Sloppy Chelsea suffer heavy defeat in Italy
Roma 3 Chelsea 0
Chelsea were handed their first Champions League defeat of the season against a clinical Roma side in Italy.
Stephan El Shaarawy scored a first-half double, including a stunning strike after 39 seconds, as Antonio Conte’s side were made to pay for a combination of wayward finishing and sloppy defending.
Diego Perotti’s 20-yard shot made it 3-0 soon after the hour and Chelsea never looked likely to get back into the game.
The Blues, who would have qualified for the knockout stages with a win, impressed for long spells of an open and entertaining first half, but looked increasingly ragged after Perotti’s goal and could have lost by a greater margin.
But despite the defeat, Atletico’s 1-1 draw against Qarabag means Chelsea will progress to the knockout stages with a game to spare if they beat Qarabag in their next Champions League match.
Roma led when El Shaarawy crashed the ball home from 20 yards with the outside of his right foot and El Shaarawy’s tidy finish, after a mistake by Antonio Rudiger, made it 2-0 after 36 minutes.
In between that, Eden Hazard had been a major influence as Chelsea enjoyed the better possession and territory and created several good chances.
Hazard was denied an equaliser soon after El Shaarawy’s stunning strike, but was unconvincing with his finish as he ran through one-on-one against keeper Alisson Becker.
The Belgian then had a tame shot easily saved, and also had another effort well saved after a good run, while Alvaro Morata missed a great chance, shooting over with his shin after Pedro had forced a defensive error.
But moments after David Luiz got away with a glaring mistake, Rudier allowed a long pass to run through and El Shaarawy flicked the ball past Thibaut Courtois.
Chelsea still created openings, with Alonso having a curling effort beaten away and Tiemoue Bakayoko missing a great opportunity from a Cesc Fabregas corner.
After the break, Morata dragged a shot just wide, before returning captain Gary Cahill was taken off for Willian as Chelsea looked to get back into the game.
But Perotti’s superb shot, after a poor Fabregas pass, as good as settled the tie soon after and only a couple of impressive stops by Thibaut Courtois kept the score at 3-0.
Chelsea have an away game against Qarabag and a home fixture against Atletico Madrid in their remaining Group C fixtures.
Chelsea: Courtois; Rudiger, David Luiz, Cahill (c) (Wilian 56); Azpilicueta, Bakayoko, Fabregas (Drinkwater 71), Alonso; Pedro, Morata (Batshuayi 75), Hazard.
Subs not used: Caballero, Zappacosta, Christensen, Kenedy.
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