Right, thanks for your company. Bye!
The match-winner Tammy Abraham speaks. “I grew up being a defender so it was an instinctive reaction to get in the right place [to clear the ball off the line in the second half],” he says, all smiles. “Coming here is never easy so we’ll take it.”
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Full-time: Barnsley 0-1 Chelsea
Tammy Abraham’s second-half goal helps Thomas Tuchel’s side squeeze through. They will face Sheffield United at home in the quarter-finals. Barnsley were superb, gallant in defeat. Alex Mowatt and Callum Brittain were excellent.
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90+3 min: Barnsley send goalkeeper Brad Collins up for another free-kick but they’re penalised for a foul on Abraham. Chelsea are almost there.
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90+2 min: Chelsea clear their lines and survive another attack as Helik’s header from Williams’s deep cross is gratefully claimed by Kepa. Barnsley are not giving up anytime soon. It is going to be an uncomfortable climax for Chelsea.
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90+1 min: Here comes another long throw ...
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90 min: There will be three added minutes.
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90 min: Barnsley are pulled up for piling in on Kepa at the corner. Abraham, again, was there to bat it away but Kepa also stood firm.
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88 min: Zouma hacks the ball away under pressure from Dike. Dominik Frieser hurls a long throw into the box ... Abraham heads it away for a corner.
87 min: Can Barnsley find an equaliser?
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86 min: Daryl Dike has an effort at goal but it deflects via Zouma and into the grasp of Kepa. A loose pass plunged Chelsea into trouble.
85 min: Another Barnsley free-kick, 40 yards out ... but this one is easy for Kepa to cope with. He comfortably gathers Woodrow’s tame header.
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83 min: Tuchel is directing things down on the touchline. He knows his team are not yet out of the woods. Chelsea have been stodgy.
82 min: ... Romal Palmer sends it thudding into Chelsea’s one-man wall.
82 min: James fouls Woodrow. Barnsley get a chance to swing the ball into the box. The free-kick is way out on the left flank ...
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80 min: Mateo Kovacic replaces Pulisic, who’s been quiet.
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78 min: Abraham gets Chelsea out of jail! Kepa comes to punch a Barnsley free-kick, whipped into the box by Mowatt, but fails to clear it and Michael Sollbauer, who came on moments ago, hooked the ball goalwards. It is looping in ... but Abraham strains his neck to head the ball off the line. Brilliant defending by the striker.
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77 min: “Young Billy Gilmour did brilliantly to navigate midfield traffic and release James in the buildup to the goal,” emails Nate Elliott. “Would be nice to see Tuchel trust Gilmour in the league – he hasn’t even been making the bench!”
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76 min: Replays appear to show Abraham was onside for the goal. Meanwhile, a Barnsley chop on halfway. Abraham is upended and Chelsea nab a foul.
75 min: Good point, well made. “People noting the offside goal and the lack of VAR should also note that with VAR, Chelsea get an early first-half penalty for the foul on Abraham,” emails Chris Peskett. “Sometimes you get the breaks ...”
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74 min: Jordan Williams and Romal Palmer replace Callum Britain and Herbie Kane. Britain was brilliant for Barnsley, a constant threat from wing-back.
73 min: Callum Hudson-Odoi curls an effort over after jinking inside Brittain. He has been one of Chelsea’s more lively performers.
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72 min: Was Abraham offside? “Chelsea are lucky there’s no VAR. Abraham was about half a yard ahead of James (judging by the replay on BBC1),” emails Gary. “Worse still, the official on that side was two yards behind the play.”
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71 min: Reece James does well to chest a dangerous cross towards Kepa in the Chelsea goal after Callum Brittain whipped in another teasing delivery.
70 min: As things stand, Chelsea will host Sheffield United in the quarter-finals. But Barnsley will throw the kitchen sink at them first. Chelsea have a slender lead but the Championship side have proved they can cause problems.
69 min: Tino Anjorin replaces Hakim Ziyech.
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67 min: Barnsley, it should be said, felt Abraham was offside before prodding in. It looked tight but the striker did appear to be behind the ball. A gentle reminder that there is no video assistant referee technology in use at Oakwell, so assistant referee Sian Massey-Ellis’s decision was final.
66 min: How Chelsea needed that. Barnsley are straight back to it, but Kepa does well to punch clear a free-kick.
GOAL! Barnsley 0-1 Chelsea (Abraham, 64)
Tammy Abraham taps in from close range. For the first time, Chelsea breach Barnsley’s high line, with Reece James powering into space down the right and sliding the ball across the six-yard box, on a plate for the striker to convert from close range.
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63 min: Olivier Giroud is among those limbering up for Chelsea.
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61 min: Rudiger should score! Ziyech floats a delicious cross towards the front post and Rudiger arrives unmarked but cannot direct his header on target. He stoops to meet it but powers an effort wide of goal. A decent chance goes begging.
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59 min: Callum Hudson-Odoi sends a shot whistling past a post! The Chelsea forward gracefully controlled a high pass with an exquisite first touch, shrugged off challenges from Brittain and Sibbick before bouncing in off the left flank and brushing off another Barnsley shirt, sending a strike across goal. It flashes across the six-yard box but narrowly wide. Meanwhile, those changes for Barnsley: Dike and Dominik Frieser replace Chaplin and Adeboyejo.
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58 min: Barnsley are readying a change. Daryl Dike is going through some final instructions with the coaching staff.
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56 min: Callum Brittain has been excellent from wing-back from Barnsley. His signing was typical of Barnsley’s philosophy; a young player picked up from a lower-league club with spades of potential. The 22-year-old arrived from MK Dons last year.
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53 min: It’s all rather patient and sideways from Chelsea. Emerson-Zouma-Rudiger. And then back again.
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52 min: “Is the Christensen replacement a concussion substitution?” emails Gary. Unclear at this stage, but would certainly make sense.
50 min: Tuchel is bopping up and down on the touchline. He is not best pleased with this sluggish Chelsea display. They have struggled to get the ball from back to front. It is all very safe.
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49 min: A low-key start to the second half. Famous last words?
47 min: Conor Chaplin is feeling chirpy and has a pop from distance but drags a shot painfully wide.
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46 min: Rudiger’s first contribution is to wallop the ball upfield after Barnsley make their presence known, pressing high.
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Half-time substitutions: Reece James and Antonio Rudiger replace Marcos Alonso and Andreas Christensen, who did take a knock to the head. The second half is almost upon us ...
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Chelsea are traipsing on to the pitch for the second half.
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Some listening for after the game:
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Half-time Barnsley cuisine thoughts, after manager Valérien Ismaël said he was looking forward to sampling the local delicacies post-pandemic. “The Barnsley chop (32oz lamb) with mint sauce or a pie and pea supper,” offers Chris Morrell on email.
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Half-time: Barnsley 0-0 Chelsea
A fine half by the Championship side. Chelsea have struggled. Thomas Tuchel trudges towards the dressing room, head bowed. Food for thought after watching Barnsley create the best chances in an entertaining first half. Kepa made a superb save to deny Callum Brittain and the wing-back again went close a minute before the break. Too many Chelsea players have been anonymous.
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44 min: Barnsley go close! Barnsley outfox Chelsea with some quick thinking, rolling a short corner towards the front post. Conor Chaplin flicks the ball to Callum Brittain, who had a certain goal saved by Kepa earlier on, and the wing-back has another pop and it diverts wide for another corner.
43 min: Barnsley win a corner ...
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42 min: Hudson-Odoi was in acres of space behind the Barnsley defence then. If Chelsea are to prosper, they surely have to try to locate men behind Barnsley’s high line more often. Tuchel, though, does not look too concerned.
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41 min: Chelsea carve out a chance! Pulisic releases Hudson-Odoi, who rushes towards the byline before delivering a cross. The ball loops to the back post, past Abraham and towards Pulisic but he loses his footing and fails to get a clean strike away.
37 min: Helik makes a smart interception 25 yards from goal, just as Chelsea seem to be clicking into gear. They work the ball to Ziyech after some neat triangles but the Barnsley defender nips in. Back to the drawing board for Chelsea.
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36 min: Abraham has his heels clipped on halfway and Chelsea earn a chance to build. Ziyech and Pulisic have been very peripheral.
35 min: Chelsea string a few passes together, reach halfway via Christensen but the Dane plays a loose pass and Barnsley gobble it up. The hosts, playing on the front foot, seem to be enjoying themselves. Chelsea look a little laboured.
34 min: Barnsley hang another cross towards the back post but Alonso is alert to it and snuffs it out. He is one man thriving since Thomas Tuchel landed at Chelsea. Barnsley, so far, have made Chelsea look very ordinary.
30 min: Hudson-Odoi jinks inside off the right flank and is felled by Mowatt. Chelsea win a free-kick, 35 yards from goal and take it swiftly. They need to try and assert themselves on this game. Barnsley will be encouraged.
28 min: Chelsea try to build but are thwarted by Cauley Woodrow, tracking back to halfway to make life difficult. Barnsley’s press is making things nice and congested in midfield. They are setting traps to help turnover possession.
26 min: Mowatt skews wide from the edge of the box.
24 min: Chelsea are well and truly alive now. Ziyech slips in Hudson-Odoi down the right and Abraham rushes to the front post awaiting the cross. Hudson-Odoi tries to feed the striker but Helik nips in to cut it out for a corner, which comes to nothing.
23 min: Abraham is down again in the box, this time after colliding with Mads Andersen. The ball is whipped in from the left and Abraham argues he is blocked off en route to trying to attack the cross. It would have been very harsh.
22 min: At long last, Chelsea seem to have awoken.
19 min: Tammy Abraham goes to ground in the box appealing for a Chelsea penalty ... and he appears to have case! Not given. Toby Sibbick slides in on the Chelsea forward after Gilmour slipped a cute pass through the Barnsley back line. The referee Martin Atkinson points to the ball, gesturing Sibbick claimed the ball and not the man, but replays show the Barnsley defender may have got away with one. Abraham looks on aggrieved.
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18 min: Chelsea keep being forced back by Barnsley.
16 min: Toby Sibbick, under pressure from Abraham, overcooks his pass towards the Barnsley goal but Brad Collins adjusts his feet and calmly gathers.
15 min: ... Zouma heads clear but Barnsley are quick to recycle possession. They probe again but Billy Gilmour nips in to sweep things up. Chelsea win a throw and a little respite too. They’ve been under the cosh here.
14 min: Barnsley are brimming with belief. They’ve won another corner ...
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11 min: Chelsea look a bit tetchy in defence. They’ve barely got out of their own half. Can Barnsley keep up this intensity for 90 minutes?
10 min: Brilliant point-blank save by Kepa! He denies Callum Brittain after the hosts surge down the left and then clip a teasing cross towards the back post. Conor Chaplin flicked Alex Mowatt’s delicious cross towards Brittain, who side-footed the ball goalwards, only for Kepa to spread himself and shutout the wing-back. Mowatt did well but twirled away from Callum Hudson-Odoi too easily from a Chelsea perspective. Barnsley look revved-up and are penning Chelsea in at every opportunity. Moments earlier a simple pass out the back by Kepa bobbled its way to Alonso.
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9 min: Kane, formerly of Liverpool, screws an effort wide after the skipper, Alex Mowatt, powered forward to the edge of the 18-yard box. A reminder there is no video assistant referee in use at Oakwell.
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8 min: ... Christensen eventually clears after Chelsea make a meal of clearing the throw. Ziyech got caught out. Barnsley are determined to ask questions.
7 min: Barnsley are trying to pour forward at every opportunity. Now Herbie Kane is preparing a long throw from the left ...
6 min: Barnsley win a throw on halfway.
3 min: The visitors are playing the ball around. It’s all nicey-nicey, but Kepa and the Chelsea defence will certainly offer Barnsley encouragement. The Championship side will be on red-alert to steal possession high up.
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2 min: ... Tammy Abraham heads the corner clear and Chelsea go on to win a throw-in on halfway. Chelsea knock it around at the back.
2 min: Barnsley are certainly keen to get in Chelsea’s faces. Callum Styles, a talented 20-year-old signed from Bury, wins an early corner ...
Peeeeeeeeeeeeep!
Barnsley kick-off after both sets of players and staff take the knee. Conor Chaplin gets proceedings started at Oakwell.
Thomas Tuchel has a chat pre-match. “They showed me already on the training ground that I can count on them,” the Chelsea manager says of the 10 players to come into the starting lineup. “They don’t have to prove today in 90 minutes, to show me everything that they are able to. I just want a solid performance and a solid performance. We don’t have expectations too high on them. It would be natural if they lack rhythm and a little confidence. We trust them. We have a strong squad on the pitch and now it’s up to us to adapt to the questions asked of us.”
FA Cup quarter-finals draw
Everton v Manchester City
Bournemouth v Southampton
Leicester City v Manchester United
Barnsley/Chelsea v Sheffield United
Ties to be played weekend of 20 March
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Leicester City v Manchester United
Barnsley/Chelsea v Sheffield United
Everton v Manchester City
Bournemouth v Southampton
The FA Cup quarter-finals draw is imminent ...
Valérien Ismaël talks. “The good thing is I know his [Thomas Tuchel’s] philosophy, which I saw before with Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain,” he says. “It is a big opportunity to see how far we are at with our football and if we can cause any problems for Chelsea. We have to work as a swarm, as usual. We need to work hard and keep the intensity high. It is a chance for the guys to discover a new level of performance.”
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What are the local delicacies in south Yorkshire? Valérien Ismaël took charge in October and, owing to the pandemic, is yet to properly meet Barnsley supporters. “It’s a strange feeling because I came to a new country, a new club, and I have not met the fans yet because of the restrictions. I can’t go out because everything is closed. I’m looking forward to when I can enjoy an evening in a pub or restaurant and discover the food culture in Barnsley.”
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Thirteen years on: how could we forget?
In 2008, even more than now, Barnsley were unlikely giantkillers. Chelsea travelled to Oakwell having won 14 and lost one – the League Cup final, to Tottenham after extra time – of their previous 19 matches. Since producing the shock of the previous round by beating Liverpool at Anfield Barnsley had scored once in four games, not winning any of them.
My favourite story concerning Barnsley’s manager Valérien Ismaël? Undoubtedly the fact he stumped up £200 to support the local brass band, funds that helped refurbish four creaking tubas:
The sound of a bugler playing The Last Post moved him before victory at Derby last month and again at Oakwell a fortnight later, so when Barnsley Brass appealed for support to refurbish creaking tubas, he donated £200. “I read this comment on social media and that is why, in this Covid time, a very tough time for everybody, I wanted to show togetherness – what we need at this moment – and to try to help. It’s important to support where we can.”
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We have a goal in the Club World Cup final ...
Team news news: Thomas Tuchel makes 10 changes from Sunday’s win at Sheffield United, but you’d never believe it, such is the strength in depth at his disposal. So, Billy Gilmour is in from the off alongside N’Golo Kante. Hakim Ziyech, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Christian Pulisic will operate behind Tammy Abraham. Timo Werner has been rested after his dead leg, while Kai Havertz is injured. Andreas Christensen makes his 100th start for Chelsea, which seems an impressive milestone given he spent two seasons at Borussia Monchengladbach. Victor Adeboyejo replaces Dominik Frieser in Barnsley’s only change.
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The teams!
Barnsley (4-3-3): Collins; Brittain, Sibbick, Helik, Andersen; Styles, Mowatt, Kane; Chaplin, Adeboyejo, Woodrow
Subs: Walton, Williams, Sollbauer, Moon, Odour, Palmer, Frieser, Dike, Thompson
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Kepa; Emerson, Christensen, Zouma, Alonso; Gilmour, Kante; Hudson-Odoi, Ziyech, Pulisic; Abraham
Subs: Caballero, Rudiger, Chilwell, James, Azpilicueta, Bate, Kovacic, Giroud, Anjorin
Referee: Martin Atkinson
Preamble
We could do with an upset and where better than Barnsley? The last time these sides met at Oakwell, Kayode Odejayi, the antipode of a prolific striker, headed in the only goal of the game and Martin Devaney, who teed him up with a perfect cross, ended up with a broken nose following a collision with Michael Essien. It was 2008 and Avram Grant’s Chelsea, including John Terry, Michael Ballack, Florent Malouda and Nicolas Anelka, trudged off defeated. This time a £72m goalkeeper in Kepa Arrizabalaga will be in the visitors’ starting lineup. “The good thing for him is that we start new, it’s a new start for him,” said Thomas Tuchel. “I don’t have a history with him and I hope there will be no difficulties, because I don’t see them coming.”
These teams are still separated by just the single division but, while Ismael has got Barnsley looking up, they continue to operate in different stratospheres. But Valérien Ismaël, Barnsley’s head coach, has previously duelled with Tuchel on the touchline in the Bundesliga, when his Wolfsburg side lost 3-0 to Borussia Dortmund. Eight days later Ismaël was sacked. This time, Ismaël and Barnsley will hope they can evoke the spirit of 2008 to toast an altogether different outcome.
