Sarri is asked about his verdict on today’s match ... and also about his comments regarding Ngolo Kanté. “We have to play very three days so I think in the future we will have to change very often. I was happy with the performance of the young players especially.” About Kante, he’s asked whether he maintains that the Frenchman is not technically talented enough to play in central midfield. “I was talking only about the central one, not the centre right or the centre left,” h replies. “Cesc played very well [in that position tonight], especially in the first half.” Pressed on his comment about Kante, he suggests he was misunderstood. “I said something different. I said that in the central position of the three midfielders I prefer a very technical player. Kanté has never played with me in this position. He always played as a midfield off centre right. I think he can do very well in that position.” He is asked whether Kante and Jorginho could play together as holding midfielders. “Jorginho cannot play in a midfield with only two midfielders,” he answers.
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Here’s Dominic Fifield’s take on events at Stamford Bridge
Here’s Giroud: “The main target was to show a strong team reaction [to Spurs’ defeat]. We can move forward now.” Ive scored goals in the past but it’s true that I was waiting for more chances and a little bit of luck in front of goal. I’ve been working hard in training for that. I had good help from my teammates. Great passes from Pedro and also from Cesc - I love this kind of ball behind the defence. When the manager put me in the starting eleven, I jsut tried to give my best and do my part for the team. We needed this win. We want to finish this group unbeaten so we need to win one more game. We want to win this competition. And we want to make things right aswell in the Premier League.”
Full-time: Chelsea 4-0 PAOK
The result was never in doubt from the moment PAOK had Khacheridi sent off in the seventh minute. The visitors did not disintegrate but Chelsea dominated and scored a pair of goals in each half. Giroud produced two splendid finishes in the first. Then Hudson-Odoi marked an impressive first start of the season with his first goal for the club. Finally, Morata came of the bench to nod in a fourth, from a cross by Hudson-Odoi.
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90 min: Barkley curls the freekick over the wall and over the bar.
89 min: Freekick to Chelsea in a promising position after a foul on Loftus-Cheek. It’s about 23 yards out, to the right. Barkley fancies it ...
87 min: Fabregas spots the keeper off his line and tries to beat him from half way. He’s Spanish, but no Xabi Alonso. Comfortable save.
86 min: Hudson-Odoi leads a counter-attack. Morata takes a defender away with smart run, the teenager fins Willian, who tries a slightly selfish shot from an improbable position. The keeper makes a routine save.
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84 min: PAOK, so spirited throughout, have finally conceded that they’re not going to get anything out of this game, it seems. Chelsea are still looking for more.
82 min: Hudson-Odoi, operating from the right since the introduction of Willian, goes for another goal. But this time his shot skims the top of the bar and flies over.
80 min: “Are you saying we should simply remove the box and any foul anywhere could be a penalty?” snorts Scott Wedel. “Often there are fouls in the box that were not a threat to score of someone headed away from goal or such so it is an arbitrary region to award penalties as well.” No, not any foul should result in a penalty. But yet, you’re right about that second part. I’ve explained my view clearly here, a long time ago:
GOAL! Chelsea 4-0 PAOK (Morata 78)
The Spaniard responds to the challenge laid down by Giroud by sending a fine header into the net following a good cross by Hudson-Odoi.
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In other news, here’s an exclusive from Daniel Taylor about a complaint made against the PFA’s Gordon Taylor.
Chelsea substitution: Morata on, Giroud off. That should be to preserve him for a start at the weekend.
72 min: PAOK continue to play with gumption. They’ve done well not to sink here. And Sarri will probably be miffed that his team haven’t scored more.
70 min: Christensen is receiving treatment on the pitch for an injury he received while jumping for an aerial duel.
68 min: Loftus-Cheek tumbles at the edge of the area after beating one defender. The crowd roar for a penalty but the ref correctly saw that Loftus-Cheek lost his footing on his own.
Chelsea substitution: Willian on, Pedro off.
66 min: Ampadu is playing at right-back and is putting himself about well, making a couple of important tackles already.
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Chelsea substitution: Ampadu on, Zappacosta off. It’s the Welsh international’s first appearance for his club this season, following some outstanding displays for his country.
GOAL! Chelsea 3-0 PAOK (Hudson-Odoi 60)
The 18-year-old scores his first goal for Chelsea and it’s a lovely one! He picked up the ball at the left-hand corner of the box, shuffled forward and sized up a defender before fooling the keeper by sidefooting a low shot in at the near post.
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60 min: Fabregas pings another fine ball to Pedro, who turns on to his left foot and opens fire from the corner of the box. It’s deflected behind for a corner.
58 min: After a corner is punched away by the keeper. Zappacosta collects the ball and tries to lash it into the net from nearly 30 yards. It’s a cracking effort and whizzes only inches over the bar!
57 min: Paschalaki makes another decent save to deny Loftus-Cheek.
55 min: Warda has made a big difference since his introduction at half-time. He’s a skilled and perky runner and he wants to do Chelsea damage. Many teams would have folded at two goals and one man down but PAOK are showing great spirit.
54 min: Cahill deservedly booked for cynically taking out El Kaddouri as PAOK launched a counter-attack. The foul was just inside the Chelsea half but it aborted a dangerous attack - that’s why I’ve long maintained such fouls should be punished by a penalty, no matter where they take place.
52 min: PAOK threaten with a break down the right. It’s crossed low to Warda, who takes a touch and then goes down in the box - Emerson poked the ball off his foot and then caught him. He demands a penalty but will have to settle for a corner.
50 min: PAOK have defended well near their box. Other than the mistake that led to the early red card, Chelsea have had to play sharply to forge openings.
47 min: Hudson-Odoi continues to look lively. The teenager certainly isn’t shy about showing his talent - he runs at defenders at every opportunity. But he’s no mere trickster - he’s got poise and smarts too and tends to pick out the right ball at the end of his dribbles.
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PAOK Substitution: Warda on, Prijovic off. That’s a forward for a forward so let’s see how much difference it makes.
“You’re right that Chelsea’s record score was 13-0, I was there,” reveals Ron Sidewater. “The opposition had one player in glasses and another with one arm.” That is quite right. Guy Thill was the striker born with one arm. Two of his teammates that day were over the age of 40. In fairness, they kept Chelsea’s to 8-0 in the leg in Luxembourg.
HALF-TIME: Chelsea 2-0 PAOK
Chelsea were on top even before PAOK were reduced to 10 men in the seventh minute, and since then it has been almost total dominance. Giroud has scored two nice goals and Chelsea look in the mood to go for many more. Hudson-Odoi has been perky on his debut, Fabregas has run midfield, Loftus-Cheek has shown some beautiful touches, Pedro and Zappacosta have made constant gains down the right, and Giroud has demonstrated that he is the best striker at Chelsea.
42 min: Jaba shows that PAOK are not totally impotent. He makes a nice run towards the edge of the Chelsea area and then unloads a powerful shot. But Cahill slides in to block it well.
40 min: Pedro miskicks in front of goal after top work by Emmerson “Hey Paul, what is Chelsea’s record win in Europe? Will the beat it tonight?” hollers Andrew Gilmour. Their record win is 13-0 v Jeunesse Hautcharage in the 1972 Cup Winners’ Cup. And yes, there is no doubt they will beat that tonight. Honest!
GOAL! Chelsea 2-0 PAOK (Giroud 37)
Another dainty pass from Fabregas yields another fine finish from Giroud! The From a central position midway inside the PAOK half, Fabregas dropped the ball over the top of the defence and into the path of Giroud, who volleyed with his left foot into the net from a tight angle about seven yards out.
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36 min: Zappacosta attacks down the right again. HE turns inside on to his left foot and had a pop from distance. It’s wobbles several yards wide.
33 min: Pedro slips in the underlapping Zappacosta, whose shot from a tight angle is saved by the keeper.
32 min: What an odd experience this must be for PAOK. As unbeaten leaders of their league, they can’t have had much practice had being totally dominated and down to 10 men. This is a wonderful learning opportunity for them, then. And, in fairness, there’s no trace of despondency from them.
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30 min: Paschalakis does well to bat a Pedro cross away from the danger zone. But you know Chelsea will be back putting him under pressure any second now ...
28 min: Hudson-Odoi nearly doubles Chelsea’s lead immediately. He picks up a loose ball and curls it against the crossbar from 20 yards!
GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 PAOK (Giroud 27)
That was inevitable. And when it came it was well constructed and finished. Fabregas aimed another fine long pass to Pedro, who controlled it superbly and teed up Giroud. The striker curled a low shot past the keeper and into the corner from 15 yards.
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26 min: Zappacosta flights in a good cross from the right. Giroud nods it wide. After fouling the defender an’ all.
25 min: Loftus-Cheek produces another flourish of class with a sumptuous chipped pass to Hudson-Odoi, whose cross is deflected out for a corner.
24 min: Lovely intricate run by Loftus-Cheek near the byline. With tremendous nimbleness he weaved between two in a tight space and tried to poke over a cross. It was blocked.
23 min: Fine defending at the back post by Vierinha, who outjumped Cahill to head clear after a dangerous cross by Emerson.
22 min: Fabregas is in his element. He’s got the time and space to spray the ball wherever he pleases. In such circumstances, he remains a top-class player.
20 min: Loftus-Cheek lets fly with a fizzing shot from 25 yards. The keeper plunges to his left to tip it out for a corner. That shot was struck beautifully and the save was a match for it.
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18 min: PAOK, to their credit, are showing real attacking intent when they actually get the ball. Chelsea had to charge down a pair of long-range shots just now after a zippy move.
16 min: Strong work by Loftus-Cheek in his own half leads to Zappacosta drilling in a cross from the right. It’s put behind for a corner. PAOK are clinging on...
15 min: It’s entirely one-way traffic.
14 min: Fabregas feeds Hudson-Odoi at the left-hand side of the box. The youngster tries to wrap his foot around a shot into the bottom corner but he doesn’t get enough curl on it.
12 min: Matos coolly chests the ball back to his keeper from five yards as Chelsea players lurked for a tap-in.
11 min: A raking long pass from deep by Fabregas is taken down deftly by Pedro, whose next touch isn’t so good. And his third skies the ball over the bar from 16 yards.
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10 min: Hudson-Odoi lifts another nice pass over the top for Giroud to run on to. He hits the bouncing ball on the run from a difficult angle but sends it over the bar.
8 min: Fabregas fires a low freekick under the wall and a couple of yards wide.
Red Card!
7 min: A loose backpass puts Khacheridi in trouble, as Giroud beats him to it. The defender makes a desperate tackle at the edge of the box and misses the pull and pulls down the striker. The ref has no hesitation in showing a red card.
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6 min: Hudson-Odoi dinks in a lovely cross from the right towards Giroud. But the Frenchman, under pressure from a defender, can’t reach it.
5 min: PAOK make a break for the first time and win a freekick, as Pedro knocks over Shakohov. The freekick from the left causes a little bit of ballyhoo in the home box but they eventually whack it clear.
3 min: Pedro’s has a bang from long range. It’s deflected out for a corner. That’s overhit.
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2 min: The game’s been played to a non-stop soundtrack of whistles so far, as PAOK fans try to put Chelsea off. To no avail, as yet, because the hosts have hogged the ball.
1 min: We have kickoff! Chelsea do the necessary and launch it immediately towards Hudson-Odoi on the left. But really it was a kick for territory and they’ve won a throw-in in line with the 18-yard mark.
The teams amble out on to the pitch. Chelsea are all in blue, PAOK all in orange. There are some 3,000 visiting fans at Stamford Bridge and they’re making a pleasing din.
The other game in this group kicked off earlier and has just finished. BATE Borisov beat Vidi 2-0. That means that Chelsea have already won the group, which rather lowers the stakes for the forthcoming match for the hosts. All they’ve to do now is impress Sarri and hope they force their way into the first team. Kanté won’t get the chance, though, because he’s not in the squad. Not good enough for the Europa League? Nah, he’s probably being saved for a role that doesn’t suit him against Fulham on Sunday. It’s only a matter of time before (a) he is genuinely dropped or (b) Sarri modifies his plans.
Teams
Sarri has changed all 10 outfield players from the defeat to Spurs. The newcomers include 18-year Hudson-Odoi, an exciting winger given his first start of the season.
Chelsea: Arrizabalaga; Zappacosta, Cahill, Christensen, Emerson; Fabregas, Loftus-Cheek, Barkley; Pedro, Giroud, Hudson-Odoi
Subs: Caballero, Alonso, Ampadu, Jorginho, Kovacic, Willian, Morata
PAOK: Paschalakis; Leo Matos, Khacheridi, Crespo, Vieirinha,
Mauricio, Wernbloom, Leo Jaba, Shakhov, El Kaddouri, Prijovic.
Subs: Rey, Varela, Pelkas, Biseswar, Akpom, Warda, Canas.
Referee: K Tohver (Estonia)
Preamble
Hello. The bad news for PAOK Salnika is that this match means something to Chelsea. Even though the Londoners have already qualified for the last 32 of this competition, having won all four of their matches to date, they are eager to go through as group winners – and, most of all, Maurizio Sarri had demanded to see a reaction to their first defeat of the season, which came as a result of last weekend’s dishevelled performance against Spurs. So though the Greeks need a win to stay alive in this competition, Chelsea will be bearing no gifts.
But nor will PAOK make things easy for Chelsea, who edged to a 1-0 win when the teams met earlier in the competition. Runaway leaders of the Greek league, PAOK have performed better away than at home in Europe this season. They drew at Basel and Spartak Moscow before being eliminated from the Champions League before the group stages and their only win so far in this competition was a 4-1 triumph at Bate Borisov. They could conceivably punish another outbreak of slackness by the home team.
