Chelsea have mixed feelings about the Champions League match with Malmö FF on Tuesday evening. Thomas Tuchel’s team was too strong at home with 4-0, but both Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner dropped out with various injuries. Jorginho became the big man on the London side and converted two penalties. The other group match between Zenit Saint Petersburg and Juventus was hardly worth the attention and ended in 0-1 due to a late goal by Dejan Kulusevski.
Chelsea – Malmo FF 4-0
At Chelsea it once again became clear that there is little honor to be gained for Hakim Ziyech this season. The former Ajax player remained on the bench for the entire match, despite the above two dropping out. The home team shot from the starting blocks and took the lead within ten minutes. After missed chances by Werner and Lukaku, Andreas Christensen was accurate. The defender managed to hit the mark on a pass from Thiago Silva: 1-0. It marked his first goal on behalf of Chelsea in 137 official games. After fifteen minutes of play, the score was doubled by Jorginho, who was allowed to score from eleven meters after a foul by Lasse Nielsen on Lukaku.
The latter was unable to continue the game and was replaced halfway through the first half by Kai Havertz, who shot into the side net just before half-time. Jon Dahl Tomasson then brought in another goalkeeper at the start of the second half, but did not see the game change. Chelsea continued to dominate and lifted the margin to 3-0 after a nice chip from Havertz. When the ball hit the dot for the second time just ten minutes later after a clumsy push in the back to Antonio Rüdiger, Chelsea also seemed to be switching back. Jorginho took advantage of the opportunity and made his second of the evening.
Zenit Saint Petersburg – Juventus 0-1
Prior to the game between Zenit Saint Petersburg and Juventus, Dick Advocaat was extensively put in the spotlight by the Russian club. The trainer is regarded as the most successful trainer in the history of the club and was named an honorary citizen after his departure from Russia. Advocaat then saw a fairly boring match from the stands. In the first half, both teams had an opportunity to open the score, but both failed to do so. A deflected shot by Claudinho was narrowly saved by Wojciech Szczesny, after which Federico Chiesa curled the ball wide.
The visitors had their best chances in the second act. A beautiful through ball from Álvaro Morata, however, just couldn’t be lifted enough by Weston McKennie. Morata himself was also inaccurate in the rounding and shot high over. At the moment that the game seemed to be heading for a goalless draw, Juventus still pulled the longest straw. Substitute Kulusevski headed over a cross from Mattia De Sciglio and saw his bet go in through the inside of the post: 0-1. Juventus lead Group H with nine points from three matches.