2 Chelsea players who performed and 3 who underperformed against RB Salzburg | UEFA Champions League 2022-23
Graham Potter took charge of Chelsea for the first time as they welcomed RB Salzburg to Stamford Bridge for their Champions League matchday two clash on Wednesday night (September 14).
The former Brighton & Hove Albion boss, however, failed to mark the occasion with a victory, with the visitors holding Chelsea to a 1-1 draw in west London. Raheem Sterling found the back of the net for the Blues while Noah Okafor scored for the Austrian outfit.
The Pensioners, who fell to a 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb in their previous Champions League outing, find themselves at the bottom of the Group E standings. Milan, who beat Zagreb 3-1 on Wednesday, are the current group toppers with four points.
Chelsea enjoyed a bright start to the game in west London, creating their first real opening after 11 minutes of play. Kai Havertz got on the end of an inviting Marc Cucurella free kick, but his effort took a deflection before it could trouble Salzburg keeper Philipp Kohn.
Chelsea fans clapped and sang in the 21st minute of their UCL match against Salzburg, to celebrate Thomas Tuchel's 2021 Champions League run for the club šš https://t.co/V69UbabP1A
Their next real opportunity did not arrive until the 40th minute. This time, Mason Mount found himself in a promising situation at the edge of the box. He went for goal with a curling effort, but saw it drift just wide of the mark. A minute later, Benjamin Sesko went for Chelseaās goal, but Kepa Arrizabalaga was on hand to deny the Salzburg forward.
Three minutes into the second half, Sterling applied a gorgeous finish to Mountās deflected delivery, giving the hosts the lead. Aubameyang and Havertz had a couple of half-decent chances to add to Potterās sideās lead, but their finishing let them down.
Salzburg got themselves a goal out of the blue in the 75th minute. Substitute Chukwubuike Adamu found Okafor in space with a pass inside the box, and the latter made no mistake slotting it home.
Substitute Hakim Ziyech came close to restoring Chelseaās lead in the 83rd minute, but Kohn refused to be beaten by the Moroccanās close-range flick. Fellow substitute Armando Broja dispatched a thunderous right-footed volley in injury time, but it narrowly flew over the crossbar. The last chance of the match fell to Ziyech. Once again, Kohn expertly read the situation and made himself big to deny the forward.
Barring a couple, most of the Bluesā stars failed to live up to their billing in Potterās first match in charge. Here are two players who performed and three who disappointed in the Bluesā 1-1 stalemate with Salzburg on Wednesday:
Underperformed: Mateo Kovacic
Croatia international Mateo Kovacic had a night to forget against Salzburg. He did make some nice tackles (3 of 3 completed), but that was pretty much the highlight of his match. Kovacic failed to create chances, lost the ball rather frequently, and was weak in one-on-one duels as well.
Kovacic had a poor game but this narrative heās somehow overrated all of a sudden from some of our fanbase is baffling, Kova is world class in the midfield third but heās not great going forward, thatās why a double pivot role suits him, stay in the midfield 3rd whilstā¦ 1/4
On Wednesday night, Kovacic lost six of 11 duels, ceded possession 16 times, committed a foul, and had only one shot, which flew off target.
Performed: Marc Cucurella
Playing once again under former Brighton boss Graham Potter, Marc Cucurella put in a commendable shift. He primarily played on the left side of the Bluesā back three but did not hesitate to push further up the pitch when needed. Cucurella was a rock at the back, created openings for players in front, and ran tirelessly until the last blast of the whistle.
Cucurella held that system together. Can tell he knows it. I promise you we are shipping 4 goals a game if another person is there
Against Salzburg, the Spaniard made two key passes, accurately delivered three long balls, and completed a dribble. He also made a couple of interceptions, won nine of 11 ground duels, and attempted a whopping six tackles, winning four.
Underperformed: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang made his home debut for Chelsea against Salzburg on Wednesday night. The Gabonese ace tried his best to mark the occasion with a noteworthy performance, but it ultimately did not turn out that way. Aubameyang was often slow to react, rarely got involved in the build-up play, and was easily dealt with by opposition defenders.
Aubameyang: āIām going to need more time, Iām not 100% fine, itās not easy to play with a mask and an injury, letās hope I recover 100% as soon as possibleā (@GuillerRai) #CFC https://t.co/jR9dimCGKN
At Stamford Bridge, Aubameyang lodged zero shots on target (3 attempts; 1 off-target, 2 blocked) on Wednesday night. He also made only nine accurate passes (64.3% accuracy), misplaced a cross, and ceded possession eight times.
He was credited with the assist for Sterlingās goal, but it was hardly intentional. It was Mountās delivery (took a deflection off Aubameyang) that led to the Englishmanās goal.
Performed: Raheem Sterling
Raheem Sterling marked the inauguration of the Graham Potter era with an excellent display. The former Manchester City man operated in the hole, for the most part, expertly bringing his teammates into play.
Wayne Rooney (30)
Only two English players have scored 25+ goals in the European Cup / Champions League:
āŖļø Wayne Rooney (30)
āŖļø Raheem Sterling š
Raheem gets his first in Chelsea blue. šµ https://t.co/qQEvvSwzM5
Sterlingās finest moment of the match came in the 48th minute when he curled the ball past Kohn to put his side in the lead. In addition to scoring a fine goal, Sterling made a key pass, had an 83% passing accuracy, drew a foul, and attempted two tackles.
Underperformed: Kai Havertz
Chelsea ace Kai Havertz was considerably below his best on Wednesday night. He could not create openings for his teammates, was often outmuscled, and gave the ball away cheaply at times. The German lacked the confidence to take his opponents on, something Potter might have to address sooner rather than later.
Kai Havertz, you're playing in the free role, the creative, game changing position. The zones for skill, imagination and output. We get 0 dribbles compeleted, 0 key passes & 0 shots in the 1st half, not much more in 2nd. It just isn't good enough big man.
On Wednesday, Havertz neither made a key pass nor lodged a shot on target. He also lost seven of eight duels, ceded possession 16 times, and committed a foul before being taken off for Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the 66th minute.