Published 18:58 IST, September 18th 2019
UEFA Champions League 2019: Chelsea Lose Home Game Against Valencia
UEFA Champions League 2019, Chelsea vs Valencia held on 18 Sept 2019 in London. Valencia won by 0-1 against Chelsea for the first time after losing 11 times.
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The UEFA Champions League is a European football club competition which is held annually and organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). As the 2019-20 season kicked off, the last match in Group H was Chelsea vs Valencia held on 18th September 2019. The venue for the match was Stamford Bridge, London. Valencia defeated Chelsea 0-1 to bag a big away win on the opening day of the UEFA Champions League. Previously, the two teams have faced each other in this competition and Chelsea's young squad couldn't contain a tough Valencia side. Here's what happened during the game.
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Highlights of Chelsea vs Valencia Group H fixture
Tammy Abraham, after his hat-trick against Wolves, was denied a maiden Champions League goal when his near-post flick was blocked by Valencia goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen. Within 16 minutes of the game, Chelsea youngster Mason Mount experienced a painful introduction to European football when former Arsenal midfielder Francis Coquelin went hard on Mount with a sliding challenge which was clearly a foul. The tackle yielded only a yellow card which looked like a clear red but the tackle cost Mount who was taken off by Frank Lampard. Chelsea's biggest chance came from Willian and he nearly scored when he made an attempt to control a cross with his chest and saw a first-time effort fly inches over.
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Frank Lampard loses first CL game
Early in the second half, Marcos Alonso took the game to Valencia when he shot a free-kick under the visitor’s poor wall which Cillessen tipped behind for a corner, from which the left-back headed over at the near post. Valencia forward Rodrigo gave the Chelsea defence a slip when there were 16 minutes remaining in the game which gave Valencia a 0-1 lead with their first-effort on target. He raced into Chelsea’s area and made an attempt towards the goal that went past Kepa into the top corner. With five minutes remaining in the game, Chelsea appealed for a handball and the replay showed Tomori’s header being blocked by a Valencia defender's hand. A penalty was awarded after a long VAR review but it was of no use as Ross Barkley ended up crashing his attempt against the bar and it was a big opportunity missed for Chelsea. Frank Lampard lost his first Champions League game in charge of Chelsea and after matchday one, the English club would look to get their Champions League campaign underway with a win in the next game against LOSC Lille. Valencia will play Dutch champions Ajax next.
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08:14 IST, September 18th 2019