Chelsea closer to UCL Round of 16 with win over Malmo

Chelsea visited the Eleda Stadion in the early kick-off of the UEFA Champions League for their Matchday 4 fixture against Malmo FF. Coming off a 4-0 first-leg victory against the Swedish team at Stamford Bridge on Matchday 3, the Blues were seeking to take one step closer to qualification for the Round of 16.

Thomas Tuchel deployed 8 of the 11 that started in the weekend Premier League victory against Newcastle United, with N'Golo Kante, Reece James and Ben Chilwell the players to make way for Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso.

Loftus-Cheek, starting only his second Champions League match since September 2015 against Maccabi Tel-Aviv, was in the thick of things from the start. The 25-year-old fashioned Chelsea’s first real chance of the first half, playing a through ball to Kai Havertz in the 28th minute. Despite previous unconvincing handling, Malmo goalkeeper, Johan Dahlin came up with a save to deny the German forward of his second UCL goal in the 2021/22 season.

Havertz though carried most of Chelsea’s attacking threat in the first half as the Blues had 14 chances in an opening 45 minutes they dominated with 76% possession.

Malmo gave Tuchel’s men a scare in the 45th minute when striker, Antonio-Mirko Colak took a first volley well, calling Edouard Mendy into action before the half-time whistle.

Chelsea started the second half on a different note from the first 45’, as the front trio of Kai Havertz, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Hakim Ziyech combined for the opening goal of the night. Havertz sent Hudson-Odoi on his way down the right flank, before the England international played a perfectly weighted cross to Ziyech, who applied a simple tap-in for his first Chelsea goal since his effort in the UEFA Super Cup against Villareal.

The closest Malmo got to finding the back of the net in the second half was a 63rd minute Erdal Rakip shot that comfortably cleared Mendy’s crossbar. The Senegalese goalkeeper oversaw his 12th UCL clean sheet in just 16 appearances in the competition.

Tuchel handed Christian Pulisic much-needed minutes in the team when the American came on to replace Hudson-Odoi in the 75th minute. The game petered out with Chelsea failing to add to their tally after Havertz missed a one-on-one with goalkeeper Dahlin in the 79th minute.

Pulisic then had the last chance of the match at the death, but failed to find the back of the net after rounding the Malmo goalkeeper in the 93rd minute.

It was a workmanlike performance by Tuchel’s side, who now need just 1 point from their remaining two group matches to secure Round of 16 qualification. The Blues are next in action on Saturday, November 6 in their Premier League Matchday 11 fixture against Burnley at Stamford Bridge.