David Hytner was at Stamford Bridge, and his report has landed. Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night.
Graham Potter speaks to BT Sport. “We’re disappointed with the result in the end. I thought the boys gave everything. Really did. They attacked quite well. Scored a good goal. Lost a little bit during the second period of the second half, but responded well again. Their keeper has made some good saves. So overall, disappointed with the result, it wasn’t quite to be today. It’s not easy to control how Salzburg play, you have to credit them for that. But we controlled the first half and got into the final third a lot. They defended well with blocks, and we had a few efforts we didn’t do so well with, but against a Champions League side, you’re not going to open them up so easily. It is what it is. We have to dust ourselves down, but the application of the boys was fantastic, the attitude was great, the personality as well, so we’ll get better. It’s impossible to control the whole thing for 90 minutes, and the period we didn’t, they scored, so that’s something to get better with. It’s always irritating to concede a goal, but overall our defensive performance was quite strong. It’s a point, we have to take it. No complaints, apart from the fact we haven’t taken the three points.”
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Salzburg are very pleased with their point. Chelsea less so. Potter puts a brave face on it by applauding the home fans, before trudging down the tunnel. His team didn’t play particularly well, but looked to have done enough for the win. But they eased off and let the Austrian champions back in. They’re creating chances, but not putting them away. The story of the tail end of Thomas Tuchel’s reign. With a possibly decisive double header against Milan coming up, they’ll need to address that quicksmart.
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FULL TIME: Chelsea 1-1 Salzburg
Graham Potter’s first game as Chelsea boss ends in disappointment. His team remain bottom of Group E.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AC Milan | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 2 | Dinamo Zagreb | 2 | -1 | 3 |
| 3 | Red Bull Salzburg | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 2 | -1 | 1 |
90 min +3: Another chance for Chelsea! A ball hooked in from the left. He meets it on the penalty spot, but doesn’t connect well. His shot dribbles through to Kohn. On BT Sport, former Chelsea boss Glenn Hoddle suggests the crowd being on his back won’t have helped him there.
90 min +2: Ziyech isn’t giving up, and sends another ball in from the right. Salzburg fail to clear, their centre-backs sliding around in the slapstick style, not for the first time this evening. The ball drops to Broja, who has to work Kohn at the very least. But he blazes over from 12 yards. He probably should have scored.
90 min +1: Ziyech makes good down the right and wins a corner off Seiwald. Chelsea load the Salzburg box … but Ziyech’s delivery fails to beat the first man. He tries another cross a few seconds later, with similar results. A few of the Chelsea fans sound a wee bit agitated with him.
90 min: Capaldo is booked for a fairly agricultural lunge on Cucurealla. There will be four extra minutes.
89 min: Loftus-Cheek reaches the byline on the right but cuts back to nobody in particular. A lot of frustration around Stamford Bridge right now, with the obvious exception of the away section. Chelsea weren’t home and hosed, but they looked extremely comfortable, only to take their foot off the pedal and let the visitors back into it. Can they dig themselves out of this unnecessary hole?
87 min: Cucurella crosses long from a deep position on the left. Ziyech sends a weak downward header straight into the arms of Kohn.
86 min: Ziyech dribbles down a cul-de-sac to groans from the home faithful.
85 min: The Salzburg goalscorer Okafor is replaced by Koita.
84 min: Pulisic replaces Sterling.
83 min: Chelsea immediately counter. Broja strides down the right and fizzes a fine low ball into the Salzburg box. Ziyech tries to clip over the keeper, but Kohn sticks out an arm to bravely deflect.
82 min: A double change by the hosts, who replace Azpilicueta and Kovacic with Ziyech and Gallagher. When play restarts, Salzburg win a corner down the right. Ulmer sends it straight down Kepa’s throat.
80 min: James is booked for a petulant shove in the back of Gourna-Douath. Adamu and Ulmer have also gone into the book as tempers begin to fray.
78 min: The free kick’s pulled back for James, who aims for the top-right corner. High and wide. Only just, though.
77 min: Loftus-Cheek whistles down the right and is just about to enter the Salzburg box when Pavlovic cynically scythes him down, inches before the white line. Yellow card, and just a free kick. The home fans wanted a penalty. It was very, very close to the area.
76 min: Chelsea were looking for a foul on Kovacic earlier in the move. But he’d come off second best in a 50-50 duel, and while VAR checks, no interest is shown.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-1 Salzburg (Okafor 75)
Salzburg look dangerous now all right. They break up the right wing. Adamu chases a long pass. Silva slides in, but mistimes, getting very little of the ball, gifting it to Adamu. He takes a stride then whips in low. Okafor steers it in slowly past the wrong-footed Kepa. Stamford Bridge stunned!
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73 min: A bit of space for Adamu down the right. He loops long for Ulmer, who is denied by Jorginho’s clearance. The ball’s whipped back in from the other flank. Kameri eyebrows towards the bottom right, but Kepa reads it all the way to claim. As dangerous as Salzburg have looked all evening.
71 min: Play restarts. Broja is fine to continue.
70 min: Before play restarts, Salzburg make a double change, replacing Sesko and Sucic with Kameri and Adamu.
69 min: Broja is down having taken an accidental whack upside the head. On come the physios.
67 min: Loftus-Cheek and Broja come in for Havertz and Aubameyang. Broja is immediately in the thick of it, barrelling clear down the left. He enters the box and opens his body to shoot, but is denied by a Salzburg leg. The flag goes up for offside anyway.
65 min: Jorginho wedges a pass down the inside-right channel. The ball drops over Havertz’s shoulder, just to the right of the six-yard box. If he connects with a volley, it could be a screamer. But he fresh-airs it, and Kohn claims.
63 min: Gourna-Douath plays a fine ball down the inside-left channel to release Seiwald into space, and he’s got options in the middle. But Seiwald’s resulting low cross is easily cut out by Silva. For a split second, Salzburg looked dangerous.
61 min: Chelsea have enjoyed 67 percent of possession since the restart. They’re looking very comfortable right now, even if the display isn’t much to write home about. The result’s the thing after last week’s cold start.
59 min: … and as a result the volume in Stamford Bridge drops again. The away fans still giving it plenty, though.
57 min: Salzburg are slowly getting into this second half. A bit more possession now. The pain of going behind perhaps easing off.
55 min: Jorginho, quarterbacking from his own half, nearly releases Aubameyang down the middle. A poor first touch denies the striker a chance to shoot, but his presence does enough to win a corner as Pavlovic hooks behind in a panic … but the flag goes up for offside. It’ll be a goal kick, but had Aubameyang scored, that would almost have certainly stood. Chelsea’s new striker looked on.
53 min: Sesko chases down a long ball and holds off the attention of James, before powering a shot, intended for the top-right corner, wide and high. That misplaced pass aside, Kepa has been a bystander all evening.
52 min: Salzburg’s fans continue to bounce up and down anyway. Scoreline be damned: they’re enjoying themselves one and all. Whatever they do, they’re very unlikely to be the ones making the headlines tonight.
50 min: That was a lovely sweeping move from Chelsea’s point of view, though Salzburg’s defending was slapstick, players sliding all over the place. Chelsea come again, looking for the quick one-two. James balloons a shot over the bar from distance.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Salzburg (Sterling 48)
It’s a noisy place now! James spins and rolls a pass down the right for Mount, who curls a low ball in from the wing. It evades both of Salzburg’s centre backs and finds the feet of Sterling, who has time to take a touch, use Dedic as cover, and curl a shot into the right-hand side of the net. Kohn had no chance, and the Potter era is go!
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47 min: Stamford Bridge is fairly subdued at the moment. The travelling support making most of the music.
Chelsea get the second half underway. Salzburg have made one change during the break: Lucas Gourna-Douath comes on for Maurits Kjærgaard.
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HALF TIME: Chelsea 0-0 Salzburg
A quiet start to the Potter era.
45 min +3: Aziplicueta crosses from the right. Kovacic, racing down the middle to meet it, heads onto Bernardo’s arm. Penalty, shouts Kovacic. But he’s never getting that, Bernardo standing right next to him, his arm hanging limply by his side.
45 min +2: … as does the second.
45 min +1: The first of three added minutes – fewer than we thought – ticks by without incident.
45 min: Sterling dribbles in from the left and nearly works space for a shot on the edge of the box. He’s stripped of possession just before he can pull the trigger.
43 min: Mount battles past a couple of challenges down the right flank, eventually winning a free kick on the halfway line. Not a particularly significant act, but the crowd appreciated the hard work anyway, giving Mount a warm hand as he gathers himself up.
41 min: Salzburg go up the other end, and Sesko, his back to goal on the edge of the D, turns and curls a first-time low shot towards the bottom left. It’s heading in, and Kepa tips marvellously around the post. Nothing comes of the resulting corner. In a parallel universe somewhere, it’s 1-1 after two goals in as many minutes.
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39 min: Azpilicueta floats a long diagonal pass towards Sterling on the left-hand edge of the Salzburg six-yard box. His volley is blocked. Cucurella comes again down the left. The ball’s cut back and sits up for Mount, who from the edge of the box cuts across the ball, sending his vicious shot slicing wide of the right-hand post. As close as Chelsea have come!
38 min: The match restarts, cranking back to life verrrry sloooowly.
36 min: Not sure what’s going on here. The referee calls the two captains, Azpilicueta and Ulmer, together for a quick chat. Then he trots back to the sideline, tapping his watch ostentatiously. No big drama it would seem, but expect a few minutes of added time tacked onto the end of the half.
35 min: A break in play as referee Ivan Kružliak faffs about with his earpiece.
33 min: A free kick for Salzburg just inside the Chelsea half, to the right of the centre circle. Everyone lines up on the edge of the Chelsea box. Seiwald overhits his delivery. Bernardo manages to keep the ball in play by the left-hand corner flag, but just as he prepares to recycle the ball, the flag pops up for offside. Chelsea’s high line has done for the visitors.
31 min: Sterling dribbles dangerously down the left only to lose control as he enters the box, just as things were getting exciting. Bernardo takes the opportunity to clear.
29 min: James spins into space down the right and curls a dangerous low ball through the Salzburg box. It only just evades Aubameyang in the middle and Sterling coming in from the left. James is such a constant danger, a magnificent full back.
28 min: Some more slightly shaky passing out from the back by Chelsea. They hold their nerve and just about get away with it, but the Salzburg press is keeping the hosts on their toes.
26 min: In fact, the game’s fallen a little flat, which will suit Salzburg just fine.
24 min: Kovacic crosses low from the left. Aubameyang tries to sweep a shot goalwards but his effort is blocked. Chelsea are the dominant team, but they’ve yet to put Kohn to serious work.
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23 min: Jorginho’s clipped diagonal ball drops to James, just inside the Salzburg box on the right. James turns down the opportunity to attempt a screeching volley. As the move fizzles out, turns out he should have had a pop.
22 min: With the number 21 on the clock, Stamford Bridge erupts in warm applause. It’s in honour of their departed manager Thomas Tuchel, who won the club’s second Champions League title in 2021.
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20 min: Sesko continues to put himself about. This time Azpilicueta takes an accidental arm in the mush. The Chelsea captain requires a brief bit of treatment, but he’s good to continue.
19 min: James drops a shoulder to make it to the byline on the right. He crosses. Kohn comes off his line, flaps and misses. The ball sails over Aubameyang’s head. A foot lower and it’s 1-0. It drops to Sterling, who can’t convert from a tight angle. He wins a corner, but nothing comes of it. What a cross by the ever-excellent James, though.
17 min: Sesko puts himself about in the Chelsea half. A couple of shoulder barges to let Silva and Cucurella know he’s there.
15 min: Cucurella is seeing plenty of action down the left. He’ll be fully versed in Potterball after his year with Brighton.
13 min: Okafor and Sesko combine well down the left to send Kjaergaard into space, but there’s nobody to meet the resulting cross.
11 min: Cucurella swings it in. Havertz steers one towards the top right. Pavlovic blocks. The visitors clear their lines.
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10 min: Sterling slips Cucurella into space on the left. Cucurella’s low cross is clanked clear by Bernardo, but then Dedic clumsily bundles Sterling over out on the same flank. Free kick. Chelsea load the box.
9 min: Kepa is forced to tear miles out of his box to head a long ball away from Sesko. Then Aubameyang’s presence wins a corner down the right. Salzburg clear the set piece. It’s a nice open game.
8 min: Chelsea ping it around patiently. Just like Brighton in their pomp.
6 min: Kepa plays out from the back. A poor ball to Jorginho, who is robbed on the edge of the D by Sesko. Chelsea are very fortunate that the whistle goes for a very soft foul, because otherwise it was Kepa versus Salzburg.
4 min: Salzburg ship possession on the edge of their own box. Havertz tries to lob Kohn but his effort is deflected wide right for Aubameyang, who attempts a spectacular looper with the ball dropping over his shoulder. It flies harmlessly off target.
3 min: James has a couple of attempts at crossing from the right. Both are blocked. Goal kick. But Salzburg have hardly had a kick so far.
1 min: Nearly the quickest of starts for the Potter era. Azipilcueta shovels a pass down the right for Mount, who almost breaks into the box. He can’t quite make space for a shot. But Chelsea have flown out of the blocks.
Salzburg get the ball rolling. They’ll be kicking towards the Matthew Harding stand in this first half. They’ve been forced to make one late change: Fernando injured himself during the warm-up, and has been replaced by Benjamin Sesko.
Before kick-off, a minute of silence in honour of Queen Elizabeth II. Impeccably observed. Then the release of a roar.
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Two Chelsea Pensioners emerge from the tunnel. Both carry a wreath of red roses, in memory of Queen Elizabeth II. They lay down their floral tributes, then the teams take to the pitch. A warm welcome for Graham Potter as he makes his way to the home dugout for the very first time. Chelsea in blue, Salzburg in their grey European kit.
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Graham Potter talks to BT Sport. “We’ve gone for good experience, good know-how. I won’t give too much away, you can keep guessing! We’ve been working for a few days, and we’re hopefully looking to use the qualities of the players. The response has been fantastic from the boys. Salzburg have a real clear idea of how they want to play. They’ve done fantastic to get here, they’re a strong team, so we’re looking forward to the game, and to the challenge. There’s a feeling we have to respond. We have to play well. I forgot that I actually have been to a Champions League game! It was Manchester City versus Dortmund. We were scouting. City won 7-1, so I think I put it out of my head.”
He’s put it out of his head all right. Manchester City have never put more than two goals past Dortmund. Could Potter be thinking of Dortmund’s arch Ruhr rivals Schalke, who City trounced 7-0 in 2019? For shame, Graham! They’ll not let this drop in North Rhine-Westphalia. Either way, the plot thickens.
Pre-match postbag. “I think Chelsea would create more chances with Todd Boehly’s preferred 4-4-3. That would give Christian Pulisic opportunity as the extra man.” Sports satirist Gary Stover there, ladies and gentlemen, picking up where today’s Fiver left off …
Milan have beaten Dinamo Zagreb 3-1. The seven-time champions move to the top of Group E as a result, leapfrogging the Croatians.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AC Milan | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 2 | Dinamo Zagreb | 2 | -1 | 3 |
| 3 | Red Bull Salzburg | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 1 | -1 | 0 |
The other game in Group E is already underway … and Milan have gone 3-1 up against Dinamo Zagreb. Olivier Giroud put the rossoneri ahead on the stroke of half-time from the penalty spot. Alexis Saelemaekers made it two, just after the break, only for Mislav Oršić to pull one back just before the hour. But Brahim Diaz has just skittered down the inside-left channel and cut one back from the byline, teeing up substitute Tommaso Pobega to absolutely roof one from the edge of the box. Ten minutes to go in the San Siro, and it looks pretty much all over.
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Graham Potter’s first act as Chelsea manager is to make three changes to the side Thomas Tuchel picked for the final time last week in Zagreb. He recalls Thiago Silva, Marc Cucurella and Jorginho, who replace the benched Ben Chilwell, Wesley Fofana and Kalidou Koulibaly. Edouard Mendy has a knee problem, while N’Golo Kante is hamstrung.
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The teams
Chelsea: Arrizabalaga, James, Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Cucurella, Kovacic, Jorginho, Mount, Havertz, Aubameyang, Sterling.
Subs: Pulisic, Loftus-Cheek, Bettinelli, Chalobah, Broja, Zakaria, Chilwell, Ziyech, Gallagher, Koulibaly, Chukwuemeka, Fofana.
Red Bull Salzburg: Kohn, Dedic, Bernardo, Pavlovic, Ulmer, Capaldo, Seiwald, Kjaergaard, Sucic, Fernando, Okafor.
Subs: Mantl, van der Brempt, Piatkowski, Baidoo, Kameri, Adamu, Koita, Simic, Diarra, Gourna-Douath, Sesko, Walke.
Referee: Ivan Kruzliak (Slovakia).
Preamble
Last Tuesday in Zagreb may as well have been last year, given all that’s happened since. But let’s not belabour the point. Here we all are now, with Graham Potter at the wheel, and Chelsea needing a result to kick-start their Group E campaign.
This is the first time Potter has attended a Champions League fixture, never mind managed in one. But he does have plenty of European experience, having taken Swedish minnows Ostersund to the Round of 32 in the 2017-18 Europa League, knocking out Galatasaray along the way, as well as winning 2-1 at Arsenal. No wet-behind-the-ears parvenu he.
Chelsea are strong favourites to give Potter a winning start to his reign. They certainly could do with the three points after last week’s abject display against Dinamo Zagreb. History suggests Salzburg will comply – the Austrians have lost on all of their three previous visits to England – though they did give Liverpool a scare at Anfield in 2019, drawing level having been three down, only to lose 4-3. Kick off tonight is at 8pm BST. It’s on!
