November 02, (THEWILL) – With a 1-0 win over Malmo in Sweden on Tuesday, Hakim Ziyech’s goal propelled Chelsea closer to the Champions League knockout stages.
Chelsea were clear favourites going into the game, having defeated the Swedish champions by four goals two weeks prior. Inside the stadium, however, the Londoners were met with a deluge of noise as a sold-out Eleda Stadion roared in support of the Malmo players.
The hosts rode their luck at times by combining tenacious defending with a flurry of saves from Johan Dahlin. In a one-on-one situation, his most crucial stop denied Kai Havertz.
The hosts looked threatening once they got into the final third, with Antonio Colak, who played at number nine, posing a continuous threat. The forward got in on goal shortly before the break courtesy to some slick play from Sergio Pea, who pretended to throw back from a drop ball and instead delivered it long to Colak, whose volley was just off target.
After 58 minutes, the deadlock was finally broken as Chelsea reacted quickly down the right side through Callum Hudson-Odoi, who then provided a perfectly weighted cross for Ziyech, who placed the ball into the back of the net.
Chelsea continued to dominate possession as the game progressed, reducing Malmo to scraps in front of goal and winning with that slim margin in the end.
The result had one lesson: Tuchel has demonstrated in recent weeks that he is more than simply a superb tactician but that he also understands the necessity of keeping the entire team pleased.
When Lukaku and Werner were injured, there was a sense that Chelsea’s season had been thrown into disarray especially on the attacking front. But, the German has shown that he can manipulate this squad to great advantage by tapping into their depth of quality and scrap out victories as needed.
Malmo’s next league match is against Göteborg, while Chelsea hosts Burnley in the Premier League
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
