Chelsea have grown in confidence since they last met their Austrian opponents, that game ended in a 1-1 stalemate but they came away with all three points on this occasion to top the group with ten points.
Chelsea Qualify
After a difficult start to this year's qualifying campaign in the UEFA Champions League which began with a defeat, Chelsea have secured their way into the last 16 of the tournament with their 2-1 win against RB Salzburg. They are the first English team to seal their path into this year's knock-out stages with a game still to play at home to Dinamo Zagreb in the first week of November and though it wasn't always a walk in the park, overall, it was a solid European away night against a side who had won their last 40 home matches across all competitions.
Mateo's Magic
A first-time volley from the left boot of Mateo Kovacic on the edge of the penalty area opened the scoring for Chelsea at the mid-way point of the game's first half. An incredible strike that was a near replica of the Croatian's goal of the season nominee from the previous Premier League campaign against Liverpool in the fixture at Stamford Bridge.
The goal, which showed incredible technique, did not flatter Kovacic's performance as he was undoubtedly the best player on the pitch for the opening 45 minutes in which Chelsea looked sharp and created numerous chances. But his goal contributions are a rare thing and it was just his second goal for Chelsea in the competition and just his fifth goal for the club in his 197 appearances.
Unfortunately for Kovacic, his evening ended just after the hour mark having seemingly picked up a knock during the early stages of the first half.
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Shots Fired
A dominant Chelsea side bombarded the Salzburg goal and produced save after save from their goalkeeper Philipp Kohn in the latter stages of the first half. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had several shots saved, some more impressively than others, and Kai Havertz saw a tame header kept out by the Swiss under-21 international. It looked like a matter of time before Chelsea secured their second goal to kill of Salzburg, but after the half-time break, they were immediately rueing their missed opportunities. When Junior Adamu equalised for the hosts, Salzburg came to life. His goal, a one-touch finish, flew past Kepa Arrizabalaga to invoke wild cheers from the home crowd. Salzburg continued to press and contest each ball and put up a good fight for large parts of the second half.
Thiago Gold
A lot is made of Thiago Silva's age, but the Brazilian, now in his third season at Chelsea, is still at the peak of his capabilities and will surely represent his country at the World Cup 2022 next month. The 38 year-old has a depth of experience and pedigree in the Champions League that spans 14 consecutive seasons, to put that in context, Chelsea as a club have only registered five more seasons on their record than Silva has done as an individual.
For Chelsea, like his former clubs AC Milan and Paris Saint Germain, he puts his body on the line and reads the play often more intelligently than others. Silva made a goal-line clearance to help his team in the second half, covering for Kepa who had rushed off his line, keeping Salzburg at bay. Players like Trevor Chalobah, who has started the last six games for Chelsea, are learning from the best alongside Silva, suggesting that he will look to continue to play until he is at least 40, Silva continues to look a brilliant signing for the club, who they signed on a free transfer from PSG.
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Kai-boshed
Another sensational strike, this time from Kai Havertz in the 64th minute ended any prospects that Salzburg may have had in this fixture. Havertz, who was Chelsea's top scorer under the reign of former manager Thomas Tuchel has not featured as regularly under the management of Graham Potter and many have speculated that the German could be seeking a summer switch away from Stamford Bridge.
But Havertz started alongside Aubameyang instead of seeing himself replaced by the former Arsenal striker and scored his first away goal for Chelsea in the Champions League, with his 2021 final winning goal taking place in a neutral venue in Porto. On this occasion, Havertz showed great skill to curl the ball high into the top corner from outside the penalty area at a stage in the match when Chelsea were battling a rejuvenated Salzburg, piling pressure on Kepa Arrizabalaga and his Chelsea defence. Havertz will hope to be rewarded with some minutes in the Premier League this weekend.