Here’s Sachin Nakrani’s report
That’s all from me. Thanks for your company, bye!
The dark cloud hanging over the evening is Pedro’s possible injury, which, like the incident that caused it, would be a significant blow. It was also sad to see Morata harumph his way grumpily off the pitch towards the end, by which time he should really have scored the couple of goals he needs to work his way out of his funk.
That was very much the result Chelsea deserved, but the scoreline doesn’t even nearly reflect their dominance. Their failure to score a second (and third etc) goal meant they had a few nervous moments towards the end, but only a few, and not particularly nervous.
There are boos at the final whistle, and Warda goes straight to the referee, presumably to argue that Rudiger should have been sent off. He shouldn’t.
Final score: PAOK 0-1 Chelsea
90+6 mins: And that’s the last kick of the game!
Updated
90+6 mins: Giroud hits it, and it goes way, way high.
90+6 mins: Giroud and Willian stand over the free kick.
90+5 mins: Pedro’s treatment has extended the match by a couple of minutes. It looks like he has hurt his left arm/wrist, and he will play no further part in this game.
90+3 mins: Pedro was pushed in the back by Omar El Kaddouri, propelling him into Paschalakis. As a result, Chelsea have a free kick just outside the penalty area, and El Kaddouri has a yellow card.
90+2 mins: Chelsea break, and Pedro is played into space. His first touch, though, is terrible. He and Paschalakis both go for the ball; the goalkeeper gets to it first, and Pedro flies into him. It looked painful.
90+2 mins: There will be three minutes of stoppage time. They start with PAOK totally wasting their free kick.
90+1 mins: Warda and Rudiger come to blows in the penalty area! Rudiger pushed away Warda’s arm, and the PAOK player flung himself to the ground, leapt up and pushed his head into Rudiger’s. After a considerable delay, Warda is booked.
90 mins: Barkley is booked for a foul in midfield. The final seconds of normal time tick away with PAOK preparing to take a free kick, about 40 yards from goal.
87 mins: The night’s first yellow card is shown to Pontus Wernbloom, who deliberately tripped Pedro.
86 mins: Chelsea spring upfield, and Giroud’s low shot from 20 yards is made to look better than it was by Paschalakis’s poor handling of it, the goalkeeper flapping it behind for a corner.
85 mins: PAOK work the ball into Chelsea’s penalty area, but with plenty of options available Biseswar shoots straight at Kepa from wide on the left.
Updated
84 mins: Pedro hits Chelsea’s 847th shot of the night high from 20 yards or so.
82 mins: The final substitution of the evening sees Jaba, who faded after a fine first half, go off, and Biseswar come on.
81 mins: Now PAOK threaten! A cross comes in from the right, and Kepa unconvincingly pushes it behind with two forwards onrushing.
80 mins: That’s Morata’s last action. Giroud is on.
79 mins: Willian overhits a corner, which goes out of play. Chelsea should have put this game way out of PAOK’s reach, but having missed so many chances seem to be losing belief and making poor decisions. Then Morata has the ball in PAOK’s half and Willian makes a good run beyond the defence, but no pass is forthcoming.
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77 mins: Willian fizzes a left-foot shot wide from 25 yards.
75 mins: This is Chelsea’s least convincing period of the game. They’re still creating chances, but without Jorginho they’re not keeping the ball as well, or moving so fluidly through the gears and up the pitch.
72 mins: Pedro lashes a curling shot from just outside the area, saved by Paschalakis. Willian picks up the loose ball and from the most ludicrous angle tries to score, and fails.
69 mins: PAOK take off Shakhov and bring on their not-quite-fit top scorer, Aleksandar Prijovic.
69 mins: Pedro has recovered, and his fine pass finds Morata running clear. This time he’s fractionally offside, and thus lifts the ball beautifully over the keeper and into the net.
Updated
68 mins: Pedro runs into Vieirinha, winning a free kick on the left but more importantly looking a bit sore.
65 mins: A double change for Chelsea sees Fábregas come on for Jorginho, and Azpilicueta replace Alonso.
62 mins: The corner is flicked on at the near post and somehow fizzes through the six-yard box without anyone getting a killer touch. Rudiger got a foot to it, but didn’t really change its trajectory. PAOK make a substitution, bringing Warda on for Pelkas.
62 mins: Another chance! Morata brings the ball to the edge of the area and slides it to Alonso, who cuts inside one defender’s desperate dive and then shoots into another one’s.
60 mins: There wasn’t much to that – Rudiger put out an arm to keep his opponent at bay, and his hand brushed Pelkas’s face.
59 mins: Pelkas and Rudiger compete for the ball, and the PAOK player goes down holding his face. The referee is miles away, and waves play on.
57 mins: Another Chelsea chance! Pedro wins the ball on the right, keeps it in and crosses. Barkley’s header has plenty of power but hits Morata, and the rebound falls to Willian who blazes over!
53 mins: The game continues to be played almost entirely in PAOK’s half, but either the home side can’t get out of it or Chelsea can’t get far enough into it.
49 mins: The first chance of the second half: Barkley plays in Pedro on the right, who cuts inside into traffic and passes back to Barkley, who shuffles it on to Willian, who shoots low straight at the goalkeeper, who doesn’t let it bobble under his body this time.
Updated
46 mins: And they’re off! Again!
The players are back out. Will Chelsea get the loads more goals their performance so far has deserved? It’s time to find out!
Looks like there were freebies up for grabs in the Chelsea end pre-match. But the best thing about their pre-match crisp hand-out is the complete lack of interest. It’s rare to see a club chairman being so profoundly ignored.
Half time: PAOK 0-1 Chelsea
45+1 mins: The goalkeeper thing is catching! I mean, the lack of catching is catching. The ball comes in (there’s a bit of shirt-pulling by Barkley in the box, missed by the referee) and Kepa comes out and pushes it lamely into the air. It’s cleared, though, and with that the referee blows his whistle.
45 mins: PAOK have won a few free kicks over the last few minutes, and they’ve just won another, on the left wing. Could they magic up a just-before-half-timely goal?
41 mins: Jabá taps the ball through Alonso’s legs and is pushed over for his troubles. PAOK’s moment of the match so far.
40 mins: Paschalakis has caught a corner! He just came out and caught it in his hands!
40 mins: Chelsea’s good players are looking really terrific. Willian, Pedro, Alonso, all great. Barkley and Jorginho as well. It’s extremely one-sided, but not dull.
39 mins: And another! From the corner Morata heads the ball across goal and just wide of the far post.
38 mins: Chelsea miss another great chance! It’s a lovely break, Willian playing a fabulous blind pass to Alonso on the left, Alonso playing a fabulous sighted pass to Pedro, and the Spaniard, clean through, sidefooting lamely at the goalkeeper.
36 mins: Another Chelsea corner. It nearly curls in at the far post, with the goalkeeper again all at sea. But then it doesn’t.
33 mins: PAOK have their best spell of possession of the match so far. It ends within three seconds of them finally entering Chelsea’s half.
29 mins: Chelsea move the ball down the left really very well indeed, but Willian’s cross is too hard, and behind everyone, and the threat ends.
27 mins: Another shot from Morata, who dummies past a defender, shifts the ball onto his left foot and drives the ball over the bar.
25 mins: This is extremely one-sided. Still, Chelsea need a second goal because it only takes a second to score etc and so forth.
22 mins: Jaba runs with the ball into the Chelsea half, looks up, sees nobody is offering support, carries on, looks up, carries on, looks up and finally wins a throw-in. He turns and screams at his team-mates because of their lack of assistance.
19 mins: Another chance! Rudiger picks out Morata with an excellent pass over the entire PAOK team, and the striker’s first touch is excellent. The second, sadly, sends the ball across goal and wide with his left foot.
16 mins: The crowd whistles and howls as Chelsea continue to hog the ball. The move fizzles out when Alonso’s chipped pass bounces out of Willian’s reach.
15 minutes gone and Chelsea are absolutely bossing this. Too quick, clever and strong for PAOK and should be 2-0 up but Morata missed an easy header.
— Sachin Nakrani (@SachinNakrani) September 20, 2018
15 mins: A second Chelsea corner, this one headed clear at the near post.
13 - Willian has been directly involved in 13 goals in his last 15 starts for Chelsea in European competition (10 goals and three assists). Factor. pic.twitter.com/tlWNuUQpFh
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 20, 2018
14 mins: Now Chelsea win a corner, and Paschalakis comes off his line but gets nowhere near it. The ball is headed wide at the far post, and anyway the referee gives a free kick for some slight foul on the goalkeeper.
12 mins: PAOK win another corner, though Christensen seems aghast that the linesman decided he touched the ball. This time Varela wins the header, but the ball flies well over the bar.
10 mins: Chelsea threaten again! Pedro crosses from the right and Morata, at the near post, heads wide of the near post when well positioned. That could very easily have been 0-2.
9 mins: PAOK have changed formation, switching to a front two. They are yet to threaten the goal.
GOAL! PAOK 0-1 Chelsea (Willian, 7 mins)
The ball breaks kindly to Barkley in midfield, and he carries it forward before playing in Willian, totally unmarked to his left, and his first-time shot squirts under the goalkeeper and bobbles in!
Updated
3 mins: Jabá, whose squad number is an outlandish 98, wins a free kick on the right, from which the ball is headed behind for a corner. They play the ball back, and then when it is played into the area Pelkas fouls Ross Barkley.
2 mins: The action so far has largely involved Chelsea repeatedly passing the ball amongst themselves, and then back to Kepa.
1 min: And they’re off! Chelsea get the game under way.
The players are out of the tunnel, and have completed their pre-match formalities. The PAOK side is currently in a huddle, something Chelsea don’t seem to consider necessary.
The players are in the tunnel. There are a lot of mascots.
“It seems Chelsea’s visit has made PAOK somewhat nervous judging by the quantity of bog roll on the table,” notes Ian Copestake.
“He played for Aston Villa,” writes Krishna of José Ángel Crespo. “Perhaps you could give puzzles that can’t be answered with a simple google search.”
Yeah, but what can’t be answered with a simple Google search? That’s cheating.
A peek inside the dressing-rooms at Toumba Stadium. Looks like lots of comfy chairs crowbarred into an awkwardly small space with a total absence of handy clothes hangers and nearby storage space.
Maurizio Sarri has a pre-match chat:
The Europa League is a very important competition. it’s an unusual competition because at the moment we don’t know all our opponents. Eight new teams will arrive in the second round. It’s a very important competition and I think very difficult.
We have changed five players in the starting XI, but we have a lot of matches in a few days so it’s important to change. Not too much, but to change.
Angus Domnhall reminds me of another competitive game Chelsea played in Greece. They drew this one too:
Uefa in their press kit point out that “Chuba Akpom, José Ángel Crespo and José Alberto Cañas have all played in the English Premier League”. This is true. Akpom made four substitute appearances for Arsenal (total game time: 28 minutes), Cañas made 19 league starts for Swansea, but I defy anyone (bar supporters of the team involved, and even they might struggle) to know off the top of their heads which Premier League side Crespo played for.
“José is a player who has been on our radar for some time and we’re really pleased to secure his signature,” trilled his manager when he signed a three-year deal. “From speaking to him I know he can’t wait to play for [name of club].” It turned out that he could wait – his debut came two months later, and the next time he was spotted it was at the airport, leaving again less than six months after he arrived. On his one appearance his team lost 1-0.
This from the Guardian’s match report:
The visitors had more space to exploit and when Glen Johnson spotted a huge gap between [redacted] and José Ángel Crespo in the 55th minute, Stoke’s right-back slid an accurate pass through to Arnautovic, who turned and slipped a shot past [redacted], the ball hitting the inside of the left post and rolling over the line.
The teams!
Here’s some team news from the Toumba Stadium:
PAOK: Paschalakis, Vieirinha, Khacheridi, Varela, Tosca, Mauricio, Wernbloom, Leo Jaba, Shakhov, El Kaddouri, Pelkas. Subs: Rey, Prijovic, Crespo, Limnios, Biseswar, Warda, Canas.
Chelsea: Arrizabalaga, Zappacosta, Rudiger, Christensen, Alonso, Kante, Jorginho, Willian, Barkley, Pedro, Morata. Subs: Caballero, Fabregas, Loftus-Cheek, Moses, Giroud, Cahill, Azpilicueta.
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco.
#Starting11 #PAOK Starting line up against @ChelseaFC at #ToumbaStadium @EuropaLeague #GroupStage #MD1 #PAOKCHE #UEL #PreGame pic.twitter.com/N1Xroxi9Nb
— PAOK FC / ΠAOK (@PAOK_FC) September 20, 2018
Here is tonight's team news! `💪#PAOKvCFC pic.twitter.com/p1oiiDx1or
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 20, 2018
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Hello world!
I note that PAOK’s website assures us that the club “has taken all the necessary measures in order to guarantee a football evening of the highest level”. This is highly encouraging. “We ask every spectator to avoid actions that might result to heavy bans,” they add. This is slightly less encouraging, though perhaps a wise precaution for a club that started the season with a two-point domestic deduction because of the chaotic conclusion to their home game against AEK Athens last season, when after a goal was disallowed their owner invaded the pitch with a gun holstered on his hip to bark threats at the referee. “It is,” AEK’s coach, Manolo Jimenez, concluded, “the kind of thing you expect to see in a Clint Eastwood movie.” PAOK’s nickname is Dikefalos tou Vora, or the Two-Headed Eagle of the North, which is far too interesting to be the kind of thing you expect to see in a Clint Eastwood movie.
Match pointer dept: Chelsea have never won, or for that matter lost, a competitive game in Greece. They drew a Champions League round of 16 match at Olympiacos 0-0 in 2008, and a Cup Winners’ Cup game at Aris Thessaloniki ended 1-1 in 1970 (PAOK’s slogan, “One City, One Team”, seems a bit rum given that there are very clearly two major teams in Thessaloniki). And PAOK have never lost to an English side at home, having drawn against Tottenham in this competition in 2011 and beaten Arsenal 1-0 on their way to knocking Arsène Wenger’s side out of the 1997 Uefa Cup.
Anyway, here were are. Welcome. Let us enjoy this football evening of the highest level together.
Preamble
Simon will be here shortly for this 5.55pm (BST) kick-off.
Meanwhile here’s Sachin Nakrani on a key member of Maurizio Sarri’s squad who hasn’t made the trip …
