Chilwell injury robs Chelsea of deserved morale boost
Chelsea had only pride to play for against Dinamo Zagreb having already qualified as Group E winners and did claw back some that had been lost in the 4-1 humbling at Brighton on Saturday.
But for both Graham Potter and his squad, the sight of Ben Chilwell limping off at the end of their win over Dinamo took the shine off their 2-1 win in a big way.
“We’ve tried to manage him, but he’s never played three games in a week. He’s had to have a build-up that I think has been good for him. That’s why it’s very frustrating. It’s a blow for us and a blow for him,” said a concerned Potter, who also cast doubt over the defender’s World Cup prospects.
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Chelsea manager Graham Potter says Ben Chilwell’s hamstring injury does not look positive and is hoping a scan will show it is not as severe as feared.
It was a surprise he had not made more than the seven changes from Saturday’s defeat at Brighton, with Chelsea’s status as group winners already assured and Armando Broja, Connor Gallagher and Hakim Ziyech able to offer even more of a rotation option.
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With a stronger side selected, his line-up showed good character to recover from falling behind early on to register a victory more comfortable than the scoreline suggested.
But it said everything that the manner of the performance, and the boost to bounce back from that weekend loss, was not even mentioned in his post-match press conference.
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Potter will already be casting an eye on the weekend clash with Arsenal, with both his natural first choice wing-backs – Reece James and Chilwell – now ruled out.
When that same thing happened to Thomas Tuchel last season, Chelsea fell away and never recovered. Potter must now succeed where his predecessor failed.
Ron Walker
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Alvarez shows why Pep could afford to lose Jesus
Image: Manchester City's Julian Alvarez celebrates after scoring against Sevilla
Every three points won by Arsenal where Gabriel Jesus plays a leading role turns the heat up slightly on Pep Guardiola’s decision to sell him to a club that subsequently are the likeliest title challengers to Manchester City this season. Yes, City have Erling Haaland to more than fill the void but the replacement for Jesus in Guardiola’s eyes was always Julian Alvarez – we have just yet to see much of his talents due to the sheer ridiculousness of Haaland’s scoring run.
- Manchester City 3-1 Sevilla – Match report
- How the teams lined up | Match stats
But with Haaland out with a foot injury, Alvarez now has put back-to-back starts together for Guardiola and you can totally see the Jesus comparison.
He was a willing runner and a good focal point for City in their 1-0 win at Leicester but strikers are made and broken on their goal involvements, so grabbing three in the 3-1 over Sevilla was a statement by the Argentinian. Two assists – one in setting up sensation Rico Lewis to score and the other a pass to Riyad Mahrez after some tenacious pressing to win possession back – was backed up by a fantastically taken goal. If you squinted watching the goal due to the gloomy weather in Manchester you would be forgiven for thinking it was Sergio Aguero latching onto Kevin De Bruyne’s magnificent pass. The finish was very Aguero.
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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says Rico Lewis made his mark on his first Champions League start and suggests some youngsters are not patient enough at big clubs
“It was great night for Julian (Alvarez), two assists and a goal,” said Guardiola.
“We know how good he is. It’s difficult to play against defences like Leicester and Sevilla, they defend deep but he found the right moments. He was patient, he fought, he regained the ball – like Gabriel Jesus when he was with us.
“Julian is young and top class. He is a special guy with great work ethic. You saw the third goal and how aggressive he is without the ball.”
Lewis Jones
Real defeat epitomised wasteful Celtic
Image: Josip Juranovic missed a penalty for Celtic at 2-0 down against Real Madrid
Celtic’s first Champions League group stage appearance in five years has been a painful one, with the 5-1 thrashing at Real Madrid seeing them end the campaign winless with four defeats and two draws to finish rock bottom of Group F.
But there will be a feeling things could have been a lot different for Ange Postecoglou’s side had they taken some of their chances across the six games – with the match at the Bernabeu highlighting this problem exactly.
- Real Madrid 5-1 Celtic – Match report
- How the teams lined up | Match stats
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Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou says his side lacked experience and will make more of an impact in the Champions League in the future
Josip Juranovic missed a first-half penalty to make it 2-1, while Thibaut Courtois made a number of saves to keep out Celtic, who had eight shots on target, 14 overall and had an expected goals of 2.16.
“At 2-0 we got our penalty,” Postecoglou told BT Sport, “2-1 maybe doesn’t change the outcome but maybe gives us a little bit more belief and puts them under real pressure.
“But I guess that’s been the story of our campaign.”
Indeed it has been, with Celtic scoring just four goals from 83 shots to post a measly shot conversion rate of 4.82 per cent – only Rangers and Copenhagen have recorded a worse rate in this Champions League group stage.
But for all of their wastefulness, the defeat at the holders also showed their vulnerability at the other end of the pitch.
Celtic have given up plenty of opportunities to the opposition across the campaign – Real had 25 shots of their own on Wednesday night – to concede 15 goals in six games, with only four teams conceding more in the competition this season.
Postecoglou would have learned much from his first Champions League group stage campaign, but attacking performances like the ones his team have produced in Europe should pay off domestically so they can have another crack at it again next season to show they have learned their lessons.
Declan Olley
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