Look Back At The Last Game-
Chelsea had conquered at Wanda Metropolino as the last minute winner from Michy Batshuayi gave them the precious 3 points in the very important away match against Atletico Madrid in the Group C in UEFA Champions League. The match had started with great anticipation with Hazard in the starting line up of Chelsea for the second time in the season. Morata and Hazard were playing in the upfront for Chelsea. Bakayoko, Fabregas and Kante all started in the central midfield for Chelsea. With Pedro having a slight injury once again in this season, Conte prefered to play with a 3-5-2 formation. Alonso and Moses had started as two wingbacks while Cahill, Luiz and Azpilicueta were in the heart of the defense for Chelsea. Diego Simeone had fielded his team with a 4-4-2 formation. Oblak was starting at the Goal for Atletico as expected. Juanfran and Felipe Luis had started as two side backs and Lucas Hernandez and Diego Godin had paired up in the central defense for them. Thomas Partey, Saul Nigrez, Koke and Carassaco featured in the midfield while Griezmann and Correa were leading Atletico from the front.
The match had started with both teams being conscious in their defense and then went to counter the opponents. Chelsea were better than Atletico in creating chances. Hazard was running brilliantly through the field and the build up play between Hazard and Morata were causing a fair bit of problem in the Atletico’s defense. Morata had gone in front of the goal quite a few times and one shot of Hazard came back after hitting the post. In the 39th minute of the match David Luiz tripped off the Jersey of Saul Nigrez in the penalty box in the time of one Atletico Corner and referee had lost no time to award Atletico the penalty. Antonio Griezmann kept his calm and converted from the penalty spot to give Atletico the lead in the first half against the run of play. At the last moment of the match Atletico had the chance to double the lead at the last moment of the match but Saul Nigrez missed the chance from close range. The first half ended with Atletico leading by 1 goal.
In the Second half Conte’s men were determined to come back in the match and soon in the 55th minute Morata headed the ball perfectly in the net from a brilliant cross provided by Eden Hazard to equalise the score line. Both teams then tried hard to get the winning goal. Torres, Gaitan and Gimenez came in place of Carrasaco, Correa and Thomas Partey for Atletico Madrid. Conte had also made three changes. Morata and Hazard were subbed off at 82nd minute of the match to give them some rest before the very important match against Manchester City on the coming Saturday. They were substituted by Batshuayi and Willian respectively. At 85th minute of the match Christensen were brought in place of Fabregas to strengthen the defensive unit of the team as Atletico were giving pressure for the last 15 minutes of the play. But Chelsea kept trying to get the winning goal and Michy Batshuayi won it for Chelsea at the last second of the stoppage time from a brilliant ball provided by Marcos Alonso. It was the last shot of the match and Chelsea emerged victorious in the toughest encounter of the Group C with a scoreline of 2-1.
Chelsea are now on the top of the Group C table with 6 points and will expect to qualify as the Group topper in the next round. With this loss Atletico are left with only 1 point in their 2 matches and are now placed 3rd in the Group table. They have to do a lot of work to do to qualify for the next round.
Three Reasons Why Chelsea Should Beat Manchester City-
3. Sergio Aguero’s Injury-
The recent injury to the Argentine international will be a major concern for the Manchester based side, though they will be hoping that he can recover soon. It will be a break in their momentum, as they were going great guns and could not stop scoring. Hopefully, there is no major impact on their overall football, though this could be a factor that the Blues might look to capitalize on.
2. Home Advantage-
A major factor in any game is the home advantage and when the home stadium is Stamford Bridge, it is definitely a place where most teams would not like to play. In this crucial factor, the home crowd will surely play a major part and it could be instrumental in determining which way this game eventually goes.
1. Alvaro Morata’s Form–
The former Real Madrid man has been in top form and once again scored in the Champions League fixture. He is heading almost everything into the back of the net and if City can’t keep him quiet, things will be tough for them, as the Spaniard will surely punish them for their mistakes.
