Chelsea’s defeat in Dinamo Zagreb signalled the end of Thomas Tuchel’s tenure but Graham Potter’s relatively smooth start to life at Stamford Bridge was consolidated by their home victory over the Croatian champions.
The Premier League club overcame a troubled start in the Champions League to safely top their group – after back-to-back victories against Milan – and this win, albeit with little in the way of jeopardy, was the required response after Saturday’s drubbing at Brighton.
Potter may have been fearing the worst though after Bruno Petkovic’s early header raised the possibility of an unlikely double for Zagreb. Chelsea gathered themselves and responded, with Raheem Sterling scoring a timely equaliser after a goal drought stretching back to the middle of September.
Denis Zakaria crowned his debut for Chelsea by scoring the first-half winner. The hosts had further opportunities to increase the lead but were largely untroubled, after the inauspicious start, in closing the group stage with a fourth victory.
Zakaria was handed his first appearance for Chelsea with the Juventus loanee starting in midfield. Édouard Mendy made his first start since the beginning of September, with Kepa Arrizabalaga suffering an injury during the heavy defeat at Brighton on Saturday.
Dinamo Zagreb’s passionate followers were certainly making themselves heard, with a raucous noise from behind the goal despite their team propping up the group.
The Zagreb fans could not have envisioned a better start at Stamford Bridge, with their team stunning Chelsea after just seven minutes. Sadegh Moharrami floated in a deep cross and César Azpilicueta could only nudge the ball back into danger, off the top of his head, with Petkovic pouncing to plant a header past Mendy.
Chelsea were clearly rattled by their poor start and the hosts struggled to make any headway in the opening stages. Their first sight of goal arrived in the 15th minute, with Kai Havertz providing the delivery but Sterling blasted his effort wide.
Sterling made no mistake with his next opportunity. Jorginho offloaded to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and the striker backheeled the ball into the England forward’s path for a low shot into the corner of the net.
Kalidou Koulibaly spurned an opportunity, with the towering defender heading over the bar from a Chelsea corner. The hosts went close again from Havertz’s cross but Sterling could only send his half-volley harmlessly over.
But Chelsea’s next attack paid off with Mason Mount cutting the ball back and Zakaria’s low strike crept into the net, despite the desperate attempt to block the effort on the line by Moharrami. Zakaria’s patience paid off after his long wait to play for Chelsea following his summer move to England.
Mendy was called into action at the start of the second half with the goalkeeper forced to parry Josip Sutalo’s downward header. At the other end, Aubameyang was desperately unlucky after cutting inside and curling a long-range strike against the upright. Chelsea were threatening to open up their tiring opponents and Aubameyang released Ben Chilwell but the left-back’s powerful strike hit the side netting.
With the leaders Arsenal visiting on Sunday, Potter utilised his bench with Conor Gallagher and Armando Broja introduced to the attack in place of Havertz and the lively Aubameyang. Zakaria’s debut ended prematurely after he picked up a knock and was replaced by Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
Mount almost extended Chelsea’s lead from a free-kick on the left edge of the area but Dominik Livakovic reacted sharply to tip the ball around the post. Thiago Silva came off the bench and the defender missed a glaring chance late on when he sidefooted wide from a free-kick. Chelsea were denied a third goal in injury time after Gallagher’s close-range effort was parried by Livakovic. Chilwell pulled up with a leg injury late on to raise concern for Chelsea and England.
The rain hammered down in the closing stages but it could not dampen the spirit of the travelling fans as they raucously bellowed out songs despite their team’s exit from Europe. For Chelsea, much tougher challenges lie ahead with Monday’s draw likely to provide a stronger examination for Potter’s team.
