Chelsea took an important step on Tuesday evening towards the next round of the Champions League. The team of manager Thomas Tuchel was 0-1 too strong when visiting Malmö FF. Hakim Ziyech secured the victory after an hour of play and became the match winner. The midfielder-cum attacker is now the most scoring Moroccan in the Champions League, along with Marouane Chamakh (eight goals). Chelsea and Juventus lead Group H with nine points. However, the Italians played one game less and will play against Zenit St. Petersburg later in the evening.
That Ziyech was allowed to show it against Malmö from the first minute came as no surprise. During the past two matches against Southampton and Newcastle United, the former Ajax player was also in the starting lineup. Very uplifting, the Premier League frontrunner’s play was not in the first act. The first moment of excitement came after fifteen minutes of play, when Ruben Loftus-Cheek extended a cross from Ziyech with the head. The midfielder saw his effort go wide. Five minutes later, Ziyech himself fired on the Swedish goal, but his effort was turned around by goalkeeper Johan Dahlin.
GOOOOAL! ???????????? ????????????! ????? There is finally the goal for Chelsea? With just under an hour on the clock, The Blues take the lead against Malmö: 0-1 ??#ZiggoSport #UCL #MALCHE pic.twitter.com/IaeL7OdUcN
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) Nov 2, 2021
Chelsea had the best of the game in the first half and at times pushed Malmö far back in their own half, but Tuchel’s team was unable to create really big opportunities. A bet by Kai Havertz could be caught by Dahlin and the Swede also had a good reaction to a shot by Loftus-Cheek. On behalf of the home team, Antonio Colak gave something back. The attacker suddenly tried from a great distance and shot a meter wide. In the second half, Malmö showed himself more in Chelsea’s half, but it did not become dangerous.
Chelsea managed to do that, which made grateful use of the spaces created. After good preparation by Havertz, Callum Hudson-Odoi was sent off on the right side of the field. The attacker then had an excellent pass to Ziyech, for whom it was a breeze to finish at the far post for an empty goal: 0-1. Chelsea had opportunities in the remainder of the game to decide the game definitively, but were inaccurate in the completion. Havertz, among others, was given a life-size chance. The midfielder fought his way past a number of defenders, but found Dahlin in his way.