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In what turned out to be a wild, back-and-forth game, Chelsea drew 2-2 in an away match with Valencia in this evening’s early kick-off in the Champions League. The result leaves Group H largely in flux; both Chelsea and Valencia can still qualify for the knockout stages with the right results in their final match, but the Blues will probably be happier as Valencia will travel to Ajax in that fixture.
Chelsea flew out of the blocks in tonight’s game with swathes of attacks, but couldn’t find a breakthrough, and their defence always appeared to be vulnerable. Indeed, Valencia were able to strike first through Carlos Soler with minutes remaining in the first half – only for Mateo Kovacic to almost immediately equalise for the Blues.
Frank Lampard’s side then took the lead in the second half through a contentious goal from Christian Pulisic, but they never looked truly stable while they were in front and while it looked like their luck was in after Kepa Arrizabalaga saved a Daniel Parejo penalty, that turned out not to be the case when Daniel Wass’s cross floated over the Spanish keeper and into the net to level proceedings at 2-2 and set up a frantic ending.
Here are 3 reasons why Chelsea drew with Valencia.
#1 Valencia’s finishing was woeful
This was a strange game to rate from a Chelsea perspective; on one hand, their forward play was dynamic and they looked capable of scoring plenty of goals, but on the other hand, their defending left a lot to be desired.
Neither Jorginho nor N’Golo Kante played as an orthodox holding midfielder tonight, and with Frank Lampard selecting the largely untested partnership of Kurt Zouma and Andreas Christensen in central defence, gaps appeared that Valencia really should’ve taken advantage of.
They were unable to, however, and that was largely down to their own profligacy. The first half, for example, saw a ludicrous miss for Albert Celades’ side, as a breakaway ended with the ball being fired across Chelsea’s goal, only for forward Maxi Gomez to miss his shot entirely with the goal gaping.
The second half saw two even worse misses, as Daniel Parejo missed a controversial penalty, and after a horrendous defensive mix-up from Christensen and keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, Rodrigo somehow lofted the ball over the bar rather than into the empty net.
Also read: Champions League 2019/20: 3 big teams that could drop into the Europa League
In the end, the goal that saved the Spanish side was an utter fluke; Kepa misjudged Daniel Wass’s cross and allowed it to float into the net – but to be fair, it was largely what Valencia deserved. This game could’ve ended 5-5, but Albert Celades’ men clearly had the better chances – and somehow managed to miss them.
#2 Chelsea's gung-ho approach
Frank Lampard’s style of football might be a bit gung-ho for some fans, but for neutrals it’s fantastic to watch, as his young Blues side remain one of the most dangerous and dynamic sides when it comes to attacking in numbers. While Valencia focused largely on counter-attacks, Chelsea simply looked promising every time they came forward.
Both N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic showed fantastic ball-carrying skills from midfield, dribbling into dangerous areas to begin the Blues’ attacks, and wide-men Christian Pulisic and Willian – backed up by full-backs Reece James and Cesar Azpilicueta – sent dangerous balls across Valencia’s box on numerous occasions.
It was only some really solid defending from the Spanish side – with both Ezequiel Garay and Gabriel Paulista holding firm – that prevented Chelsea from scoring more goals, and even then they had 16 attempts.
If Lampard’s side are forced to play without the hold-up skills of Tammy Abraham – who was stretchered off at half-time – for a while then they will definitely miss their top goalscorer, but judging by tonight they have enough firepower to threaten any opponents.
Also read: Chelsea's Tammy Abraham carried off on stretcher
#3 VAR does its job correctly for once
Tonight’s game had two flash-points of controversy; firstly there was Christian Pulisic’s goal for Chelsea, and secondly the awarding of Daniel Parejo’s penalty. To discuss the former first, it must be said that VAR actually did its job correctly tonight. The goal was initially flagged offside – something that two early replays appeared to confirm – but after a lengthy VAR check, the goal was awarded.
Moments later another replay from a different angle confirmed this as the correct call – Ezequiel Garay’s foot had played Pulisic onside. This would probably never have been picked up without VAR, and was the very definition of a clear and obvious mistake from the officials that would’ve gone unnoticed without the system.
The penalty on the other hand was more questionable; it looked like a stone-wall penalty on first glance, but a second angle – from behind the goal – seemed to suggest that Jose Gaya had actually fouled Jorginho rather than the other way around.
Quite why VAR didn’t pick up the referee’s mistake in this decision I’m not sure – it didn’t even feel like the decision was checked.
Sure, Parejo missed the eventual spot-kick, but if he’d scored, Chelsea could’ve been on the brink of elimination right now. Overall then VAR needs to be praised for the way in which it allowed Pulisic’s goal to stand, but due to the penalty call, question marks over the system still remain.
