story of Chelsea’s grievous yet historic Champions League exit

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2 years ago

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April 13, 2022

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Real Madrid vs Chelsea:

..And with that, Chelsea’s dream of European glory is left in tatters despite vying neck and neck as Real Madrid deny them the Champions League by small margin.

The Spanish side did JUST enough to eliminate Chelsea from the Champions League, featuring a close 5-4 aggregate win in their quarterfinal tie, majority of the damage done in the Stamford Bridge leg. Karim Benzema was once again hailed as a star, for his header in the extra time was what decided the fate of Real Madrid.

It was a ‘defeat with honour’ as Chelsea were no short of magnificent last night, pulling the strings and making Ancelotti’s men look like apprentices on a field trip as the blues threaded together an incredible and sensational comeback. From a tactical standpoint, they were just perfect.

Having fallen behind mercilessly in the first leg, no one imagined that a turnaround of such sort would realistically be possible for Chelsea, however, the players braved all struggles to go agonisingly close to their Spanish counterparts, against all odds.

The Mason Mount strike in the opening 15 minutes set the pace for the rest of the game, giving the blues a perfect start.

Then followed Antonio Rüdiger’s tie-leveller after half-time, hauling the blues back from the brink of disaster. It was a strike of a player confident in his abilities and apparently relishing his chance on the big stage.

Real Madrid vs Chelsea

Chelsea’s standing in that game was a conclusive proof that they were well placed to avenge last week’s events. The dramatic win over Southampton reinvigorated their buried beliefs that Chelsea certainly had the firepower to score goals at will, a belief that was further reaffirmed in last night’s highly competitive display.

For much of the remainder of the second-half, Chelsea continued to press relentlessly. Any Spanish raids were sporadic at best, but Chelsea’s defense remained impenetrable thanks to Reece James’ reflexive genius and tackles.

Chelsea thought they had gone ahead in the tie, owing to the goal from Marcos Alonso but it was ruled out for handball by VAR, a decision that was responded with controversy from Thomas Tuchel and his men. Also the decision, that probably cost Chelsea the tie.

Havertz also came close to making the scoreline 4-0 for Chelsea, only for his header to easily be saved by Courtois. This would come back to haunt Chelsea.

After the events that unfolded in the first leg, the reverse fixture merely looked like a formality, but Chelsea managed to pull a miracle of scoring 3 goals without reply, in a complete glitch in the matrix. This is unusual when you’re up against a side of Real Madrid’s calibre.

Despite one goal being disallowed and another getting cleared, It was again Chelsea, who scored next through a Timo Werner goal in the 75th minute that granted Chelsea the lead on aggregate, leaving the hosts and everyone else stunned by such a quickfire turnaround.

Real Madrid vs Chelsea

It was after this moment that Real Madrid started to get their act together, realising the tie was slipping away from their grip. Chelsea’s lead remained slender as a Luka Modric effort was shortly capitalised on by substitute Rodrygo as he fired the ball past Mendy to score, putting his team level on aggregate again, consequently forcing extra time.

The tie was eventually concluded as Karim Benzema headed home a descisive goal in the extra time, putting his side ahead in the tie. Chelsea had one last chance at a goal through Pulisic, who missed a couple in the dying moments of regular time as well, and blew his effort off once again, by flashing it wide right.

Hakim Ziyech, Kai Havertz and Jorginho also came close to forcing a penalty shootout but were all denied. And with that, Chelsea’s reign as champions of Europe came to an unfortunate end.

Chelsea were only ten minutes away from completing their heroic comeback but a couple expensive misjudgements and missed chances cost them the tie and sealed their fate. The defeat feels especially unjustified when you put into perspective Real Madrid’s overall performance, which was completely overshadowed by Chelsea’s. It seems as if they’re constantly favoured by circumstances. But, there’s little that mere mortals can do to sway matters. Chelsea were simply robbed and were made to pay for their first-leg performance.

 

 

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Match Report

MATCH REPORT: Southampton v Chelsea – A positive turnaround after two back-to-back defeats as Chelsea record an astonishing 0-6 win over The Saints 

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2 years ago

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April 9, 2022

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Southampton v Chelsea – Chelsea return to winning ways in a stunning fashion, giving fans a lot to cheer for, as they put 6 goals past Southampton.

The team’s form today was a clear  demonstration of how impactful leadership and constructive conversation can transform sporting outcomes.

The win today can somewhat be credited to Thomas Tuchel as well, for his attention to detail, clear advice, actionable insight and most of all, the fact that he never deflects responsibility, rather faces the mistakes head-on. This is a growth mindset and probably the reason behind his remarkable influence on every team he has so far had the privilege of managing.

Chelsea’s undeniably fierce form today has certainly reinvigorated the belief that they are perfectly able to salvage their Champions League tie – after facing a damaging defeat in the first-leg – in Spain next week, provided they replicate the same form.

Chelsea put on a blistering display of attacking football in the opening half to take a 0-4 lead, which was buffed up to 0-6 just few minutes into the second half. The blues then held the 0-6 lead for the remainder of the game. They ran rampant in the opening half hour at Saint Mary’s.

The game opened with Chelsea hitting the woodwork twice before finally converting the chance that came at the 8th minute through Marcos Alonso.

Mason Mount collected the ball from Ruben Loftus-Cheek, chesting it down and immediately flicking it over to Marcos Alonso with a brilliant first-touch and before the Saints could muster up a desfensive response, Alonso fired the shot inside the net, giving Chelsea an early lead.

From that point onwards, the floodgates opened for Chelsea as both Mason Mount and Timo Werner managed to register themselves on the scoresheet twice, whereas, the individual strike from Kai Havertz helped conclude an action-packed game at Saint Mary’s in a stunning fashion.

Southampton v Chelsea

Mason Mount and Timo Werner, celebrating their double goals for the blues against Southampton

Mason Mount doubled the lead for the blues just ten minutes later, after receiving the ball from 25-yards and firing it home, leaving Forster helpless in front of the net.

Southampton v Chelsea

It was a goals galore – a game that should’ve ended in 0-9, if it weren’t for Timo Werner’s misplaced shots. But, Timo having more shots hitting the post than the net is the most Timo thing ever.

However, after having a couple of his shots saved by Fraser Forster, he finally managed to get the ball past him and into the back of the net, following a 40-yard run.

Werner also managed to set up Havertz for a casual tap-in. The Germany International hit the post from close range. The rebound fell to Havertz, who finished the shot with fortunate ease, just before the half-time whistle.

Forster saved twice more from Havertz and Loftus-Cheek after which, The Saints were finally given pressure-free few minutes.

Second-half kicked off with Werner scoring his second within the space of 5 minutes, through a gifted tap-in as a result of a Kanté chipped effort.

Havertz was given a rest for the second-half, replaced by Christian Pulisic. Add another 5 minutes to Werner’s goal and Mason Mount scored his second too, after having Alonso and Pulisic denied by Forster.

Up till the final whistle, the blues managed to maintain their prized 6 goal-lead. Edouard Mendy finished with a clean sheet.

Throughout the game, Thomas Tuchel’s men relentlessly kept pursuing the objective that meant success to their team, and success they brought. The Blues ready themselves for the return leg to Santiago Bernabeu, where they will look to overturn the tie, coming Monday.

 

 

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