RB Salzburg vs Chelsea Champions League result and reaction as Chelsea qualify for knockout stage - live
RB Salzburg 1-2 Chelsea: Goals from Mateo Kovacic and Kai Havertz see Blues book their spot int he kockouts with a game to spare
Kai Havertz’s brilliant second-half goal earned Chelsea a 2-1 win at RB Salzburg which booked their place in the Champions League knockout stages.
The Germany international curled in a stunning effort midway through the second half to decide a testing evening in Austria and extend Graham Potter’s unbeaten start to his Blues reign to nine games.
The Premier League side had gone ahead through a fine strike by Mateo Kovacic and only a string of saves by impressive home goalkeeper Philipp Kohn stopped it being a rout at half-time.
The Austrian side levelled early in the second half through Junior Adamu’s superb breakaway effort as Chelsea looked in peril. Havertz had the final say, though, winning the match in style and sending his side through with his 20-yard effort that found the top corner.
Chelsea will top Group E if Dinamo Zagreb fail to beat AC Milan in the late kick-off. Relive the action as Chelsea beat RB Salzburg in the Champions League:
Winning with the kids?
The average age of Salzburg’s starting XIs in the Champions League this season is 22 years and 346 days: the youngest of any team in the competition this term.
RB Salzburg have also scored exactly one goal in each of their last seven games in the Champions League.
Chelsea’s pre-World Cup fixture schedule ‘crazy’, Cesar Azpilicueta claims
Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta said the number of games being crammed into the schedule ahead of the World Cup next month is “crazy” and that player welfare is being jeopardised.
Azpilicueta’s team mate N’Golo Kante has been ruled out of the World Cup after undergoing an operation on a hamstring injury, while Reece James is in a race to be fit for the tournament after injuring his knee.
Chelsea have three league fixtures, two Champions League games and a League Cup tie before the World Cup in Qatar begins on 20 November.
Chelsea’s pre-World Cup fixture schedule ‘crazy’, Cesar Azpilicueta claims
Chelsea have three league fixtures, two Champions League games and a League Cup tie before the World Cup in Qatar begins on 20 November
Will Chelsea reach the knockout rounds tonight?
Chelsea’s Champions League campaign got off to the worst possible start this season when they lost 1-0 in Croatia to Dinamo Zagreb on the first matchday of the group stages.
That loss resulted in the sacking of Thomas Tuchel and the appointment of Graham Potter as head coach who has since led the Blues to two wins and one draw from the next three games.
Five teams are already through to the round of 16 - Bayern Munich, Club Bruges, Manchester City, Napoli and Real Madrid. Will Chelsea join them this evening?
Potter addresses concerns over Chelsea’s attacking prowess
Since Graham Potter took over as manager of Chelsea the Blues have averaged 12.8 shots per game but that rate has been considerably lower of later and Potter was asked why he thinks this is the case.
“It’s a simple question to ask but a complex one to answer,” he said. “There are lots of things I would say. We’ve had a couple of issues in losing Reece [James], [Kalidu] Koulibaly, and Wesley [Fofana] in terms of stability,
“Away matches off the back of away matches in the Champions League, tough places to go. So, it’s a combination of finding the right balance, a bit of a process in terms of not much training time between the games: I think we’ve had seven matches in the last three weeks.
“So when a lot of players are coming out for different reasons, we just need to find that stability and structure, but that is probably a bit more complex and has been a bit of the challenge as well.”
Three in a row?
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is hoping to score in three consecutive Champions League appearances for Chelsea having netted in both group matches versus AC Milan. If he is successful he will be the first player to achieve this feat for the Blues since Willian in 2015.
More from Potter
Chelsea boss Graham Potter is focused on winning tonight and isn’t too preoccupied about the permutations to reach the latter stage of the tournament.
“It would be nice to win, absolutely, and there are consequences to winning,” he said. “But our thoughts are just try to win the match, perform as well as we can.
“We understand how tough it’s going to be but we have to take the challenge and put ourselves in a good position. We’re not finished, we haven’t got enough points, we need to carry on, so that’s going to be the test. We’re looking forward to it.”
Solid travellers
Since the start of 2020/21, Chelsea have won nine of their 13 away matches in the Champions League. Their only defeats on the road in that time where in Turin against Juventus last September and against Dinamo Zagreb earlier this season.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek hopes improved form and fitness will help late World Cup bid
In-form Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek said his physical condition has never been better as he revealed he recently spoke with tennis star Andy Murray about overcoming injury setbacks.
Loftus-Cheek has started five of the Blues’ last six games under Graham Potter and retains hope of forcing his way into England’s World Cup squad.
The 26-year-old, who is preparing to face RB Salzburg in the Champions League on Tuesday evening, has endured a frustrating, stop-start career at Stamford Bridge amid a number of fitness issues.
But he is once again threatening to finally fulfil the potential which saw him earn a place at the 2018 World Cup, having been relatively injury-free since returning from a ruptured Achilles tendon in 2020.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek hopes improved form and fitness will help late World Cup bid
Loftus-Cheek was part of England’s 2018 squad and is back playing regularly following a frustrating spell of injuries
Ready to go in Austria
The sun is shining over the Red Bull Arena and the team news is out. Graham Potter looks like he’ll be setting Chelsea up in a new formation this evening with a core back three, four strikers and three quality ball-carriers.
What shape he puts them in is yet to be determined but it should be entering nonetheless.
‘We’ll try to win the game’
Chelsea boss, Graham Potter, says that his team will play to pick up all three points this evening but acknowledges that this isn’t an easy ground to come to and win.
“We’ll try to win the game,” he said yesterday in a pre-match press conference, “but with the greatest respect to our opponent because we know they are a tough side.
“If you look at their record here, they are very, very strong. So we will not take anything for granted.”
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