Tuchel speaks!
Jacob Steinberg has filed his report, so I’ll leave you with that. Thanks for your company and emails - goodnight!
Full time: Chelsea 4-0 Malmo
Peep peep! That was a very comfortable night for Chelsea, whose intensity and class were too much for Malmo. Jorginho scored two penalties, with Andreas Christensen and Kai Havertz getting the other goals. The only downside was first-half injuries to Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner. The other game in the group has finished Zenit 0-1 Juventus, so Chelsea and Juve are on course to reach the last 16.
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90+4 min Diawara is okay to continue for the last few seconds.
90+2 min Diawara makes a brave save at the feet of Havertz, who was put through by a brilliant through ball by Jorginho. He takes a whack on the head as a result, and there’s a break in play while he receives treatment.
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90 min Two added minutes.
88 min The free-kick is blootered over the bar by Rudiger.
87 min Brorsson trips Havertz 30 yards from goal...
85 min Juventus have taken the lead away to Zenit, with Dejan Kulusevski scoring in the 86th minute.
85 min Chelsea’s next match is also against Malmo, and you’d expect them to win comfortably. The big game is the one in St Petersburg - if Chelsea avoid defeat to Zenit, they should qualify for the knockout stages.
84 min A change for Malmo: Niklas Moisander replaces Berget.
82 min I SAID IN OTHER NEWS...
80 min The corner bounces up awkwardly and is headed wide by Mount, arriving late at the far post.
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80 min After another good move from Chelsea, Mount’s driven cross is put behind for a corner.
77 min Mount is penalised for a challenge on the substitute keeper Diawara, who was struggling to flap Hudson-Odoi’s cross away from danger.
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74 min Nice play from James, who plays one-twos with Christensen and then Mount before being crowded out in the area.
72 min This match is petering out. I’m not sure it ever really petered in.
70 min “Surely Mendy is the Premier League’s number 1 number 1?” writes Matthew Hirtes.
He is tremendous, and a helluva find by Petr Cech, but I wouldn’t put him above Ederson and Alisson just yet.
69 min Still goalless in St Petersburg: Zenit 0-0 Juventus.
66 min And Marcos Alonso is on for Ben Chilwell.
66 min And Reece James replaces the captain Cesar Azpilicueta.
65 min Another Chelsea change: Saul Niguez is on for N’Golo Kante.
64 min A Malmo corner is headed away to the edge of the area, where Larsson spanks it over the bar.
63 min “I’d say this has been okay from Chelsea but losing Lukaku and Werner isn’t great,” says Lee Madden. “I think most people agree that Chelsea have a great squad, but do you think they have any one player who is the best in their position in the league? Other than Kante, I can’t think of one… Jorginho on a good day maybe, but they do lack flair, pace and creativity. Am I too harsh?”
A bit, perhaps, though I agree about Kante being the only player who is the best in the league in his position. They’re a very good team though, and that’s more important.
62 min Hudson-Odoi’s curling shot is pushed away by Diawara, falling to his left, and Kante spanks the rebound high and wide from 25 yards.
58 min A double change for Malmo: Adi Nalic and Erdal Rakip replace Christiansen and Pena.
GOAL! Chelsea 4-0 Malmo (Jorginho 57 pen)
Jorginho scores his second penalty of the night. It was almost identical to the first - no pause, just a nonchalant sweep down the middle as the keeper dives to the left.
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55 min: PENALTY TO CHELSEA! Rudiger is shoved over by Larsson after a barnstorming run, and Chelsea have their second penalty.
55 min In other news...
54 min Mount whips the free-kick into the wall.
53 min Christiansen is booked for fouling Kante 25 yards from goal.
52 min The other game in this group, Zenit v Juventus, is still goalless.
51 min Another dangerous cross from Mount flashes across the six-yard box.
Colak lost the ball high up the field and Chelsea broke decisively. Hudson-Odoi ran 60 yards in the inside-left channel and slid a through pass to Havertz. It was fractionally overhit, but Havertz had enough pace to beat the outrushing Diawara to the ball and lift it over him. His shot hit the inside of the far post and rebounded into the net. That’s a lovely finish.
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GOAL! Chelsea 3-0 Malmo (Havertz 48)
That didn’t take long.
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46 min Peep peep! Chelsea begin the second half. Malmo have made two changes: Ismael Diawara replaces Dahlin in goal, presumably because of injury, and Malik Abubakari is on for Birmancevic.
Half-time reading
Half time: Chelsea 2-0 Malmo
Peep peep! Chelsea are strolling to victory at Stamford Bridge thanks to Andreas Christensen’s volley - his first goal for the club - and a penalty from Jorginho. It’s not all good news, though: Romelu Lukaku (ankle) and Timo Werner (hamstring) both went off injured.
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45+1 min Chelsea’s front three is now Hudson-Odoi on the left, Havertz in the middle and Mount on the right.
45 min Havertz shoots over from the edge of the D.
45 min There will be three minutes of added time, mainly because of the injuries to Lukaku and Werner.
44 min Callum Hudson-Odoi comes on to replace Werner, who moves slowly up the tunnel. It’s a problem with his left hamstring.
42 min Now Timo Werner is receiving treatment. It’s a hamstring problem, which isn’t great news for Chelsea with Lukaku also injured.
41 min: Fine save from Dahlin! Chelsea open Malmo up with some lovely quick passing. Eventually Kante stabs a through ball to Havertz in the inside-right channel, and his right-foot shot is pushed round the near post by Dahlin. Excellent save.
39 min Excellent pressing from Mount, who steals the ball off Christiansen 25 yards from goal. It’s laid off to Werner, whose shot is blocked.
36 min Mount has been terrific so far, full of invention and optimism. For all their attacking talent, Chelsea look a much better team with him in it.
35 min In other news...
33 min Havertz’s shot is tipped over by Dahlin, though I’m pretty sure he was offside.
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32 min Another attempt from Chilwell, who shoots straight at Dahlin from the edge of the area after excellent play by Mount and Kante.
30 min Mount drives a fast, flat cross beyond the far post, which Chilwell meets with an acrobatic scissor kick. He can’t get over the ball either and it flies into the crowd. It was a nice effort though, a reflection of Chilwell’s current confidence.
27 min Colak misses Malmo’s best chance so far. Birmancevic, just past the centre circle, turned and clipped a nice pass over the top towards Colak. The ball didn’t come down quickly enough, however, and he lashed his shot over the bar.
26 min The game is taking place almost exclusively in the Malmo half. They’re not a bad team, they’re just out of their element.
23 min Lukaku is replaced by Kai Havertz.
22 min Lukaku is going off. No point risking more damage in a game that is already over.
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GOAL! Chelsea 2-0 Malmo (Jorginho 21 pen)
Jorginho scores! There was no stop this time: he just ran up and lifted it into the net. Dahlin went the wrong way.
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20 min Lukaku is receiving treatment, which has delayed the penalty. He’s limping heavily.
Lukaku muscled his way into the area and past Nielsen, who lunged at the ball and brought Lukaku down. Nielsen got the ball, though he probably fouled Lukaku first. I can’t see it being overturned.
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18 min: Penalty to Chelsea!
17 min I have seen it, and it wasn’t a penalty. You’re welcome.
16 min Jorginho goes over in the area after being bumped from behind. The referee isn’t interested. I’d like to see that again.
15 min Mount’s driven cross flashes right across the first of goal. Chelsea could score a hatful tonight.
14 min ... and Mount cracks it over the bar.
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14 min Innocent fouls Kante 22 yards from goal, to the right of centre. Chilwell and Mount are over the ball...
13 min Malmo started the game by pressing high up the pitch, but now they are being pushed back. Everyone has a plan until they get punched the face.
Malmo couldn’t get out following a Chelsea corner. Eventually Thiago curled a cross into the middle, where Christensen adjusted his body smartly to slam a volley into the ground that bounced up to beat Dahlin. It might have come off his shin, but who cares.
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GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Malmo (Christensen 9)
Anders Christensen, who set Copenhagen alight with that banger in the summer, has now scored his first goal for Chelsea.
8 min: Good save from Dahlin! A cross from the right was cleared as far as Lukaku on the edge of the area. He mishit a first-time shot that took a big deflection off the shoulder of Larsson, and Dahlin changed direction smartly to push it over the bar.
6 min “Yes, 35-1 are delicious odds,” says Paul Dowling, “but it’s a three-horse race.”
My point exactly.
5 min Poor Timo Werner has missed a sitter. Lukaku broke free on the right of the area and crossed low towards Werner in the six-yard box. It looked like an easy left-foot finish for Werner, but the ball hit his heel and went wide of the near post. The flag subsequently went up against Lukaku. It looked very tight, though, and I suspect the goal would have stood had Werner scored. Either way, it was a grisly miss.
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3 min Jorginho, in a narrow position to the right of centre, curls a cross that is headed over by Chilwell, arriving late in the box. He’s been in cracking form of late, from the exact moment I put Marcos Alonso in my fantasy team.
2 min Malmo are managed by Jon Dahl Tomasson, a marvellous forward for Denmark, Feyenoord and Milan among others.
1 min Peep peep! Malmo, in sky blue, kick off from left to right. Chelsea are wearing dark blue.
“Per one metric I found online, Malmo has a 2% probability of winning this game.(which means 35-1 odds aren’t long enough, but that’s neither here nor there),” says Matt Burtz. “So, in the words of Lloyd from ‘Dumb and Dumber’, you’re telling me there’s a chance.”
There is indeed a chance.
“I really thought Swansea vs West Brom was meant as a joke, Rob,” says Yash Gupta. “Okay I should’ve anticipated that.”
I’ve really enjoyed watching West Brom this season, mainly because of an increasing obsession with Valerien Ismael.
And this is pretty good too
“Brentford’s Pontus Jansson is with the Malmo FF supporters and declined a VIP box,” writes Marcus Hellqvist. “Apparently he also brought Kristoffer Ajer along to support Malmo against Chelsea!”
Pre-match listening
This is so good.
Thomas Tuchel’s pre-match thoughts
“Wednesday night, eight o’clock, Stamford Bridge: we want to be at our top level. There’s no other way to win matches. We need a good performance to keep the three points here. It’s important to start strong and impose our intensity in their half. Timo has the chance to play around Romelu a little bit; we will use Romelu as the reference up front. We need guys in the box, who feel confident in the box. Mason is back and with the wing-backs we should be able to get five or six people in the box.”
“‘The big game of the night, certainly from an English perspective, is in Manchester. Scott Murray will be watching that one’,” says Abhishek Ravichandran, quoting an early entry. “Such a weird thing to say. Not sure why a Manchester United game would be the biggest game from all-English perspective?”
I hate to break this to you, but it really wasn’t a weird thing to say. Chelsea have a home banker, United don’t. Chelsea aren’t in a slump, United are. Am I missing something? If you meant Swansea v West Brom, then fair enough, I take it all back.
It’s a surprise to see such a strong Chelsea XI. There was talk of Romelu Lukaku being rested but he starts. I guess the plan is for him to end his mini goal drought with Chelsea - six games - and then come off in the second half. He’ll have support from Mason Mount and Timo Werner, though we’re not sure whether the system will be 3-4-1-2 or 3-4-2-1. The uncertainty is exciting.
The big game of the night, certainly from an English perspective, is in Manchester. Scott Murray will be watching that one.
The teams
Chelsea (possible 3-4-2-1) Mendy; Christensen, Thiago Silva, Rudiger; Azpilicueta, Kante, Jorginho, Chilwell; Mount, Werner; Lukaku.
Substitutes: Kepa, Bettinelli, Alonso, Kovacic, Loftus-Cheek, Chalobah, Saul, Barkley, Hudson-Odoi, Ziyech, James, Havertz.
Malmo (possible 3-5-2) Dahlin; Larsson, Nielsen, Brorsson; Berget, Innocent, Christiansen, Pena, Olsson; Colak, Birmancevic.
Substitutes: Ellborg, Diawara, Moisander, Rakip, Abubakari, Gwargis, Nalic, Eile, Bjorkqvist, Lindman.
Referee Francois Letexier (France).
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Preamble
Malmo are 35/1 to win at Stamford Bridge tonight. Eyecatching odds in a two-horse race, but I doubt many people will take them. Even by the standards of the Champions League group stage, this match feels like a formality. Malmo were plugged 3-0 and 4-0 in their first two group games and, though Chelsea also lost to Juventus, they should be too strong - especially as Thomas Tuchel has picked a full-strength side.
The probable mismatch is a shame, not least because Malmo have history in this competition. They reached the final in 1979 before losing to Nottingham Forest, and put the Italian champions Internazionale (Matthaus, Klinsmann, Brehme, Bergomi, Zenga, Ferri, Berti) out in the first round a decade later - a mighty achievement at a time when Serie A was the best league in the world by a gazillion miles.
Malmo were managed by Roy Hodgson back then, and had a handful of young players who would help Sweden to the semi-finals of major competitions in 1992 and 1994: Patrik Anderson, Martin Dahlin, Stefan Schwarz. They were stuffed by Mechelen in the next round, alas, and the Inter game remains their last seismic victory in European competition. That could change tonight, but I wouldn’t bet on it.
Kick off 8pm.
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