Chelsea had toiled away against West Ham United for 85 arduous minutes without reward. Yet one hopeful flick-on from Thiago Silva suddenly prised open the Irons' backline. Romelu Lukaku was through, ready to make contact with the ball. Then suddenly the Belgian wasn't.
That was because of Craig Dawson. The West Ham defender had been excellent throughout the contest but one momentary lapse of concentration proved costly as he let Lukaku escape his attention. The centre-back instinctively pulled the Chelsea striker down in the penalty area and Michael Oliver awarded the most obvious of spot-kicks. Dawson was soon sent off after a VAR review.
Jorginho stepped up to take the penalty. The Italian had converted his previous nine for Chelsea during the 2021/22 campaign so there was little reason to doubt him. "It's a lot of pressure, especially in games like this when you need to win and the last minute," the 30-year-old told Sky Sports this week in the aftermath of the game against the Hammers.
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"You try to isolate your mind from all that pressure, even though that's hard. You also have the VAR [review] so it takes longer, it's harder to keep focused. What you need to do, what I try to do, is isolate my mind from all this fog and pressure. Unfortunately this time, it didn't work."
Jorginho's penalty was one of the worst taken at Stamford Bridge – and that is no overreaction. Lukasz Fabianski held his nerve as the Italy international hopped and then connected with the ball; the West Ham goalkeeper didn't move an inch and was rewarded with a simple save as Jorginho's effort rolled tamely towards him.
"When you have that little moment of doubt, that is usually when you make a mistake. So maybe I had too much time to think about it" Jorginho explained. "I don't know. This time it went like that and I'm sorry. I feel bad because it's not a nice feeling."
Ultimately, the miss didn't cost Chelsea. Tuchel's players were able to regroup in the dying minutes and Christian Pulisic guided home a shot as the game moved into stoppage time. Relief radiated throughout Stamford Bridge – and including from Jorginho, although he remained frustrated with himself after the full-time whistle.
Tuchel was quick to defend his midfielder after the game, however. "Jorgi has – or had – the perfect record with us [this season]. So we all believed we had finally the chance to score the goal we needed. He has a certain style of shooting, and I got the question just before, but when he scores, as he had done at a 100% level, it looks unbelievably cool and calm and composed.
"But when he misses, it looks like he could've done better. But it's style, and he is right to stick to it. He is upset with himself and happy that Puli (Christian Pulisic) turned things around."
As is always the case, Tuchel had his stats right. Jorginho did have a flawless record for Chelsea this season prior to the game against West Ham. So it was the right call for him to step up from 12 yards. Is that still the case next time the Blues are awarded a penalty? It's difficult to argue no.
Over the course of his Chelsea career, excluding shoot-outs, Jorginho has an 86% conversion rate. He has scored 24 and missed just four. It's an impressive record, one that would be the envy of many players across the European game. And it's one based on the 30-year-old holding his nerve and waiting for the goalkeeper to commit himself.
Yet what happens if the goalkeeper doesn't, which is far easier said than done? Well, things get a little harder for Jorginho, as evidenced against West Ham on Sunday, twice against Yann Sommer during Italy's doomed World Cup qualifying campaign, and the Euro 2020 final last summer.
If Tuchel does require an alternative at some stage to Jorginho, the obvious candidate is Romelu Lukaku, who has scored his last 20 penalties for club and country, again excluding shootouts.
Kai Havertz has also proved himself reliable from the spot with the German having all nine of the penalties he has taken at senior level. Reece James, meanwhile, has proved himself adept in shootouts and could be a potential option if neither of Tuchel's number nines were on the pitch.
However, there is no urgent need for Jorginho to be taken off Chelsea penalties at any time soon. His record is more than good enough over several seasons. He deserves to be trusted in the weeks ahead and given the opportunity to reassert his spot-kick dominance.
