With a fully deserved 4:0 (2:0) victory over FK Qarabağ Chelsea have successfully qualified for the UEFA Champions League's Round of the Last 16. It were the goals by Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas and Willian (2x) that brought the Blues the so important win and the decisive three points that evening.
The opening minutes of the game actually belonged to the hosts from Baku. From the beginning Qarabağ showed a lot of effort and eagerness. Their aggression and offensive pressing in the early minutes of the game nearly paid off when they hit the post in the 13th minute of the match. But then the game took a surprising and from Qarabağ's point of view unlucky turn when their captain was sent off after a foul on Willian in the inside of the penalty area. To give the Red card so early in the game was a very harsh decision by the referee, but justifiable as the push on Willian was enough to bring the Brazilian down in that situation. The resulting penalty was then converted by Eden Hazard to put the Blues ahead (21').
At this point the game already looked to be over. With only 10 man left and one goal behind the hosts had no reason to believe in a return. But with Chelsea's second goal of the night scored by Willian even the last remaining hopes were then destroyed 15 minutes later. It was maybe Chelsea's best combination of the evening with four players being involved. A brilliant long ball by Cesc Fabregas from a deep midfield position introduced the attack. His ball found Pedro who directly played the ball on to Willian who then eliminated Qarabağ's back four with a quick perfectly timed one-two with Eden Hazard sending the Brazilian completely free in front of goal from where he easily scored (36').
Chelsea's only aim for the second half was to defend their solid lead and not to risk any unnecessary injuries that could turn out costly in relation to their upcoming clash with title rivals Liverpool. Consequently they only tried to control the game instead of pushing for a third or a fourth goal. But even in first gear they had more chances to extend their lead. They even got another penalty after another foul on Willian. This time the penalty was correctly given for an obvious shirt pulling in the inside of the box. It was Fabregas who took responsibility this time and as Hazard he made no mistake even though he actually had to take the penalty two times (73').
Willian then rounded off a brilliant Chelsea performance with a great solo and an even better strike from long range five minutes before the final whistle (85'). It was the last goal of a very one-sided match, but considering that the hosts were one man down since the 18th minute it was still a positive performance by Qarabağ.
With only two days of relaxation until Saturday's top game against Liverpool it is now important to quickly move on from yesterday's win and to fully focus on the upcoming task. The Reds are only two points behind the blues in the league table meaning that the upcoming encounter is a great chance to strengthen and defend our current position.
True Blue!
The opening minutes of the game actually belonged to the hosts from Baku. From the beginning Qarabağ showed a lot of effort and eagerness. Their aggression and offensive pressing in the early minutes of the game nearly paid off when they hit the post in the 13th minute of the match. But then the game took a surprising and from Qarabağ's point of view unlucky turn when their captain was sent off after a foul on Willian in the inside of the penalty area. To give the Red card so early in the game was a very harsh decision by the referee, but justifiable as the push on Willian was enough to bring the Brazilian down in that situation. The resulting penalty was then converted by Eden Hazard to put the Blues ahead (21').
At this point the game already looked to be over. With only 10 man left and one goal behind the hosts had no reason to believe in a return. But with Chelsea's second goal of the night scored by Willian even the last remaining hopes were then destroyed 15 minutes later. It was maybe Chelsea's best combination of the evening with four players being involved. A brilliant long ball by Cesc Fabregas from a deep midfield position introduced the attack. His ball found Pedro who directly played the ball on to Willian who then eliminated Qarabağ's back four with a quick perfectly timed one-two with Eden Hazard sending the Brazilian completely free in front of goal from where he easily scored (36').
Chelsea's only aim for the second half was to defend their solid lead and not to risk any unnecessary injuries that could turn out costly in relation to their upcoming clash with title rivals Liverpool. Consequently they only tried to control the game instead of pushing for a third or a fourth goal. But even in first gear they had more chances to extend their lead. They even got another penalty after another foul on Willian. This time the penalty was correctly given for an obvious shirt pulling in the inside of the box. It was Fabregas who took responsibility this time and as Hazard he made no mistake even though he actually had to take the penalty two times (73').
Willian then rounded off a brilliant Chelsea performance with a great solo and an even better strike from long range five minutes before the final whistle (85'). It was the last goal of a very one-sided match, but considering that the hosts were one man down since the 18th minute it was still a positive performance by Qarabağ.
With only two days of relaxation until Saturday's top game against Liverpool it is now important to quickly move on from yesterday's win and to fully focus on the upcoming task. The Reds are only two points behind the blues in the league table meaning that the upcoming encounter is a great chance to strengthen and defend our current position.
True Blue!
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