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Chelsea eased to a 4-0 victory on the back of an Olivier Giroud masterclass. The French forward scored all four goals, as Chelsea romped Sevilla to top Group E. Both teams started the night level on points, with a win basically guaranteeing top spot in the group. But the gulf in class was quickly apparent, as Sevilla could not cope with the quality of Frank Lampard's Chelsea.
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The home side was put under pressure from the start as debutant goalkeeper Oscar Pastor was called into action, following a Kai Havertz cross. It didn't take long for Chelsea to find the net as Giroud finished off a slick move after Havertz made his way towards goal with a quick burst of acceleration and found the striker in the box with the deftest of through balls. Giroud made no mistake curling the ball into the far corner with his left foot.
Sevilla did get into the game after the goal, but did not make any chances of note as Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy was seldom called into action. Sevilla midfielder Oscar Rodriguez looked most likely to help Sevilla find a goal, as his set pieces proved a menace to deal with for the Chelsea defenders.
The blues also had chances to score, as Antonio Rudiger's header was cleared off the line by Franco Vazquez. American superstar Christian Pulisic looked electric in the first half. The former Borussia Dortmund wonderkid tested the Sevilla goalkeeper on two different occasions, whilst always looking a threat cutting in from the left flank.
Sevilla started as the brighter of the two sides in the 2nd half but still couldn't call the Chelsea's goalkeeper into action. Chelsea soon took advantage of Sevilla's ineffectiveness as Olivier Giroud scored a delightful chip over the on-rushing Pastor after Mateo Kovacic sent the Frenchman through with a defense-splitting pass. The Chelsea striker still had a lot to do, but kept his composure as he lifted the ball over the goalkeeper with his weaker right foot.
At this point, the Blues seemed to be in cruise control, and with Sevilla not being able to conjure up any chances, Chelsea looked like they would be ending the night on top of the group.
Chelsea kept pushing forward and making chances, as substitute Mason Mount had a great chance to make it 3-0 and end the game as a contest, but the young Englishman's shot was thwarted by Pastor. But moments after that, two other substitutes combined to help Giroud score his third goal to complete his hattrick. A great first touch and lay-off from Hakim ZIyech into the path of N'Golo Kante gave the Frenchman room to drift in the perfect cross for Giroud to head in his and Chelsea's third of the night. The striker ghosted in between the two defenders and glanced in a header that the young keeper could do nothing about. This made Giroud the oldest player to score a hattrick in the Champions League.
But the former Arsenal man wasn't finished yet. With 8 minutes left on the clock, Sevilla defender Sergi Gomez brought down the Chelsea striker in the box and the referee immediately pointed to the spot. To no one's surprise, Giroud stepped up to take the penalty and fired it into the top right corner, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way.
This was truly Giroud's night as he was subbed off minutes later to what would've been rapturous applause if not for the pandemic. Chelsea strolled their way to the top spot in Group E, but it's not all doom and gloom for Sevilla as they had already clinched qualification into the Round of 16 prior to tonight's game.
Here are the player ratings for tonight's game.
Chelsea Player Ratings:
Edouard Mendy: 6
This was probably the most comfortable game that Mendy has had all season. The Chelsea shot-stopper was barely tested by Sevilla, but was reliable when called upon.
Emerson: 7.5
The Brazilian bombed up and down the flank and caused problems whenever he got forward. He was solid at the back as well with a 100% tackle success rate and 3/3 aerial duels won.
Antonio Rudiger: 7
Rock at the back. Dealt with everything Sevilla threw at him. Had a header cleared off the line.
Andreas Christensen: 7
Solid. A bit sloppy with his passing out from the back, but Sevilla didn't threaten enough to cause the Dane any problems
Cesar Azpilicueta: 7.5
The Chelsea captain put in a shift at the back, against the much younger and more mobile Idrissi. Azpilicueta negated any offense coming down Sevilla's left flank and also put in a dangerous cross that won Chelsea the penalty.
Jorginho: 6
Did not influence the game as much as he would have wanted to. The Italian was almost non existent at times in Chelsea's midfield while going forward, and was outshone by his more skillful teammates.
Mateo Kovacic: 8
The dynamic midfielder got forward and supported the attack whenever possible and was a pest for the Sevilla backline all night. Played a clever through ball into Giroud with the outside of his foot for the Frenchman's 2nd goal.
Kai Havertz: 8
Completed 91% of his passes. The young German orchestrated Chelsea's attack, playing almost as a false 9 at times. Showed good acceleration and vision to find Giroud in the box for the first goal of the night.
Christian Pulisic: 7.5
The American still looks rusty after coming back from injury, but if his performance in the first half is anything to go by, you can expect Pulisic to be back to his best sooner rather than later. The young winger ran at Sevilla's defenders at every chance he got. He looked menacing throughout the first half and in some parts of the second half, but he seemed rusty in front of goal.
Callum Hudson-Odoi: 7
The young lion had a battle on his hands for most of the night against Idrissi and Rekik. Not everything he tried came off, but he still looked dangerous.
Olivier Giroud: 9.9
Now, you may be asking, "Why not 10?" Well, the French striker did score the perfect hattrick and a penalty to boot, but he took 5 shots and only scored 4 of them. That one missed shot is between him and a perfect score. Deal with it.
Immense performance. Probably the most underrated player in the world. Frank Lampard has a selection dilemma on his hands for Chelsea's fixture at the weekend.
Substitutes
N'Golo Kante: 7
Came on in the 67th minute and did what he usually does. Ran around the pitch being a pest for opposition attackers. Got forward well down the right flank and provided the cross for Giroud and Chelsea's 3rd goal.
Mason Mount: 6.5
Really should have scored, but brought out a good save from Sevilla's goalkeeper. Will probably start for Chelsea at the weekend.
Hakim Ziyech: 7
Looked dangerous after coming on. Kept trying to make forward passes into dangerous areas. Had a brilliant first touch and lay-off to Kante for the 3rd goal.
Timo Werner: 6
Came on and made a few decent runs but didn't really have enough time to influence proceedings
Billy Gilmour: 6
Had even lesser time than Werner to make an impact on the game.
Sevilla Player Ratings
Alfonso Pastor: 5
Horror show for the youngster as he was helpless for all four of Chelsea's goals. Can only get better from here.
Karim Rekik: 4
Did well in his battle with Hudson-Odoi in the first half but was poor against Kante and Azpilicueta for Chelsea's 3rd and 4th goals.
Diego Carlos: 4.5
The young Brazilian was a rock at the back for most of the game. Had a good battle with Olivier Giroud throughout the game but ultimately ended up on the losing side as Giroud completely dominated the backline
Sergi Gomez: 3
Did not do as well as he could've done against Chelsea's irresistible attack. Ended up giving away the penalty after bringing Giroud down in the box.
Jesus Navas: 4.5
Got forward whenever he could and did get some joy down the right flank throughout the match. Navas couldn't make any significant chances to trouble Chelsea though.
Ivan Rakitic: 4
Tried hard to influence proceedings but was ineffective in the end. Rakitic had a good chance to score with a free kick in the first half which he hit into the wall.
Nemanja Gudelj: 4
A non factor in this game. Blasted a shot just over the bar at the start of the second half.
Oscar Rodriguez: 6
Sevilla's best player. Tormented Chelsea with his excellent deliveries into the box. Looks to have a bright future ahead of him.
Oussama Idrissi: 5
Did well down the left flank in the first half but was ultimately shut down by Chelsea's brilliant defense. Did not have an effect on proceedings in the second half.
Franco Vazquez: 5
Tried to get forward and make something happen but was often thwarted by a Chelsea defender. Made an acrobatic goal-line clearance in the first half which ultimately counted for nothing.
Youssef En-Nesyri: 5.5
Starved of service throughout the game but kept getting forward to try and make things happen. Pulled the Chelsea backline out of shape a couple of times by making smart runs down the channels.
Substitutes
Jules Kounde: 5
Came on early in the 2nd half and had a rare foray forward, but the young defender was not skilled enough with his feet to cause any problems to Chelsea. Did nothing wrong, but it didn't matter in the end.
Lucas Ocampos: 5
Picked up where Idrissi left off and continued to bomb down the wing, only to be stopped by Chelsea defense.
Joan Jordan: 3
His biggest contribution to the game was getting booked for an altercation with Chelsea's Hakim Ziyech before the final whistle.
Munir El-Haddadi: 4
Put himself about and strung together a few good passes with the midfielders, but his final ball was found wanting as he could not provide En-Nesyri with any effective service.
Oliver Torres: 4
Came on in 75th minute and made 10 passes. Got dispossessed twice and didn't really make a difference as Chelsea had already scored 4 by the time he was on.
