CHELSEA AND VALENCIA STALEMATE TAKES QUALIFICATION DOWN TO THE WIRE
By Matt Perry
VALENCIA, Spain, NOV 27
Both Frank Lampard’s Chelsea side and Valencia will have to wait until the final round of fixtures in the Champions League group stage to ensure their place in the knockout stage after a 2-2 draw on Wednesday Evening.
The game was far from dull with both sides pushing hard for the victory until the final whistle in a match which featured box-to-box action and the ever present VAR.
After the game, Frank Lampard said: “It’s a positive that it is in our hands. We both had incredible chances. We had numerous ones in the first half.
“I don’t feel fortunate.I didn’t love the match, it can happen in football. It is about if you can get through the game.”
Valencia opened the scoring when Rodrigo’s superb cross met Carlos Soler who hit home despite Kepa’s efforts to keep the ball from going into the Chelsea net.
Frank Lampard’s side reacted straight away after Valencia’s defence failed to clear the ball and headed it into the direction of Mateo Kovacic, who turned excellently before firing the ball into the bottom left corner, his first goal for the Blues.
Chelsea took the lead in the 49th minute as VAR ruled Christian Pulisic’s effort from a Kurt Zouma nod as onside, in spite of the protests of the Valencia players.
Valencia failed to bring themselves back into the game from the spot in the 64th minute after Dani Parejo’s controversial penalty was kept out by Chelsea’s Spanish goalkeeper.
Daniel Wass eventually brought Valencia back level after his attempted cross ended up fooling Kepa and smashing the far post before finding the back of the Chelsea net.
Lampard will now be hoping that their top goal scorer Tammy Abraham will be fit for their next game at home to West Ham after coming off injured at Half Time.
On the injury, the Chelsea manager said: “I am not sure, he is in the dressing room now. A Bang on his hip, it might not be as severe as we first thought.”
Chelsea will have to wait until their last game of the group stage against Lille at Stamford Bridge to ensure passage through to the next round while Valencia travel to Ajax in order to cement their place in the knockout stage.
← Back to portfolio