The goals of Mateo Kovacic and Kai Havertz were enough for Chelsea to secure an important victory against Red Bull Salzburg, thus cutting the ticket to the next stage of the Champions League. The Londoners dominated the match, despite playing in the transfer, and could have scored more goals, had it not been for the fantastic saves of the Salzburg goalkeeper, Philipp Kohn.
It was the Croatian midfielder Kovacic who unlocked the result in the 23rd minute of the match, putting his friends ahead with a fantastic shot from a distance. However, Salzburg managed to find the equalizer in the 48th minute through Junior Adamu. The latter made the most of a brilliant pass from Maximilian Wober.
But despite the goal, the home side never had a chance to turn the game around as it was Chelsea who repeatedly troubled goalkeeper Kohn. The gatekeeper stopped 4 times Pierre-Emerick aubameyang before the square. Meanwhile, Jorginho headed the ball well, but his shot was deflected off the line by Adamu. However, the efforts of the Londoners were rewarded in the 64th minute of the challenge. It was Havertz who with a very nice shot gave Chelsea the advantage and secured the qualification ticket for the direct elimination stage.
The English started their journey in the Champions League this season with a 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb, which was commented on at length by the sports opinion. The defeat was one of the key matches that led to the dismissal of coach Tuchel.
Since the goal of qualification was achieved, Graham Potter is expected to rest his starters in the next challenge against Dinamo Zagreb. This way the players will have more time to recover and be at 100% for the important derby against Arsenal on November 6.
