Match report as Mislav Orsic beat Wesley Fofana in a foot race before nudging the ball around Kepa to hand Zagreb a 13th-minute advantage; Thomas Tuchel's side was guilty of spurning a host of second-half chances; They have conceded at least once in each of their last six games
Disjointed Chelsea suffered a shock defeat to Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb on the opening night of their Champions League campaign as Mislav Orsic's first-half strike was enough to earn a 1-0 victory.
Thomas Tuchel's side was caught napping in the 13th minute as Orsic ran from his own half, latching onto a ball from strike partner Bruno Petkovic, to outpace £70m signing Wesley Fofana before dinking the ball over Kepa Arrizabalaga.
The hosts soaked up untold Chelsea pressure before stealing the lead but held onto their advantage admirably, staving off a belated onslaught as chances for Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech went begging.
Team news
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang made his club debut as Chelsea's Champions League Group E campaign got underway against Dinamo Zagreb.
The Gabon striker wore a custom-made face mask to protect a broken jaw suffered in an attack during a recent home invasion.
Kepa Arrizabalaga started in goal with Edouard Mendy battling for form, while captain Cesar Azpilicueta formed part of a back three.
Mason Mount dropped into a deeper midfield role alongside Mateo Kovacic.
Chelsea went closest via new signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, on his Blues debut, who had the ball in the back of the net shortly after the interval, only for the effort to be chalked off.
Ben Chilwell had edged marginally offside from Mateo Kovacic's diagonal pass, leaving his low ball across for Aubameyang's tap-in to count for nothing.
A late flurry, where Reece James crashed an effort against the upright, equally did nothing to affect the scoreline, leaving listless Chelsea to slump to their third defeat in seven matches this season - it also marks the first time they have lost three consecutive away ties under Tuchel.
How Chelsea suffered at hands of Zagreb
Croatia forward Orsic's early breakaway goal surprisingly proved enough for Dinamo to topple a languishing Chelsea side, who looked a far cry from the team who hoisted the Champions League trophy only two seasons ago.
New striker Aubameyang appeared tentative on his Blues bow - sporting a face mask to protect his broken jaw - while support cast Raheem Sterling and Havertz were equally toothless.
The new Stamford Bridge hierarchy may well have splashed a Premier League-record £273m in the summer transfer window, but this is very much still a team in transition.
Tuchel, booked for remonstrating on the sidelines, attempted to switch formations multiple times in the second period in order to divert the course of the game but appeared to be out of sync with his players.
Following Aubameyang's disallowed equalizer, it was actually Stefan Ristovski who went closest to doubling Zagreb's lead with a thumping shot that required intervention from Kepa to tip onto the crossbar.
Armando Broja, Aubameyang's 59th-minute replacement, showed glimpses of aptitude but lacked sharpness when James' endeavor down the right fashioned a wicked cross that almost implored a connection, which never arrived.
Chelsea has conceded at least once in each of their last six games across all competitions, their joint-longest run without a clean sheet since Tuchel took charge.
Tuchel: I didn't see it coming; we lacked hunger and desire
Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel said:
"I'm angry with myself. I'm angry about our performance. It's not aggressive enough on the ball, it's not enough individually or enough as a team.
"Not a lot [of players are playing at the top of their game]. It's obvious that we're underperforming. It's a lack of determination. A lack of hunger and intensity. You cannot expect to win games. We are clearly nowhere near where we want to be.
"I just know that I need time to digest it and find solutions. It's a story of the last games - we start okay. But then we lack precision. We lack the smell of blood.
"It's clearly my job to analyze it. Clearly, we need to be much better. We are not happy with our results. We are not happy with our performances. I'm a bit surprised by this performance today.
"I didn't see it coming. Obviously, I was in the wrong movie. I thought that the last game helped us, we showed a reaction against West Ham. Had good training sessions. I thought the team was prepared.
"I didn't see it coming that's why I know I'm angry with myself. There is no day off in the next few days, don't worry. There cannot be a day off at the moment."
No comments:
Post a Comment