Zenit St. Petersburg 3: 3 Chelsea, Champions League: reaction after the game, audience ratings

An early goal for the Blues, in which Timo Werner scored the first goal for the Blues with a corner kick two minutes after kick-off, would be a good way to determine the rest of the game. At first it seemed like a return to form from the Blues, where we dominated the odds, while the hosts at Zenit St and César Azpilicueta.

Speaking of line-up changes, there were several in Thomas Tuchel’s starting line-up. Kepa Arrizabalaga was between the posts and Saúl and Callum Hudson-Odoi had defensive flanks on the left and right, respectively. Our central midfielders were Ross Barkley (!) And Reece James (!!!), while the offensive three-man team was led by Timo Werner, Romelu Lukaku and Mason Mount.

Most fans would probably enjoy having Chelsea have a little more possession in the first half to extend their lead and feel a little more comfortable as a one-goal lead is the smallest one can have. But we also seemed comfortable letting Zenit keep the ball rolling and let the clock run its course while focusing the work on defense and Kepa – who, on a Malcom breakthrough, did a great intervention to keep Zenit at bay keep.

It’s a shame Zenit believed the equalizer would come as they got closer and closer to scoring their own goal. They eventually made it through Claudinho after a massive defensive failure that allowed the Brazilian striker to attack the ball in the penalty area.

A second would eventually come … but in favor of the hosts. A midfield match and failure to set up a proper offside trap from Christensen gave center forward Sardar Azmoun a one-on-one against Kepa. He easily defeated the shot stopper and put the hosts in the lead.

Chelsea may have needed changes to offset and reverse the disadvantage in the scoreboard. These would not come from the bench, but from the team trying to keep more possession of the ball and work their way through a compact Zenit team.

We would find the breakthrough thanks to the combination of Barkley, Werner and Lukaku. The first two played a nice one-two to release the German striker freely into Zenit’s penalty area, with Lukaku right behind him in the support run. The decision to follow Werner would be a good sign for the Belgian center forward, who scored our second goal of the day.

Now, back in a tie, Zenit would come out of their shell and attack again. They kept making Kepa work, but nothing was as outrageous as their chances to score in the first half.

But it was Chelsea who had the poison to score another goal and get the full three points out of St. Petersburg. A nice combination between Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic near the box, and the American winger finds a great pass to Werner in the box. The German clears his marker from the frame and sets a nice conclusion to 3: 2 against the blues.

… at least we thought. A last minute equalizer from Magomed Ozdoev brought us back to first place.

It happens!

Carefree.

• It’s an almost completely different line-up than the one that Juventus faced at the bridge. The only player to play in both games is Reece James – as the central midfielder!
• Substitutes are Christian Pulisic for Callum Hudson-Odoi, Hakim Ziyech for Ross Barkley, Kai Havertz for Romelu Lukaku and Marcos Alonso for Saúl Ñíguez.
• This central midfield pairing with Barkley and James might have been a nice idea on paper. In practice in the first half … oof.
• To be fair, things improved as the game progressed, especially on James’ side. It’s great that there is this possibility!
• Kepa with the big saves to keep us alive in the game. Good for him, although ideally he would just be a spectator today.
• Saúl is on the pitch and doesn’t look bad at the left full-back. Although he probably left Atlético not to play from central positions, the cross has suited him so far.
• Next up: Leeds at Stamford Bridge for the Premier League.
• KTBFFH!

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