 |
| Nicolas Jackson ends Chelsea's goal drought |
Finally! A goal and a win for Chelsea!
The irony perhaps in Chelsea's win against a strong Brighton side is that it probably came when the Blues were least deserving. In contrast to recent performances, Brighton dominated possession and made the most chances in the game.
Chelsea had several former Seagulls in their line-up and the first half played out fairly evenly. Brighton had the best opportunities but they were made by Chelsea's former Brighton keeper Robert Sanchez gifting the ball to their forwards but they failed to make the most of their opportunities.
Then on 50 minutes the magical moment: Cole Plamer collected the ball on the edge of the box and played it inside for the incoming Nicolas Jackson to sweep home. The joy in the Stamford Bridge crowd, so starved of goals in 2023, at finally seeing Chelsea actually score a goal was obvious to all.
Chelsea thought they had two when Jackson stroked in a few minutes later but the goal was ruled out for offside. Luckily for Brighton there was no VAR in effect but Chelsea would have been furious if the Seagull's counter-attack had gone in, Sanchez making an excellent save from a March header.
There were a few more scares for Chelsea but they held on to book their place in the next round where they will play Blackburn Rovers.
Nobody is likely to be saying this will be turning point in Chelsea's season but it is the little boost in confidence they need ahead of a tough trip to Craven Cottage to face Fulham this weekend.
Line-Up: Sanchez, Cucurella, Disasi, Colwill, Chilwell, Ugochukwu, Caicedo, Maatsen (Gallagher 75'), Palmer (Fernandez 75'), Mudryk (Sterling 68'), Jackson (Broja 87')
Unused Subs: Petrovic, Washington, Gilchrist, Brooking, Matos
No comments:
Post a Comment