Match Report: Chelsea 6-3 Leeds United, Carabao Cup 3rd Round

 

If you want goals, Stamford Bridge is very much looking like the place to be this season. A sensational second half from Chelsea saw a hat-trick of assists for Morgan Rogers, first goal for Valentin Barco and braces for Cole Palmer and Danny Welbeck.

Chelsea's five games in all competitions this season have thus far produced 26 goals, an average of 5.2 goals per game.

Not all in Chelsea's favour of course and the nature of the two halves demonstrate why Chelsea fans can't get too carried away after their win over long-time rivals Leeds United.

In the first half, Chelsea were abysmal. Toothless in attack and struggling at the back. There were early warning signs when Mike Penders was forced into a sensational double save from close range so it was no surprised when a few minutes later Leeds took the lead. A corner from the right found Tarik Muharemovic at the back post and his header from a tight angle glided across the goal into the far corner.

The second half was something else for Chelsea although it probably couldn't have started much worse. Just three minutes into the second half, Leeds were 2-0 up. A ball squared back in the box found Brenden Aaronsen near the penalty spot and he calmly slotted it in.

Chelsea had brought on their big guns now though: Morgan Rogers, Cole Palmer, Reece James and Pedro Neto had all been brought on at half-time. The difference in attacking threat was clear for all to see.

It took a penalty to bring Chelsea back into it though, Dan James bringing down Pep Chavarria in the box in 53rd minute. 'Cold' Palmer stepped up to put his penalty beyond Leeds goalkeeper Michael Zetterrer's reach. 

Two minutes later, Palmer got his second. Collecting Rogers ball from the right just inside the Leeds area he curled an effort into the bottom left corner.

The turnaround was complete in the 60th minute however when Palmer played a through ball that was poked on by Rogers into the path of Neto who finished with an effort similar to Palmer's second goal.  0-2 down to 3-2 up within seven minutes.

Then it was Danny Welbeck's turn to shine. On 64 minutes, Rogers completed his hat-trick of assists with a low pass into the box, collected by Welbeck who turned and fired low into the bottom right corner. His first Chelsea goal

It wouldn't be Chelsea though if there wasn't some tension and that seemed to be the case when Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored a third for Leeds but that was lifted in the 80th minute when Valentin Barco arrived at the back post to smash home his first Chelsea goal. The seal on the victory was added in injury time when Welbeck got his second, albeit fortuitously deflecting Barco's mishit shot from the edge of the box into the Leeds goal.

A special mention to Reggie Watson, the 16 year old making his first Chelsea start. He didn't have the greatest of halfs but it is a sure sign of faith from Xabi Alonso he was willing to start him in what is always a fiery fixture.

Six goals in one half for Chelsea is a message of the attacking quality they possess but the less said about the first half the better.

Line-up: Penders 6, Colwill 5 (Fofana 76', 5), Lacroix 6, Acheampong 5, Chavarria 5, Barco 7, Watson 5 (James 46', 6), Gusto 4 (Rogers 46' 9), Gittens 6 (Palmer 46', 8), Estevao 6 (Neto 46', 7), Welbeck 7

Unused subs: Hato, Pedro, Martinez, Quenda

Match Report: Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea

 

Same old, same old for Chelsea, will they ever beat Arsenal again?

After a blistering start, Chelsea yet again left the Emirates Stadium empty handed after goals from former player Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard for Arsenal.

It was Chelsea however who took the lead. Inside just two minutes, following some head tennis the ball dropped to new signing Morgan Rogers on the edge of Arsenal's penalty area and he volleyed first time low into the bottom left corner of the goal just beyond David Raya's reach.

That lead would last just 23 minutes, when Kai Havertz (who has a complicated Chelsea legacy) collected the ball on the edge of the box and similarly to Chelsea's goal, his shot into the bottom right corner was just out of goalkeeper Emi Martinez's reach.

Chelsea needed a big second half but it started badly when after five minutes they found themselves behind, Martin Odegaard finishing off a sweeping Arsenal move in the box. Though Chelsea fans will point out a foul on Rogers in the build-up when Ezri Konsa literally lifted him off his feet.

Chelsea fans will feel aggrieved about many decisions that went against them and it will do little to relieve the feeling Arsenal get an easy time from officials. Gabriel could have received a red card for a boot to Martinez's head following a goal mouth scramble. Rogers was fouled by Declan Rice in the build-up of a Chelsea attack, yet it was Rogers who was booked for his reaction.

Arsenal fans however will no doubt point to Califiori's disallowed goal when Gabriel was adjudged to have been offside.

The positives for Chelsea were they did create good chances most notably in the first half. David Raya in the Arsenal goal made good saves from Cole Palmer, Reece James and Estevao. Pedro Neto also had an effort that hit the post.

The concern for Chelsea as ever is the defence. They never looked comfortable at the back and after Chelsea took the lead, it looked inevitable Arsenal would equalise. Jorrel Hato in particular had a horrid time trying to guard Chelsea's left flank.

In three premier league games this season, Chelsea have scored eight goals but they have conceded seven. If they can't tighten up at the back, it will be another long season for the Blues.

Chelsea Team: Martinez 6, Fofana 5, La Croix 7, Acheampong 6, Neto 7 (Estevao 81') , James 6, Lavia 6 (Gusto 60', 5), Hato 5 (Chavarria 60', 6), Palmer 6, Rogers 7 (Welbeck 87'), Pedro 5

Unused Subs: Barco, Gittens, Penders, Colwill, Quenda

Chelsea in Magazines - Shoot! 16th August 1969

 The very first edition of the long-running and much loved football magazine 'Shoot!' and of course Chelsea feature.

Firstly, England captain Bobby Moore tips Chelsea striker Ian Hutchinson for success:

Then a feature on Bobby Tambling being presented with an award at some point during the 1969-70 for reaching 200 Chelsea goals.

Unfortunately, Tambling wouldn't add to that 202 goal tally and left Chelsea for Crystal Palace less than a year later.

Match Report: Chelsea 4 - 4 Manchester City

What. A. Game.

Chelsea and Manchester City played out an all time Premier League classic with a pulsating 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge. And it was former Man City players Raheem Sterling and Cole Palmer who played crucial roles in breaking City hearts.

Chelsea started the game well but it was City who struck the first blow. Referee Anthony Taylor continued his one man quest to become the least popular person in Fulham when he awarded a controversial 25th minute penalty. Marc Cucurella was adjudged to have held back City striker Erling Haaland, who duly dispatched his spot kick.

It took Chelsea just three minutes to respond. Thiago Silva glanced in Conor Gallagher's corner at the near post to bring the Blues level.

The 37th minute and Chelsea completed the turn around. Reece James squared the ball across the box from the right for Raheem Sterling to tap in at the back post.

The euphoria of leading the European Champions couldn't last though. Manuel Akanji found himself unmarked in the penalty area to head in City's equaliser from a corner.

The second half started at the same breakneck speed and it took City just two minutes to get themselves ahead. A goal similar to Chelsea's second, this time it was Haaland rolling the ball in at the back post.

Chelsea weren't done though and got their second equaliser on 67 minutes. City keeper Ederson could only palm Gallagher's effort into the path of Nicolas Jackson who scored from the rebound, his fourth goal in a week.

In the final few minutes, the game seemed to be just petering out for the first time until Rodri's effort from outside the box took a massive deflection off Thiago Silva to put the Manchester club 4-3 ahead.

A loss would have been harsh on Chelsea, who had put so much into the game and were determined not to let it happen. So in injury time, substitute Armando Broja collected the ball in the box but was brought down with a reckless challenge by Ruben Diaz to give Chelsea a penalty of their own.

So it was that Cole Palmer (a City player just a few short months ago and could have already scored in the game but for a great save from Ederson), stepped up to score his fourth penalty for Chelsea and rescue the point. How Pep Guardiola must regret letting him go now.

It was a game neither side deserved to lose so a draw was probably a fair result. Chelsea hadn't scored against City since Kai Havertz goal in the 2021 Champions League final so four in one game was quite unexpected.

With eight goals in their last two games, is it too early to hope Chelsea's goal scoring troubles are over? Chelsea seem to prefer playing the big teams, its the smaller sides who sit deep that seem to be Chelsea's real problem to break down.

But that's a problem for another day, for now we can enjoy having been treated to an absolute classic.

Line-up: Sanchez, James (Gusto 64'), Disasi, Silva, Cucurella, Caicedo (Broja 90'), Fernandez (Mudryk 64'), Palmer, Gallagher, Sterling, Jackson (Ugochukwu 96')

Unused Subs: Badiashile, Madueke, Petrovic, Maatsen, Matos

Match Report: Tottenham Hotspur 1 - 4 Chelsea

 

Five goals scored, four disallowed, three for Nicolas Jackson and two red cards all added up to one hell of a London derby.

The craziness started in just the 6th minute when Dejan Kulusevski's deflected effort put Spurs ahead. And that was as good as it got for Tottenham on the night.

A few minutes later, Brennan Johnson thought he had put Spurs 2-0 up but he was ruled just offside by VAR. A few minutes later, Raheem Sterling thought he had equalised for Chelsea but VAR again intervened and disallowed for handball.

30 minutes in and Chelsea again thought they had equalised when Moises Caicedo put the ball in from the edge of the box but this time it was Nicolas Jackson who was adjudged to have been offside. However, Chelsea did gain a penalty for a foul by Christian Romero in the build-up on Enzo Fernandez. Romero was red carded for the challenge but there can be no sympathy as he could have been sent off a few minutes earlier for a kick-out on Levi Colwill and his challenge on Fernandez was high.

Cole Palmer eventually stepped up to equalise for Chelsea from the spot.

Second half started much as the first had ended with Chelsea dominating the play and Spurs insisting on keeping a high defensive line. Then on 55 minutes more bad news for Tottenham when Destiny Udogie was sent off for a second yellow offence and Spurs would have to play the rest of the game with just nine men.

Credit to Tottenham then who held out until the 75th minute. Sterling eventually beating their offside trap and playing the ball across the box to Jackson to finally give Chelsea the lead.

That wasn't quite it though, Tottenham nearly got back in to the game. Erik Dier had an effort disallowed for offside, Rodrigo Bentancur had a good chance he should probably have equalised from.

In stoppage time, Son Heung-min had an effort from the edge of the box that brought a fine save from Robert Sanchez. The miss would prove crucial as just 30 seconds later, Conor Gallagher took on the Sterling role to square the ball for Jackson for a carbon copy of Chelsea's second goal and the three points were safe for the Blues.

Finally, the pulsating action of the night was finished two minutes later when Jackson found himself clear of Spurs high-line and rounded Tottenham keeper Vicario (who it must be said had been excellent) to complete his hat-trick.

Another classic entry to the Chelsea-Tottenham rivalry. Spurs fans will claim it was the red cards that changed the game though in truth, after Johnson's disallowed goal Chelsea were dominating the play.

A big boost ahead of Chelsea's fixture with Manchester City at the weekend and a chance to see if this is a result Chelsea will build on.

Line-Up: Sanchez, James (Gusto 77'), Disasi, Silva, Colwill (Cucurella 45'), Caicedo, Fernandez (Mudryk 57'), Gallagher, Sterling (Ugochukwu 90'), Palmer, Jackson

Subs: Badiashile, Madueke, Petrovic, Maatsen, Washington

Match Report: Chelsea 2-0 Blackburn Rovers

Routine would be the word to describe this game.

Chelsea took the lead early on, Blackburn failing to clear their lines from a corner and Benoit Badiashile stroked the ball into the net on his return from injury.

In the second half, Rovers made a mess of getting the ball away from their penalty area and Raheem Sterling took advantage to curl in from near the edge of the box.

Blackburn rarely threatened the Chelsea goal though Robert Sanchez made a truly excellent save, stopping an effort from the edge of the 6-yard box to maintain Chelsea's clean sheet.

Next up in the League Cup is a Quarter Final at home to Newcastle United. A tough draw but with Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and the two Manchester clubs having already fallen by the way side it could be a good opportunity for Chelsea to win some silverware.

Line-Up: Sanchez, James (Gusto 61'), Disasi, Badiashile (Colwill 61'), Cucurella, Ugochukwu, Fernandez (Matos 87'), Palmer (Madueke 87'), Gallagher, Sterling, Jackson (Caicedo 75')

Subs: Petrovic, Maatsen, Washington, Castledine

Match Report: Chelsea 0-2 Brentford

Right back to square one for Chelsea.

All the recent optimism that Chelsea had finally turned a corner was crushed by a terrible Chelsea performance as Brentford scored their third consecutive victory at Stamford Bridge.

The first half was all too familiar for Chelsea fans. Brentford set up a deep defensive block, Chelsea were completely incapable of getting through. Though in fairness, Noni Madueke did come close to scoring when he curled an effort on to the bar.

Whatever Mauricio Pochettino said to his players at half-time clearly went in one ear and out the other: Chelsea were abysmal in the second half.

When Ethan Pinnock headed Brentford ahead in the 58th minute, Chelsea fans knew they might as well go home then and there. This is not a team that has any guts to come back when they go behind.

Chelsea never looked like scoring and it was easy for Brentford in the second half. Chelsea have nobody they can rely on to make a difference in a game so the defeat became inevitable.

Brentford added a second in injury time, Mbuemo rolling into an open goal after Robert Sanchez had gone forward for a corner but it made no real difference, Chelsea had already been beaten 30 minutes earlier.

Starting Line-Up: Sanchez, Cucurella (Ugochukwu 80'), Disasi (James 66'), Silva, Colwill, Gallagher, Caicedo (Washington 80'), Sterling, Palmer, Jackson, Madueke (Maatsen 66')

Subs: Badiashjle, Petrovic, Gusto, Beach, Matos