Sevilla 0-4 Chelsea, Champions League: post-match reaction; notes



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Chelsea started off brilliantly and could have won two or three minutes in ten minutes. In fact, the Blues’ lead was only one, after Olivier Giroud scored with the usual composure after a nice comeback from behind and an energetic run in the middle by a post-COVID Kai Havertz .

Sevilla eventually woke up and started playing too, and from there it was a much more open competition, although it was still quite wide. Chelsea survived a set-piece around mid-half, plus a few VAR checks for handball, then Pulisic missed a second good opportunity and the referee dealt a handful of yellows before blowing for the mid -time.

In the second half, Chelsea started off the better of both sides again and made that good start count again, Giroud once again scoring with even more usual cool. And that put the contest to bed, even with half an hour to go.

This gave us more than enough time to find Giroud’s lead for his third of the night and Chelsea’s, and even enough time for him to add a fourth from the spot, after being towed away by his defender. Glorious hat trick carry for the big man.

And it was a glorious night overall for the Blues, which secures the top spot in the group no matter what happens on the last day (thanks to the tiebreaker rules).

Carefree.

  • Almost a full and complete rotation of the starting lineup, with only Mendy on goal and Kovacic in midfield retaining their places from the weekend. First started ages ago for Pulisic and Emerson.
  • As for similar changes in Mount (for Havertz), Kante (for Kovacic), Ziyech (for Pulisic), Werner (for Giroud) and Gilmour (for Jorginho). Nice to see Billy G.
  • Giroud has more than doubled his total of goals for the season, giving him 5 in his last 2 Champions League appearances. He has scored 12 goals in his last 12 starts for Chelsea.
  • Help for Havertz, Kovacic and Kante
  • Chelsea have won 4 consecutive Champions League games for the first time since the 2011-12 season. No need for a better omen than that!
  • It’s now 15 undefeated games and 8 clean sheets in our last 10 games in all competitions.
  • In the other match, Krasnodar beat Rennes, which gives them the place in the Europa League. We are playing Krasnodar at the Bridge next week in what will be purely a fitness exercise.
  • Next stop: Leeds United on Saturday evening, with 2000 participants!
  • KTBFFH

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