Lampard's reaction
“I’m very happy to qualify with two games to spare. It was a really tough match for us tonight, Rennes are a very good team. We played well for big spells of the game. It was a tough, had-fought win.”
On Giroud: “He does things like he did tonight. That was great from him... Not only that, but his hold-up play as well. [With Giroud and Abraham] I have two players in a similar position who are playing well, that is a good problem to have. But Oli will get his minutes.”
Full-tme: Rennes 1-2 Chelsea
Chelsea booked their place in the knockout stages by wining a match that they started and finished brilliantly, while drifting through the middle. They looked to have let victory slip when Guirassy cancelled out Hudson-Odoi’s early goal, but Giroud produced a splendid header to claim the win. It wasn’t a convincing performance but you can’t argue with the result.
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GOAL! Rennes 1-2 Chelsea (Giroud 90+1)
Giroud rescues Chelsea and proves his worth yet again! Grenier will be kicking himself for giving the ball away in midfield, allowing Ziyech to sip a pass through to Werner. GOmis saved the striker’s shot, sending looping into the air. Then Giroud soared high and sent a powerful header into the net. There aren’t many other strikers who could have done that.
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87 min: Chilwell meets a super freekick by Ziyech but heads the ball into the ground, allowing Gomis to make a comfortable save.
86 min: As soon as he is finished celebrating his goal, Guirassy is taken off and replaced by Niang. He is congratulated as he comes off the pitch. Lampad, meanwhile, is standing on the sideline looking miffed. Chelsea had this game in their hands but look to have frittered away the win. They lost intensity and precision as soon as they took the lead, and the substitutions haven’t remedied that.
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GOAL! Rennes 1-1 Chelsea (Guirassy 85)
Chelsea are punished at last! Bourigeaud delivered an out-swinging corner from the right and Guirassy - inexplicably unmarked - leapt high to plant an unstoppable header past Mendy from six yards!
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80 min: Ziyech skips past one down the right and then tries to squeeze between another two, but the defenders are wise to him. Truth be told, since their goal Chelsea have been as inadequate up front as Rennes.
Rennes substitution: Grenier on, Camavinga off.
Chelsea substitutions: Ziyech and Havertz on, Hudson-Odoi and Kovacic off.
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75 min: Save! Nyamsi meets the corner with a powerful downard header from seven yards. It bounces just i front of Mendy, who reacts brilliantly to block it and then kick it back into his own hands!
74 min: Kovacic is caught in possession in midfield. Rennes rip forward. Del Castillo helps the ball through to Guirassy, who tries to poke it into the net from a difficult angle. Its’ deflected out for a corner.
71 min: There’s no cohesion in Chelsea’s attacks at the moment, so they’re petering out quickly. Rennes are keeping the ball better but just lack sharpness around the opposing box.
Chelsea substitutions: Kanté and Giroud on, Mount and Abraham off. No surprise with the first one - because Kanté is needed in midfield - but it’s curious that Abraham was replaced rather than Werner, who has been relatively useless.
66 min: Traoré is becoming a real menace down the right, regularly galloping past Werner and Chilwell.
64 min: Abraham rolls past around Nyamsi in the box and is pulled down by the defender. The whistle goes. Penalty? No! The ref decides that the striker tugged Nyamsi’s shirt first.
Rennes substitution: Del Castillo on, Lea Siliki off.
61 min: Rennes are still being pests. Chelsea are being made to work much harder in their own half than looked probable earlier in the game.
58 min: In the other match in this group, Krasnodor have equalised against Sevilla (1-1). If that scoreline stays the same, Chelsea will need to win this to confirm their qualification for the next round.
56 min: There’s a good case for brining on Ngolo Kanté to disrupt Rennes’ increasingly ominous-looking play in Chelsea’s half.
55 min: Bourigeaud’s corner is headed out at the near post by Chilwell for another one. The next one is delivered beyond the back post, where Traoré collects it and spanks a shot towards the far corner of the net ... but Abraham stands strong to block it.
54 min: Silva puts his hands behind his back and leans into a shot by Traoré to deflect it behind for a corner.
52 min: Rennes continue to pass tidily. They don’t look like penetrating at the moment but they are getting into good area around the box.
50 min: Da Silva does well to usher Werner of the ball as the forward tried to break through.
48 min: Snappy move by Chelsea, with lots of sharp passing. Mount clips a nice cross from the edge of the area to the back post, where Werner nods into the net .... but he was offside. Still, a positive start to the second half from the visitors.
46 min: Here we go again. Will we see evidence of a half-time telling off by Lampard?
Half-time: Rennes 0-1 Chelsea
Chelsea are half-way to where they want to be thanks to a beautiful pass by Mount and an impeccable finish by Hudson-Odoi. But there is plenty of work for them still to do, as Rennes came on strong in the second part of the first half and threatened to equalise. Chelsea even grew a little scruffy as they half progressed, so Lampard will no doubt urge them to refocus for the second half and, perhaps, re-establish the sharpness and forward momentum that they showed early on.
45+1 min: Bourigeaud’s shot deflects off the five-man wall and flies out for a corner.
45 min: Silva trips Guirassy just outside the D, giving Rennes a precious freekick just before half-time...
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42 min: Doku wins another corner after driving at Chilwell. Bourigeaud, who has been taking them from both sides, delivers an outswinger. Mendy waves it out of the six-yard area but it’s not a convincing clearance, though Rennes fail to punish him.
40 min: A mistake by Chilwell - his second slack pass in two minutes - present Guirassy with a chance to charge into the box. He tries to square the ball for a teammate but gets it all wrong, allowing Silva to intervene. Sloppiness has crept into Chelsea’s play, and Rennes are starting to scent blood ...
38 min: Guirassy holds off Zouma just outside the D and then rolls the defender and lashes a ferocious low shot goalward. Mendy gets down well to make his first serious save of the match.
35 min: Rennes have been unable to pick a way through Chelsea’s defence despite enjoying more possession in the last few minutes. So Camavinga tries to circumvent it by having a blast from over 25 yards. The shot veers high and wide.
32 min: Lovely work by Doku wide on the right, followed by a fine low cross. It comes to Guirassy near the penalty spot and he unloads a fist time shot ... that bashes off Zouma, who knew little about it but can claim a heroic block. A warning to Chelsea, there, to remain vigilant even though they look far superior to their hosts.
30 min: What a save! Chelsea launched another attack down the left after a crossfield ball. Chilwell’s first cross was blocked but he cut his second attempt back to Mount, who stabbed it first time towards goal from seven yards. Gomis adjusted his feet nimbly before diving full length to tip it around the post.
28 min: Hudson-Odoi gets back to deflect a cross by Truffert behind for a corner. Abraham does well to head Bourigeaud’s in-swinger away.
25 min: Chilwell tries to curl a pass through to Werner, but Traoré cuts it out. But Chelsea are knocking on the door again, eager to finish the hosts off.
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GOAL! Rennes 0-1 Chelsea (Hudson-Odoi 22)
Bang! Just as Rennes were growing on confidence, Chelsea strike them down with one pass and shot. Mount won the ball in his own half and then provided a perfect ball from deep to Hudson-Odoi, who ran on to it and fired a crisp low shot into the net!
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20 min: Chelsea came out like a train but Rennes have made them stall a little; the visitors don’t look in danger of conceding but nor have the threatened for a while.
17 min: Gomis rushes out of his box to head the ball away, sweeper-keeping like a boss.
15 min: Zouma shanks an attempted clearance behind for a corner. That gives Rennes a chance to dispatch their big men to the front. Bourigeaud’s delivery causes a moment of panic in the Chelsea box, but they eventually clear.
13 min: Rennes seems to have settled. They are keeping the ball a bit more comfortably now, albeit without gaining much ground.
10 min: Rennes try to find their rhythm with a spell of passing in the Chelsea half. They pop it about pretty well, but when they lose it, Chelsea try to launch a quick counter .... but Werner mis-controls wide on the left.
8 min: Respite for Rennes as Kovacic ccatches Lea Siliki with a late tackle, giving the hosts a freekick and a chance to breathe.
5 min: Chelsea are bossing this so far. Hudson-Odoi, who has started very brightly, wins a corner down the right. Mount delivers an out-swinger, but Rennes clear it ... but within a few seconds Chelsea are back probing just outside the area: it’s the most intricate of stampedes towards the home goal. You have to wonder how long Rennes can hold out.
4 min: A lovely exchange between Azpilicueta and Hudson-Odoi down the right right, then the winger curls a perfect cross into the centre. Werner will surely score from six yards .... but no, he skies the bouncing ball over the bar! What a miss!
3 min: Werner, by the let-hand touchline, traps a long crossfield pass and then dinks a nice ball to the underlapping Chilwell. The left-back’s shot on the run is blocked by a defender.
2 min: Mendy’s first touch is a slightly shonky kick, which is intercepted 10 yards inside the Chelsea half. But the visitors regroup quickly to snuff out the threat before it develops.
1 min: Chelsea, dressed in shark blue, get the game going. Rennes are in their usual red and black ensemble.
The teams are in the tunnel, preparing to enter a sadly empty arena...
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An obvious point of comparison today is between the goalkeepers. Chelsea look to have got themselves a bargain (at least compared to Kepa) when they bought Edouard Mendy from Rennes a couple of months back, but what about the man that Rennes bought as a replacement? Alfred Gomis, Senegalese like Mendy, has been hit and miss so far, mixing brilliant saves with occasional bloopers. So his career at his new club could go either way - keeping his first clean sheet, against the team featuring the man he replaced, would be an ideal way for him to achieve lift-off.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for Rennes as a team. They played very well at at Stamford Bridge, where a red card changed the face of the game. They are very good in possession and are very comfortable on the ball and have some players with speed in attack. People may think the group is cut and dry but it’s not: it’s a very big night for us tonight.”
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Thiago Silva returns to Chelsea has had a decent start to his Chelsea career, his hapless debut at West Brom notwithstanding. But the last time he played at Roazhon Park, his PSG team suffered a surprising 2-1 defeat. Roazhon Park, by the way, is a dinky stadium just outside the elegant town centre, where Chelsea fans, had they been allowed to travel, might have enjoyed ambling down the main street, Rue Le Bastard.
Teams:
Lampard aims to wrap up qualification early here so there are minimal changes to his starting lineup: this team should be plenty good enough to get the job done, though Ziyech and Havertz (and Giroud, obviously) are on the bench in case reinforcements are required. As for Rennes, injuries force them to give a first start of the season to Gerzino Nyamsi, who will have to rise to the challenge quickly in the heart of the home defence.
Rennes: Gomis; Traoré, Da Silva, Nyamsi, Truffert; Bourigeaud, Nzonzi, Camavinga; Doku, Gurassy, Lea Siliki
Subs: Salin, Omari, Grenier, Niang, Maoussa, Gboho, Tait, Del Castillo, Hunou, Soppy, Rutter
Chelsea: Mendy; Azpilicueta, Zouma, Silva, Chilwell; Kovacic, Jorginho, Mount; Hudson-Odoi, Abraham, Werner
Subs: Kepa, Emerson, Rüdiger, Alonso, Christensen, Kanté, Caballero, Tomori, Giroud, Ziyech, James, Havertz
Referee: B Kuipers (Ned)
Preamble
Hello. Today Chelsea have a chance to secure their progress in the Champions League and book themselves a little break: if they win in Rennes, and if Krasnodor fail to upset Sevilla, then Frank Lampard’s team will be guaranteed a place in the knockout stages and the manager can rest his top players in the last two group games.
You’ve got the fancy their chances: things seem to be coming together nicely at Chelsea, who arrive in northern France on the back of five straight wins in all competitions and unbeaten by anyone this season other than Liverpool. Their resources are awesome compared to those of Rennes, whose bright early season form has faded. They have slipped down to seventh in Ligue 1 and have lost five of their last six matches, including a 3-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge earlier this month when, admittedly, they were undermined by a preposterous penalty decision and red card. Luck is against them today, too, as injuries force them to rejig their defence, which is an unwelcome complication in advance of a team who tend to score plenty. Rennes have beaten every English team to have visited them in the past (Aston Villa in 2001 and Arsenal in 2019) but Chelsea hope to prove to be a class above.
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