When Chelsea committed £106m for Enzo Fernandez, it was not for his prowess as a one-man defence. And yet, for the club who have spent too much and are achieving too little, there was something sadly symbolic about the sight of Borussia Dortmund’s winner.
There was the most expensive signing an English club has ever made. And there, accelerating past him, was Karim Adeyemi, perhaps the next example of the smart recruitment that Dortmund have been indelibly associated with for years. Chelsea were supposed to be the seasoned European campaigners, the Champions League winners two years ago, but there was a certain naivety as they left Fernandez alone on the halfway line when they had a corner. It was hard to imagine Thomas Tuchel’s battle-hardened winners gifting a goal in such circumstances in their glory run in 2021. Graham Potter’s flaky team, however, found a way to lose.
