Chelsea surprisingly lost the lead in Group H of the Champions League on Wednesday. Thomas Tuchel’s team received the painful equalizer on a visit to Zenit Saint Petersburg deep in injury time: 3-3. Chelsea ends up as number two behind Juventus, which itself narrowly beat Malmö FF (1-0). In the draw for the eighth final, Chelsea, one of the top favorites for the tournament, is therefore one of the potential opponents of Ajax. As number two, Chelsea will not play against an English group winner (Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool), making the chance of Ajax extra large.
Zenit Saint Petersburg – Chelsea 3-3
The Blues had a dream start in Russia: after 84 seconds of play, the ball was already in the net. A corner from Mason Mount was head extended by Andreas Christensen and Timo Werner gave the decisive push. The German thus broke the former ‘fastest goal ever’ record at Chelsea by John Terry, who needed two seconds longer in 2014 against Schalke 04. Then the home team took the initiative. Malcom and Serdar Azmoun fired dangerous attempts towards the goal of (the surprising) goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, but Chelsea could thank the Spaniard and a lack of sharpness. However, the English did not hold the lead for long. Douglas Santos placed the ball perfectly on the head of Claudinho from the left, who outsmarted Kepa for the well-deserved 1-1.
So, Chelsea quickly ahead! ?? Timo Werner simply taps in at the second post for The Blues: 1-0 ??#ZiggoSport #UCL #ZENCHE pic.twitter.com/prBqkdrPxO
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) December 8, 2021
Thomas Tuchel’s team was completely lost and Zenit took full advantage of that.
Malcom simply put Azmoun in front of Kepa four minutes before tea; the striker passed the goalkeeper and tapped into the empty goal. If there was a thundering speech from Tuchel during halftime, it seemed to have gone off. Chelsea played football from the whistle for the second half only in the half of Zenit and after an hour of play they received a wage for work. Romelu Lukaku was the final destination after a nice combination through the heart of the Russian defence. So much for Chelsea’s storm. Zenit started playing football again and met Kepa again with a good header from Azmoun. With Hakim Ziyech now in the squad, Chelsea could only hold back; the 2-3 fell completely out of nowhere. Werner received the ball from substitute Kai Havertz and thought he could shoot the Londoners to the group win. Magomed Ozdoyev concluded with a wonderful volley in the fourth minute of extra time: 3-3.
Juventus – Malmo FF 1-0
At Juventus, Koni De Winter, who was recently linked to Ajax, made his debut in the starting lineup as a right back. Matthijs de Ligt stayed on the bench with the Italians, while Malmö coach John Dahl Tomasson gave former Ajax player Niklas Moisander a base place. Ex-PSV player Ola Toivonen has been absent from the Swedes since May due to a serious knee injury. Juventus started the game strongly and saw Moise Kean miss from close range in the opening phase.
What an assist from Federico Bernardeschi! ?? Striker Moise Kean simply heads in from close range: 1-0 for the Old Lady against Malmö ??#ZiggoSport #UCL #JUVMFF pic.twitter.com/s8iJCPbRby
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) December 8, 2021
In the eighteenth minute, the striker knew what to do with the next opportunity, which arose from a wonderful cross from the outside of Federico Bernardeschi. Kean only had to put his head against it: 1-0. On the stroke of half-time, Arthur could have increased that lead, but the Brazilian shot just wide after a sharp counter. The Italians were clearly dominant in the second half. The most dangerous man was again Kean, who first shot at goalkeeper Ismael Diawara and moments later missed twice from a rebound from close range.