a warm welcome blue is the color football is the game as the old song used to go
we're here at stamford bridge tonight in west london my name is derek ray and
i'm joined for commentary by the former arsenal and west ham player stuart robson
and what we have for you tonight is live champions league group stage match day one action
stuart what are your expectations for today well thanks derek this should be a tight group so it's
vital these teams get off to a good start here this should be a very competitive game tonight
here's the lineup for chelsea edward mendy starts in goal antonio rudiger plays alongside thiago
silva in central defence and golocante starts alongside matteo kovacich in central midfield and
as for the attack well it has a bold look about it with three forwards listed from the beginning
and this is the initial eleven for the visitors today
voice gensley is the goalkeeper danilo starts with alex sandro as fullbacks juan cuadrado
starts with federico quieza on the flanks and morata is the main striker for this match
it's the opening match day champions league group stage match day one underway
can they exploit the space out wide and crossing towards the far post
attending to his defensive chores cover ch
and habits
kante here's cover chips effective challenge
well we used to think of timo vienna as the classic counter attacking forward but he's a
lot more versatile now stuart what do you expect to see from him well the best players are the ones
that can play in tight areas and he can certainly play in tight areas he wriggles out situations
he can find that penetrative pass and he's such a good player when he gets the ball out of his feet
and gets shots away he could be the outstanding player today and the cross is very much on in
position up that's high level goalkeeping well that's a fantastic save he's such a good keeper
mount opportunity to take the lead can't sit back kante
chilwell and delivered into the box it comes to absolutely nothing mount oh great block
playing it in outrageously good piece of defending
on the line but it did look dangerous for a moment but the keeper has it now
lockatelli
giving the ball to the opposition that time
conte losing custody of it kante
oh a nice looking pass he just needs to remain icy cool and he's done it here
dybala to put his team in front and give them a boost
well here it is again the through ball is absolutely inch perfect but really
the goalkeeper should never be exposed that easily great team goal but woeful defending
so chelsea get things going again how will they reply to that setback
kai habits
mount aspiely now
possession lost by chelsea here well the visitors as you can see haven't
enjoyed the majority of possession but their speed of attack when they win the
ball back has been breathtaking it's been a really good performance from them so far
well they want that equalizer but their passing remains
smooth superb block
cuadrado paul with danilo in a position from which they could potentially do a bit of damage here
morata it's there for him well really fine goalkeeping good diving stop
trying to deliver it accurately
and the referee has given the corner so maybe scope here for them to add to their lead
can someone get on the end of this that's all they can conjure for now rabio
and so the first half draws to a close here in west london
eye-catching and effective in the first half paulo dybala well i thought he had a really effective
first half not only did he get the goal that gave him the lead but his general play was really good
he was a constant threat and i'm sure we'll see more of him in the second half
and so the second half of this champions league group stage match day one contest commences
radio alex sandro now locately
good pass and that is offside
wonderful challenge and a throw-in coming up
might be able to set up the chance
oh he's blocked it
a foul it most certainly was free-kick given
well a little lucky to get away without a card might be his last warning though
given away by chelsea morata will he find the net well the threat was very real marvelous defending
habits well he's given us away
so a half an hour remaining an inability to keep hold of the ball there
oh tight offside decision but the flag does go up and time for the change now
foreign
well nicely cut out now what can they do with the ball
he must finish well it's gone in a goal for chelsea who now are level
well here it is again and the pace in which they break forward is devastating it's so hard
to defend against and then the shot could not be hit any better struck with such venom great goal
so underway again here on the back of that leveler
it's with dybala and they continue to advance and a lot of options here deliver
towards morata back post well in fact a bit too close to the goalkeeper
and that was always going to be claimed tremendous ball played through
lukaku might do damage and there it is two goals in a matter of minutes incredible stuff
well here it is again and it's all about the pace in transition
they're so quick to get out from the back and when he gets onto it he decides to go for power
it's a really emphatic finish which gives the keeper no chance
well the dramatic moment near the end and that might well be the decider
held up by morassa anticipating that the support would arrive
well almost at the end of the game now it's been a fascinating contest
and it's chelsea with a very narrow advantage stuart what have you made of their performance
well they should have had this wrapped up long ago some of their football has been excellent but
they're gonna need to be resilient in these final few minutes to get their much deserved victory
good pressure high up the pitch
danilo
so following the deflection a corner kick coming up here so making the substitution now
someone get on the end of this did his job defensively
oh surely well at this stage of the game you have
to be more ruthless well that just might be their last chance what a miss that is
mateo kovacic and the electronic board delivers the news two minutes of stoppage time
and the keeper stretching to deny him another
goal from this corner would in all likelihood secure victory
who's going to get on the end of it well he wasn't messing around with the clearance
so full time it is under morale boosting three points on the board to begin the european campaign
yeah it's so vital to get off to a quick start in these group stages they'll be happy with the three
points but now they have to back it up in the next game six points and you're halfway there well
he's done what he sets out to do lukaku tonight well he gave them a really hard time didn't he
his speed of thought was excellent and he took the winning goal so well he was brilliant today