Defending European champions Chelsea flexed their muscles in a 1-0 victory over Malmö at the Eleda Stadion, a triumph that saw Thomas Tuchel’s men move within touching distance of securing one of the two qualification spots in UEFA Champions League Group H.
Having shown their considerable superiority in quality with a 4-0 victory in the previous group-stage meeting between the two sides last month, Chelsea were unable to break down the Swedish club’s rearguard in the first half. However, the ‘Blues’ did create a number of high-quality chances as they looked to take the lead.
The best one fell to Kai Havertz, but the Germany international was unable to slide the ball beyond goalkeeper Johan Dahlin when played in by Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Despite the parity at the break, though, Tuchel will have been pleased with his side’s display as they managed 15 shots to their opponents’ two. As such, the London outfit will surely have headed into the dressing room at HT believing the dam would eventually break.
The Premier League side’s perseverance paid off just ten minutes into the second half. Some fantastic combination play released Callum Hudson-Odoi down the right flank, and the Chelsea man played an inch-perfect ball across the box to Hakim Ziyech.
Faced with an empty net, the Moroccan duly tapped home to give his side a much-deserved lead. While Chelsea continued to pile pressure onto the home side - Havertz again came close to beating Dahlin, who also thwarted a Loftus-Cheek drive - Ziyech’s lone strike was all they ultimately needed to head back to England with all three points.
The impressive victory away from home extends Chelsea’s record against Swedish opposition to one defeat in nine matches. A win, though, was the minimum expectation for the ‘Blues’ against a Malmö side who are yet to score in Group H this campaign.
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