Chelsea hammered Sevilla 4-0 in the Champions League Group stage game courtesy to their French striker, Olivier Giroud’s four goals. The Blues were under much criticism and the fans asked more from the Chelsea upfront after their 0-0 draw against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.
The win means Chelsea has topped the group despite a game remaining in hand and is a strong message for those who have taken them lightly. Giroud’s four goals mean that it was the first time ever a player in Blue jersey has scored four times since Frank Lampard managed to do 10 years ago against Aston Villa.
The away game saw a much altered Chelsea line-up with nine changes from the starting XI from the Tottenham game in the league. Lampard used his depth of the squad quite well as he already announced about giving chances to fringe players.
Emerson and Christensen started the game for Chelsea as both defending pair, Kurt Zouma and Thiago Silva didn’t travel to Spain. It was the first appearance for Andreas Christensen since October while Emerson Palmieri played his second game of the season. Christian Pulisic and Kai Havertz were available while Billy Gilmour made his debut in the UCL by making a short cameo appearance.
The opportunities came in like the gush of water through a broken dam as Pulisic threatened the Sevilla defence after he was laid off by Cesar Azpiliceta in the penalty box.
It didn’t take much time before the Blues took their lead with Giroud opening the scoresheet. Giroud’s inclusion in the starting XI was justifiable as he deserved it after scoring the winner against Rennes in the dying minutes of the match as a late substitute.
Chelsea kept patience by keeping possession which created space for Kai Havertz to make a run. This split open the Sevilla backline and Havertz found two options on either side of him. He chose Giroud who eased past a defender to finish back in the top corner of the net with a swift curler.
Sevilla tried to get back and forced Chelsea keeper, Edouard Mendy to make some fine saves around the 20th minute. The former Rennes keeper’s effort prevented Diego Carlos to shoot as a loose ball from a free-kick fell in a 50-50 position. This followed by an important interception of his shot again, now by Toni Rudiger.
Chelsea’s pacy counter-attack ran havoc in the opposition defence. In midfield, Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho teamed up to dispossess a player and played Pulisic whose shot was again saved but gave a corner to the visitors. Rudiger’s header was cleared from the goal line as Chelsea continued to push them.
The first half ended with plenty of yellow cards and 17 shots in total. Callum Hudson-Odoi saw plenty of the ball down the right flank and a couple of his inviting deliveries went unmet. It was in the 54th minute when Olivier Giroud used his cross to score a magnificent second goal.
After some spellbinding interchanges outside the Sevilla box, Jorginho passed the ball on to Kovacic, who in turn fed a pass-through to Giroud. He made light work of the ball coming onto his weaker right side and carefully lifted the ball over the keeper. The execution was totally slick and perfect.
The French striker took the responsibility to go for the penalty kick himself as he was fouled in the box. He calmly placed the ball into the top right-hand corner with the minimum of fuss.
The applause that echoed around the whole stadium(although empty) when Giroud was substituted felt louder as it was indeed special. rarely a Blues striker produces a display of that magnitude or has produced in the recent years so far.
This victory is a reward to all the fans for a vintage Chelsea display having slick passing, rigid defense and Giroud’s stellar performance. Lamaprd has successfully ended the 14-game unbeaten run of Sevilla at their home while the Blues won four UCL games in a row after a long.
