Raheem Sterling scored on his return to the line-up to help Chelsea produce one of the narrow football scores of the midweek action in the Champions League. The England defender had to be carried to the tunnel at the end of the game, raising concerns about his fitness ahead of the World Cup, which begins in less than three weeks. Chilwell appeared to pull his hamstring while chasing a ball in stoppage time, but he recovered and played the final seconds of the game. Potter switched back to a four-man defense for the first time in eight games after having to frequently switch his preferred back three in recent games in an effort to give his strong side more balance.
Sterling’s contribution to Chelsea’s 4-1 loss to Brighton on Saturday was questioned after Potter started him as a wing-back. However, once back in his natural position, Sterling scored his first goal for the club since mid-September to offset Bruno Petkovic’s early goal. He also had two other chances to score a hat-trick in the first half but failed to convert either one. Chelsea could not have had a worse start when Cesar Azpilicueta’s errant header set up Petkovic to stoop and nod home after seven minutes. Chelsea was only playing for pride and needed to forget about the crushing defeat on the south coast.
Chelsea took the lead on the half-hour mark when a low ball from the right found debutant Denis Zakaria. On his first outing for the team after joining two months prior, Zakaria scored the game-winning goal with a deft near-post drive that slid inside the near post. A dead rubber for the hosts ended with a reassuring victory to complete their group stage on a high before Monday’s last 16 draws. After the break, Chelsea pushed for a cushion and Aubameyang struck the bar while Josip Sutalo was kept out by Edouard Mendy at full stretch.
For more football scores, click here
