Graham Potter’s first game as Chelsea manager ended in disappointment as the Blues were held to a 1-1 draw by RB Salzburg at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League.
Raheem Sterling’s curled finish had given the Blues a deserved lead just after half time, but they were pegged back in the 76th minute as Noah Okafor’s close-range effort secured a draw for the Austrian champions.
Chelsea will surely regret their failure to take a string of chances in the first half, and again in a frenetic last ten minutes as they desperately sought a winner. Perhaps even worse, the Blues took their foot off the gas in the second half when in complete control, opening the door for inferior opponents to snatch an unlikely point.
Story of the Match
Potter’s first team selection saw Chelsea lined up in a 3-5-2, with Raheem Sterling in an unfamiliar left wing-back role, and new centre backs Kalidou Koulibaly and Wesley Fofana dropping to the bench. However, if the new boss’s first line-up surprised, it certainly looked like a smart choice in the first half as the home side totally dominated.
Those who watched Potter’s Brighton will have found the Blues early patterns of play familiar, as they repeatedly worked the ball inside and then quickly back out to the flanks to create crossing opportunities. The combination play between Sterling, Kai Havertz and Marc Cucurella down the left looked particularly promising.
Also familiar here, for both club and manager, was the failure to turn good play into goals. In the 18th minute, Reece James went past his man as if he wasn’t there and stood a beautiful cross up to Sterling at the back post, only for the England man to be crowded out. Then, after another superb turn by James, his fizzed cross was just overhit and out of reach of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Another Sterling effort in the 39th minute was blocked from close range, and then Mason Mount flashed a half-volley inches wide from the edge of the box. It seemed only a matter of time before the Blues went in front.
Their frustration would continue to the end of the half. A teasing ball from Sterling in the 44th minute fell in an inviting spot 6-yards out, but with no Chelsea player there to capitalise. Kai Havertz could be seen curiously watching on rather than attacking it.
In the 48th minute, the Potter era finally got off the mark. Superb play saw James beat his man on the right for the umpteenth time and release Mason Mount. His cross squirmed away from two Salzburg defenders and found Sterling, who took a touch and curled into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
Then came the strange bit. Rather than spurring the home side on to a comfortable victory, the goal had a sedatory effect. Chelsea, clearly far superior, kept the ball happily without looking bothered about scoring a second. Chances to cross the ball or play through-balls were spurned, and apart from a couple of speculative balls over the top by Jorginho towards Aubameyang, the urgency evaporated from the next quarter of the game.
The 74th minute brought a warning side for the hosts. Swiss international Noah Okafor missed a glorious chance to equalise, heading straight at Kepa from 6 yards out when free. If the home fans were beginning to wonder whether their side was going to blow it after being so dominant, they at least didn’t have to wait long for the answer.
Just two minutes later, an uncharacteristically weak challenge from Thiago Silva allowed Junior Adamu in down the right and his low ball was met by Okafor six yards out. His connection was scuffed but enough nonetheless to take the ball past the despairing dive of Kepa, and just like that the Austrians were level with one of their four shots in the match.
Suddenly, Chelsea came back to life. Ruben Loftus-Cheek, fresh from the bench, was hauled down as he breezed past Strahinja Pavlovic on the right. From the resulting free kick, Cucurella cut the ball back to James who blasted over.
Having already brought on Loftus-Cheek and Armando Broja, Potter threw on Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic and Conor Gallagher in the last 10 minutes as he chased victory on his opening night. The subs all contributed to a grandstand finish that saw a string of chances go begging.
First, a scintillating breakaway from a Kepa throw out saw Broja cross for Ziyech, who was denied by the keeper from close range. Then another chance came and went for Ziyech as Pulisic’s cross found him at the back post, only for him to head a tame effort straight at the keeper.
Two minutes into injury time, and Ziyech’s deep cross eventually found its way to Broja. The ball sat up beautifully for the Albanian, eight yards out, but he blazed over. Finally, yet another chance for Ziyech, who scuffed a volley straight at the keeper from a presentable position with what proved to be the last kick of the game.
Ultimately, Chelsea need to win games like this if they are going to progress in the Champions League. Having lost away to Dinamo Zagreb last weekend, they now sit on just one point after two games, with back-to-back fixtures against Italian champions AC Milan to come. Failure to progress from the group would be unthinkable but it is a genuine possibility now.
Potter will now have two and a half weeks to work with his players before their next fixture, away to Crystal Palace, before that double-header with Milan. He will be hoping their wastefulness here was nothing more than opening night nerves.
Player of the Match - Reece James
The Blues' academy graduate was restored to his preferred position at right-wing back here and he did not disappoint. James' physicality was simply too much for Andreas Ulmer, whom he went past at will, one such roasting eventually leading to the goal.