Champions League is back to action with Matchday-4 fixtures. On Tuesday, 24th November, all four teams from Group E were in action, Chelsea and Sevilla came out as winners with injury time goals.
Both Chelsea and Sevilla qualified for Round of 16 with 10 points each with two games remain to play. Krasnodar and Rennes were eliminated from the Champions league, with each team scored just one point from four games.
Group E Results :
Rennes 1 – 2 Chelsea :
(Hudson-Odoi 22′ , Giroud 90’+1 scores for Chelsea, while Guirassy 85′ scores for Rennes)
Chelsea had a major scare there but thanks to a stunning injury time header from Giroud, they go through to the round of 16 with a victory to boot. They rode their luck – Mendy was excellent – and looked like they would have to settle for a point until that improbable leap from the Frenchman gave them the spoils.
What a huge disappointment! Both of Chelsea’s goals came from the hosts giving the ball away, and Rennes’ overall play deserved a point. It’s been the same story in the group stage so far, but that one is such a bitter defeat to swallow. They – and I – thought they’d done enough to get something from it.
Frank Lampard, Chelsea manager : “I’m very happy to qualify with two games to spare. It was a really tough match, they’re a very good team. Their recent form doesn’t reflect how good they are, it was a tough hard-fought win.”
“He does things like he does tonight, he’s great. It wasn’t just his goal when he came on but his hold-up play and physicality. He’ll get his minutes because of the amount of games; you saw the reaction to his goal, and that wasn’t just because it was a late winner, it shows what he does day to day and what he means to the team.”
Julien Stéphan, Rennes coach: “I’m really disappointed for the players. Apart from the first 15 minutes, they put in a great performance. They caused Chelsea a lot of problems; I don’t think they’ve been troubled like that in recent games. Unfortunately, we got punished at the end.”
“The players put in a huge amount of energy, and there was quality when we had the ball. We deserved better, but football isn’t about what you deserve, it’s about the scoreline. Once again, they were more clinical than us.”
“We were a few seconds away from having a point more than Krasnodar. Now we go there level. We need to either win or draw with a lot of goals. It’s maybe a ‘final’ for the Europa League, but unless we lose there, it still won’t be over.”
Krasnodar 1 – 2 Sevilla :
(Rakitić 4′, Munir 90’+5 scores for Sevilla, Wanderson 56′ scores for home side Krasnodar)
Last time against Krasnodar, Sevilla thrilled with a fightback from two behind. This time they showed their resilience again, snatching victory through Munir’s first goal in the competition. In truth, after starting so well and controlling the first period, they lost their way a little in the second half but still delivered the late twist which ensures they remain firmly in the hunt for first place in the section. In short, you can never write this Sevilla side off.
We could have said Krasnodar deserved the draw with the way the team got back into the game, creating chance after chance in the second half. But the Bulls scored just once, while Sevilla showed their resilience and enough fuel in their tanks for the final push.
Murad Musaev, Krasnodar coach: “We can only blame ourselves for this result. We were good but only in some parts of the game. And of course we should’ve played until the end of the game. It was unacceptable to concede a goal like that in the final minutes.”
Sevilla coach Julen Lopetegui: “Qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions League is fantastic. It’s very difficult and to do it in our fourth match is something unthinkable. Very few teams are going to achieve that so you have to see the merit of it. Now we’ve got the remaining aim of finishing first.”
“We’ve had a lot of difficulties in this atypical season, in which we’ve been punished a lot by injuries. We’re a team who barely had a pre-season, we had five days’ rest but we can’t change that. What we can change is our response, our attitude, our character, the unity in the group and the confidence the lads create and how they compete. That’s the most important thing.”
“In professional football you suffer and in the Champions League, even more. This is the elite. You don’t win without suffering. You have to recognise the value it has.”
