Jacob Steinberg was at Red Bull Arena tonight, and his report is in. Here it is …
… and don’t forget Clockwatch with Luke McLaughlin. Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night!
Graham Potter talks to BT. “I’m delighted. Fantastic performance from the players. It showed real courage coming here because of the atmosphere, and the way they are so intense. It was a bit disappointing to be only 1-0 at half-time. One action from them can happen at this level, but we responded well, a great goal from Kai, and we deserved to go through. It was hard work, but it’s going to be at this level. We played well, created chances, scored two good goals, and responded well when we had the setback. So overall, delighted for the players, they’ve been fantastic.”
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Mateo Kovačić speaks to BT Sport. “We knew they would come out strong in the second half. A little mistake and we concede, but we reacted very well, scored a second, and it was an important win. We are through, and now we have to concentrate on our next game. Everyone tells me the same, that I don’t score many! But this one was a nice one. It’s about the team, and who scores the goals in the end is less important.”
Conor Gallagher adds: “It was a great finish.”
Kovačić, the pair suppressing giggles: “Thank you.”
That’s put an end to Salzburg’s 40-game unbeaten home run, then. Chelsea were sensational in the first half, and would surely have been a few goals clear were it not for the heroics of Salzburg keeper Philipp Köhn. But the hosts gave as good as they got in the second half, and while Chelsea were deserved winners overall, Graham Potter’s increasingly attractive side were made to graft towards the end to secure all three points. The Blues are through to the knockout stage, and will win Group E should Dinamo Zagreb fail to beat Milan later tonight.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| 2 | Red Bull Salzburg | 5 | 0 | 6 |
| 3 | AC Milan | 4 | -3 | 4 |
| 4 | Dinamo Zagreb | 4 | -2 | 4 |
FULL TIME: Salzburg 1-2 Chelsea
Chelsea qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League, thanks to a couple of glorious goals by Mateo Kovačić and Kai Havertz!
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90 min +5: The home fans are making plenty of noise as they try to inspire their heroes to a late equaliser. Speaking of sweet sounds, here’s Peter Oh, with apologies to Falco: “I think Salzburg-born Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart would have enjoyed the drama and exuberance of today’s match. Perhaps his favourite player would have been the home team’s right back. Rock me Amar Dedic!” He’s here all week, try the schnitzel.
90 min +4: Jorginho has a look from distance. The shot dribbles harmlessly through to Kohn. Still, the ball’s up the right end from Chelsea’s perspective.
90 min +3: Simic tries to beat Kepa from the halfway line. A decent effort, but always heading a couple of feet wide, and it turns out the ball had gone out for a throw anyway.
90 min +1: Kepa takes exception to a reasonably innocuous challenge by Bernardo on Chalobah. He shoves a confused Simic in the back, and goes into the book.
90 min: … Kepa punches clear. Kameri returns a low shot that the keeper easily snaffles. There will be six extra minutes. They’ll fly by if the first 90 are anything to go by.
89 min: Salzburg don’t want their 40-game unbeaten home run to end. A corner on the right leads to another on the left. And from that …
88 min: Chelsea replace Sterling and Gallagher for Mount and Ziyech.
87 min: Sekso slips a pass across the face of the Chelsea box for Simic, whose hard drive towards the bottom right is turned around the post by Kepa … who then comes charging out to claim the corner, misses, and is lucky when Gourna-Douath snatches at the ball on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box. High and wide.
86 min: Broja powers his way down the right but can’t get the better of Bernardo. Gallagher arrives late to help. Too late, as he catches Bernardo and is booked for his trouble.
84 min: Yep, good news, Silva is quickly up again. A sore one for sure, but he’s happy to continue and is soon shaking his finger and bollocking his defensive partners for the positions they’re taking up. Great to see.
83 min: Silva goes up for a high ball with Simic. He wins the header but falls to ground on his back from on high. He might have hurt his neck in doing so. Hopefully that looks more dramatic than it is. On comes the physio.
82 min: Adamu can’t continue. He’s replaced by Kameri.
81 min: Adamu sticks out a toe to take the ball off a snoozing Loftus-Cheek. The surprised Chelsea man falls backwards onto poor Adamu’s standing leg. That’s a sore one for the Salzburg goalscorer, and to add insult to injury a free-kick is awarded against him for a non-existent foul.
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79 min: A free kick for Salzburg out on the left. Kjærgaard swings it in, but it’s an easy pluck for Kepa. Kjærgaard has the good grace to stick a hand up to apologise to all of his team-mates who had made the long trek upfield.
78 min: Now it’s the hosts swapping out two players. Off go Wober and Okafor; on come Ulmer and Simic.
76 min: Chelsea make a double change, with a view to shoring things up a little bit and keeping what they’ve earned. Aubameyang and Pulisic make way for Broja and Azpilicueta.
74 min: From the sublime to the ridiculous. Sterling rolls cutely down the left to release Havertz into the box. Havertz has the right to shoot from an angle, but unselfishly chooses to pull back and tee up Pulisic instead. Pulisic mistimes his first-time shot, kicking the ball against his standing leg in the time-honoured slapstick style.
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73 min: Salzburg go long. Sesko can’t quite get on the end of a rake down the middle. A bit early for the progressive Austrian champions to go all Charles Reep.
71 min: Kepa requires a bit of treatment after being (fairly) clattered by Pavolvic. He’s thankfully able to continue, and does his bit in clearing the resulting corner.
69 min: Kepa punches positively clear, but Salzburg return the ball from deep. Pavolvic rises highest, all the way above Kepa, and eyebrows the ball over the keeper and towards the unguarded net. Well, not quite unguarded: Silva, having read the danger, drops back to hoick clear off the line and out for a corner.
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68 min: Before the corner can be taken, Kovacic – surely Chelsea’s man of the match – makes way for Loftus-Cheek. Then the corner, from the right, leads to another from the left.
67 min: Sesko drives down the inside-left channel, cuts infield across Chalobah, and whistles a low drive towards the bottom right. Kepa is behind this one, too. Corner.
66 min: Salzburg aren’t going to take this lying down. Okafor bothers Chalobah down the left to win a corner. The set piece is only half cleared. The ball drops towards Adamu, just inside the Chelsea box on the right. He opts to duck and leave the bouncing ball for Okafor, who creams a swerver towards the bottom right. Kepa behind it all the way. This is a great match.
GOAL! Salzburg 1-2 Chelsea (Havertz 64)
This has been a hugely entertaining game, and it’s getting the goals it deserves. Pulisic probes down the right, checks, then rolls across for Havertz, on the edge of the D. Havertz takes a touch to tee himself up, and curls a vicious, unstoppable shot into the extreme top-left corner. Fierce, forensic and fantastic.
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63 min: Okafor flays a wild shot many miles over the Chelsea bar from great distance. Trussian levels of ambition over delivery if nothing else.
61 min: Whatever happens to Salzburg tonight, it’s worth remembering that their team has an average age of 22 years and 346 days. They’re the youngest side in the Champions League by some distance … and to further hammer home that point, here comes 19-year old Sesko, on for Sucic (a relative geriatric at 20).
59 min: Kovacic, who has been here, there and everywhere this evening, finds Havertz down the inside-left channel. Havertz reaches the corner of the six-yard box, but can’t get any purchase on his whipped shot. One of the easier claims for Kohn.
57 min: The home fans are back in voice now, by the way. Their heroes flying out of the second-half blocks will do that sort of thing.
55 min: Yeah, you’ll need to take those deep breaths while you can. To illustrate further, here comes Pulisic, who for a second looks like breaking clear down the middle, chasing after a long bouncing pass. But the ball never quite sets down for him, and the chance goes by.
54 min: And breathe. You’ll probably need the oxygen soon enough.
52 min: Chelsea nearly bounce back immediately … not once, but twice! First Aubameyang strides into the box down the left, only to be denied when one-on-one with Kohn, a combination of the keeper spreading and Dedic’s last-ditch tackle from behind stopping him. Then from the resulting corner, Kovacic has an effort cleared off the line! A header towards the bottom right that Adamu hooks clear with a telescopic leg! The referee checks to see if his watch is vibrating, but not a molecule moves.
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51 min: Well that was some start to the half from the hosts. Matthias Jaissle may well have delivered a few home truths. Chelsea, meanwhile, are suddenly pegged back, level again despite all those first-half chances.
GOAL! Salzburg 1-1 Chelsea (Adamu 49)
Wöber strides down the left and, from a deep position on the wing, swings in low for Adamu. The ball is perfectly weighted, a couple of inches too far ahead of Cucurella, taking the defender out of the game. Adamu opens his body up and steers across Kepa and into the bottom left. What a goal!
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48 min: VAR has a look. The replay shows the ball rearing up off the turf and hitting Kovacic’s fist, but the Chelsea man was looking the other way and had no idea what was going on. His arms were right by his side too. No matter for Salzburg, though, because …
47 min: From the free kick, a game of head tennis breaks out in the Chelsea box. The ball pings off Kovacic’s hand. Salzburg want a penalty. The referee isn’t giving one. Sučić is booked for complaining.
46 min: Okafor is quickly on the attack, probing down the left. Chelsea half clear, but Gourna-Douath comes back at them down the same flank, and is bundled over by Gallagher. Free kick.
Salzburg get the second half underway. Neither coach has made any changes.
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HALF TIME: Salzburg 0-1 Chelsea
Chelsea could easily have scored four or five. Such a scoreline wouldn’t flatter their very attractive play. Graham Potter could be onto something, you know.
45 min +1: Another outrageous save by Kohn! Kovacic and Sterling combine to slip Aubameyang into the box down the left. Aubameyang slams low and hard towards the bottom left. Kohn sticks out a strong arm to turn the ball around for a corner that will never be taken, because …
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45 min: There will be one added minute. How on earth are Salzburg still in this? But they are, and half-time can’t come soon enough for coach Matthias Jaissle.
44 min: More aesthetic beauty from Chelsea, as yet another triangle-based move down the left finishes with Sterling slotting a pass down the channel for Kovacic. The midfielder realises he’s a yard offside, so leaves it for Aubameyang on the overlap. Aubameyang can’t dink the ball over the outstanding Kohn, and it’s another great chance denied.
42 min: Otherwise, Chelsea are strutting around in the imperious style. Their excellent play has earned them the right.
40 min: Kjærgaard finds himself in a bit of space just to the left-hand side of the Chelsea D. But with Chalobah closing in, he snatches at a shot, sending it harmlessly wide left. He should have worked Kepa.
38 min: Tell you what, Kohn is having some game for Salzburg. He’s single handedly keeping the hosts in this game, and all after being kicked upside the head in the first couple of minutes.
36 min: Chelsea look in the mood to put on a show, though. Sterling and Havertz can’t quite unlock Salzburg down the left. Then Gallagher is slipped into space down the inside-right channel. He reaches the byline and crosses for Havertz, who connects with a header, six yards out, but only sends it straight at Kohn, who parries then claims at the second attempt. It looked easier to score than miss. Havertz looks utterly livid with himself.
34 min: Not that Salzburg are finished, of course. Far from it. Okafor fizzes a shot towards the bottom right, forcing a good save from Kepa, who smothers calmly.
32 min: Chelsea stream up the pitch, spraying the ball around in beautiful diagonal slashes. They carve Salzburg to bits. Suddenly it’s two on one, and Pulisic, haring down the inside left, rolls to Aubameyang down the other channel. Aubameyang should score, but slams his shot straight at Kohn. A great last-ditch save, one that’s denied Chelsea a goal for the ages. Potterball emerging!
30 min: A reminder that Salzburg are unbeaten in their last 40 games at home. If Chelsea can hold onto this lead, and put a stop to that proud run, they’ll join Manchester City in the knockout stages.
28 min: That goal has rather stunned the home fans. No wonder: aside from it being one heck of a strike, it’s only Kovacic’s fifth goal for the club, and he’s three games short of 200 appearances.
26 min: Chelsea nearly double their lead. The corner’s swung in from the right. Aubameyang flicks a header towards the bottom right. The ball takes another small flick off Wober, but Kohn, at full stretch, sticks out a strong hand to turn the ball off his goal-line. What a save!
25 min: Sterling goes in for a 50-50 with Adamu, the home hero coming off second best. Plenty of whistles as Chelsea go on to win a corner on the right.
GOAL! Salzburg 0-1 Chelsea (Kovacic 23)
Some pinball on the edge of the Salzburg box. Nothing much to write home about … until the ball breaks to Kovacic, on the edge of the D. He swings an instinctive left peg at the ball, and whistles it into the top-left corner! Kohn had no chance whatsoever! On this St Crispin’s Day, Chelsea’s travelling band of brothers are a very happy few.
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21 min: Chelsea hog the ball in the midfield in the patient style. Meanwhile the earlier mention of St Crispin’s Day has sent Gary Naylor scampering off to his bookshelf, and specifically to his well-thumbed copy of Henry V “and this aperçu from Shakey (who let’s face it, had a few)
In peace there’s nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility:
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour’d rage;
“I think we all know Graham Potter can do the first bit, but the second is what makes the difference in the big games. I guess we’ll know by end May.”
19 min: The first lull of the match. Both teams have been going at it hell for leather, they’ve earned the right to ease off a tad.
17 min: Seiwald loops a strange cross in from a deep spot on the right. Kjærgaard can’t meet it at the far stick, but Chelsea were light at the back and would have been exposed with a better ball.
15 min: Cucurella plays a very dicey ball across the face of his own box from the left. It just about evades Okafor, but Chelsea only half clear, and Sucic is quickly striding back towards their box with the ball. He flays it well over the bar.
13 min: Pulisic has a probe down the right this time. Nothing doing. Salzburg counter. Kjærgaard swings a speculative cross in from the left, but it’s too strong for Adamu. A nice, bright feel to this game.
11 min: Kepa’s careless wedge forward is intercepted and leads to another corner. Nothing comes of it, but having been pushed back during the very early stages, the hosts are responding with some high-octane pressing of their own.
9 min: … but it’s Salzburg who win the first corner of the match, Dedić making his way down the right and earning it off Sterling. The resulting set piece is nearly met by Bernardo at the near post, but the presence of Chalobah does enough to put him off. That’s some fine defending.
7 min: Pulisic turns on the jets to make space down the left. He fizzes in a low cross that Gourna-Douath intercepts, then nearly runs out of play for a corner. The Salzburg midfielder just about keeps the ball from going out, then draws a foul from Pulisic. There wasn’t much in that, and Gourna-Douath got away with one there.
5 min: Chelsea have started on the front foot – this is what Salzburg usually do here – and they swarm the hosts into shipping possession 30 yards out. Gallagher nearly releases Aubameyang down the inside-right channel and into the box, but the pass is a bit lively and the striker can’t control. Kohn, his head now clear, save those two apologies rattling around in it, gathers calmly.
4 min: Thankfully Kohn is quickly back up on his feet, though he took a proper clack from Havertz there. It was completely innocent, and Havertz’s genuine apology is accepted. Whether the one Kohn gets from Bernardo merits equal grace is a moot point, but the brave keeper accepts it anyway.
2 min: Bernardo sends a weak defensive header back towards his keeper Kohn. Havertz is entitled to go for the ball – it’s 51-49 in favour of the keeper at best – and though Kohn clears bravely, he’s caught by the Chelsea attacker’s knee. Ow.
After some extremely warm and appreciative applause in memory of Red Bull co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz, who died last weekend, Chelsea get the ball rolling. A genuinely emotional moment. Angel wings.
The teams are out! Salzburg are in their bespoke European grey, Chelsea first-choice blue. We’ll be off once Zadok the Priest’s sell-out younger brother does his marketing turn for Uefa.
Graham Potter speaks to BT Sport. “We’re going to try to [qualify] tonight. We’re going to be positive. We know we’re playing against a tough opponent, they make it very difficult here, so it’s not straightforward. But we have to try to bring our game to the match. Salzburg are a tough team to play against, they attack with clarity, defend with clarity, and are very aggressive and intense. You need to use width against them. They defend quite narrow. Raheem Sterling will be playing wide. If we can get the ball to him, we’re hopeful he can cause them problems.”
Graham Potter has made four changes to Chelsea’s starting XI. Mateo Kovacic, Conor Gallagher, Christian Pulisic and Kai Havertz all regain their places in the wake of the 1-1 draw with Manchester United last Saturday. Ben Chilwell, Cesar Azpilicueta, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Mason Mount drop to the bench.
The teams
Red Bull Salzburg: Kohn, Dedic, Wober, Pavlovic, Bernardo, Gourna-Douath, Seiwald, Kjaergaard, Sucic, Adamu, Okafor.
Subs: Mantl, van der Brempt, Piatkowski, Baidoo, Ulmer, Simic, Diarra, Sesko, Walke.
Chelsea: Kepa, Chalobah, Thiago Silva, Cucurella, Sterling, Kovacic, Jorginho, Pulisic, Gallagher, Havertz, Aubameyang.
Subs: Loftus-Cheek, Bettinelli, Mendy, Broja, Mount, Zakaria, Chilwell, Ziyech, Azpilicueta, Chukwuemeka.
Referee: Sandro Scharer (Switzerland).
Preamble
Last time in Group E this happened …
… and so, should Graham Potter’s side win in Austria this evening, they’ll qualify for the knockout stage of this season’s Champions League. Kick-off is at Vespers, St. Crispin’s Day 5.45pm BST. It’s on!
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea | 4 | 4 | 7 |
| 2 | Red Bull Salzburg | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| 3 | AC Milan | 4 | -3 | 4 |
| 4 | Dinamo Zagreb | 4 | -2 | 4 |
