well just the sort of weather the fans were hoping for this evening it's absolutely ideal
my name is derek ray and ready with his tactics board to provide all the analysis
is stuart robson and without doubt a match with the potential to bring genuine excitement it is
chelsea and they face al-hilal well thanks derek as always the scene is set two good teams great
playing surface and a vibrant atmosphere has all the ingredients for a really exciting game
number five
this is how it looks for chelsea edward mendy starts in goal
antonio rudiger plays alongside thiago silva in central defence and gono conte starts
alongside georginio in the center of midfield and leading the attack today is romelu lukaku
want to look at the starting lineup for al hilal
well i think they have a nice balance to their team a solid back four two holding midfielders
three creative players in advance of them and a mobile center forward it's a good team
thank you enjoy the game
it should be a match to look forward to chelsea get it underway
straightforward piece of goalkeeping
gustavo cuellar possession and patience the watchwords well they have it again
useful looking position you've got to say but ultimately upper cul-de-sac
now he could pick out a teammate mohammed al-buric
so a throw in here
and that's gone out of play for what will be a goal kick
oh
well they could run onto it
here and they keep the ball advantage chelsea still level here
but the pressure escalating the high press was on and that's a fantastic tackle
verna can he put them in front blocked it brilliantly
can he finish and a goal it is but offside is the verdict
well it's a good finish but he was just offside great decision by the assistant
rhys james and teammates to play it too rather than a free kick it's advantage chelsea
and golo kante mount tackling and winning the ball to boot
mount can he give them the lead
oh wonderful save well he reacts so quickly there that's a great save
oh he's gone short with it
then well somehow the goalkeeper got to it
i'm taking shorts
really good challenge
they might be able to get in now
this is looking threatening what a block plays it back another block
setting off perhaps a little bit too much here salem al dosari now they keep working away looking
for passing lanes crossed accurately towards the far post not all that convincing defensively
yo and as they continue to pass it around the attack goes through lukaku
but really sticking to the task defensively
far from a good pass
well as the stats confirm chelsea have controlled the ball but it's been a
frustrating performance from them so far they just haven't had enough gail in the final third
it's all been a bit too predictable which has to change if they want to win this one
now they're keeping their opponents moving and guessing how about the cross
jorginho nice looking pass marcus alonso he's protecting it effectively oh that
takes the wind out of their sails great defending
defending to win the ball back and the counter-attack is on options available
could be dangerous superb defensive judgment to end the attack
well there is going to be stoppage time but only the one minute marcos alonso
first half here comes to an end
well timo verna very well contained you've got to say stuart
well he's been very quiet so far he just hasn't got away from his marker
he needs to find a spark from somewhere and start testing this goalkeeper
so they get the ball rolling in the second half even steven here
so little to choose between the sides
gustavo cuellar
no potential danger alburike options in the center
that's someone to play it to another classic example of how to intercept
angola conte could be a chance to break here
lukaku alonso
a really effective shielding under pressure
a goal to give them a one-nil lead an excellent value for that advantage you've got to say
well here's the replay and in many ways it doesn't do justice to how patient they were
in the build-up just so composed waiting for the right moment and then what a strike
that's hit with such ferocity certainly no stopping that that's a great goal
so underway again here one nil to score
difficult to stop him
and a chance to whip it in here another great challenge free kick here
both managers deciding this is the time to change things around both teams going to the bench
and deep into the penalty area a very effective clearance
well sitting deep like this might be a dangerous game offside by a fraction
and chelsea moving the ball forward what can they do from here
making use of his physical strength to hang on to it
how about this
and a tidy bowl
foreign far from a good pass
well it could be on for him here
mount a big opportunity and it's a goal from the bright young american christian pulisic
well here's the goal again and it's a really nice ball to put him through the vision to
set up the chance he's outstanding and he makes the finish look so easy what a good goal that is
20 minutes remaining
al-shahrani
gomez going well it needs an accurate cross
series failed to keep hold of it and they keep the ball advantage chelsea
and both hands on it good goalkeeping
or sloppy in possession
crossing opportunity mohammed al-bureich onto carrillo for the vendor doing his job
well let's see what they have in store for them on the break can they take advantage of the situation
but after that fantastic effort it's gone out for a throw-in
well the referee allowed them to continue but now he's going to go back and hand out the yellow card
steward well he thought he was going to get away with that but quite rightly he's got a booking
and it is substitution time at this juncture not just from one side but from both
and options in the center angola conte and back with habits it looks promising james conte
and pulisic has it the cut back lukaku
and it goes down as a missed opportunity from there
well they've decided to make a change
on to carrillo
effortlessly
hudson odoi james and plenty of space for this chelsea attack
well that's how to do it inside your own penalty area
well we are going to have a decent amount of stoppage time three minutes to be exact sali
effective looking pass
good looking cross well the cross didn't get past the first defender
and that is full-time chelsea have prevailed three points for them
what did you make of it all absolutely derek it was fairly comfortable in the
end because they were tactically superior had better individuals and were always a
threat going forward it was a really good performance and a good result as well
but it was a fantastic showing from christian pulisic stuart keen to get your assessment what
caught your eye in particular well he should be pleased with himself today because he performed
really well he scored a good goal and they won the game an excellent day all round