Chelsea, Sevilla Advanced to Uefa Champions League Next Stage
English Premier League side Chelsea sealed their progress to the Champions League knockout stage with an impressive away win over Ligue 1 side Rennes. They have moved to the Uefa Champions League round of 16 although they still have two games to spare. Olivier Giroud’s late header secured victory at Rennes.
The French striker has played just 127 minutes for Chelsea this season but his impact has been very remarkable. He scored the winner for the Blues with an injury-time finish after Timo Werner’s effort had been blocked.
Just six minutes earlier, Rennes looked to have denied Chelsea when Serhou Guirassy headed home from a corner to cancel out Callum Hudson-Odoi’s opener. Frank Lampard’s side dominated the first half and could easily have led by more than just Hudson-Odoi’s calm finish after he had been sent clear by a pinpoint pass from Mason Mount.
They invited the home side on in the second half and had to rely on a defence that included the returning Thiago Silva and goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, who made a couple of good saves against his former club. Mendy is surely the man of the match following his impressive saves, the victory means they are the first to qualify to the Uefa Champions League round of 16.
A late winner for Sevilla means both of them have 10 points in Group E, nine more than both Rennes and Krasnodar. the win is almost as important as sealing qualification is the fact Chelsea can now rest players for the final two group games, which come during a relentless December packed with tough fixtures.
Their remaining games is against Sevilla and Krasnodar fall between league fixtures against Tottenham, Leeds and Everton as part of eight games in a month. They will want to take the clash in Spain more seriously, with Julen Lopetegui’s side have matched the Blues in a goalless draw at Stamford Bridge and their only rivals for top spot, which in theory brings an easier tie in the last 16.
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard, speaking on the game said: “I’m very happy to qualify with two games to spare. It was a really tough match, they’re a very good team. Their recent form doesn’t reflect how good they are, it was a tough, hard-fought win.
He also said: “It always will be because of the rivalry and they are a great team and now it’s just about preparing well. They’ll have a day off tomorrow and then come Thursday morning we’ll start thinking about Spurs properly.”