Shame for Blues again
Anti-Semitic chants follow scandal over Sterling abuse
JUST how much more damage can Chelsea’s image take?
Five days after the Raheem Sterling incident which shamed the club, Blues fans needed to be beyond reproach last night.
Just like Saturday, however, it only took a small, vocal minority to make it difficult for everyone else. What should have been a headline-free, dead rubber here in freezing Hungary instead turned into another night on which Chelsea were forced into damagelimitation mode.
It is tough on a club that has worked hard to try and impress upon the troublesome section of their fan base the need to get their act together.
They have a Jewish owner in Roman Abramovich, they have a sizeable Jewish fan base and next spring they will play New England Revolution in Boston to highlight their fight against antiSemitism. All money from ticket sales will go to the cause while Abramovich will donate an additional $1million to the cause. Now this. With the spotlight already on the club, Chelsea executives here were left fuming. How do you solve a problem like fans who think nothing of using language known to cause offence?
Once again head coach Maurizio Sarri was left fielding the kind of questions football managers should not have to answer. Especially when, for a game that meant nothing to the Premier League title-chasers, the action on the pitch was quite entertaining.
Sarri had made 10 changes, starting 18-year-old Ethan Ampadu and Andreas Christensen, 22, in central defence.
Callum Hudson-Odoi, another 18-year-old, impressed on the right of a front three while Ruben Loftus-Cheek made his mark in midfield. Experienced players Willian, Alvaro Morata and Cesc Fabregas were among the starters and it was Willian who curled in a delicious free-kick to open the scoring after half an hour.
Ampadu headed into his own net from a corner just two minutes later and Vidi grew in confidence. Defender Loic Nego put Vidi ahead with a fantastic volley 11 minutes after half time but Olivier Giroud came off the bench to hit
back with a stunning free-kick equaliser, 15 minutes from the end.
He had replaced Morata who hurt his knee while shooting from Hudson-Odoi’s cross late in the first half. Giroud is now the Blues’ only fit striker.
On the basis of Morata’s form this season, however, that might not necessarily be a bad thing. Sarri insisted afterwards that he does not think the injury is too serious, with an update expected today. Chelsea fans will not want
the club to rush things, however, and will most likely be delighted with the idea of the more robust Giroud starting at Brighton on Sunday.
MOL VIDI (4-3-2-1): Kovacsik; Fiola, Juhasz, Vinicius, Stopira; Nego, Hadzic (Patkai 85), Nikolov; Milanov (Kovacs 80), Huszti (Hodzic 80); Scepovic. Booked: Juhasz, Stopira, Nego, Huszti. Goals: Ampadu 32 og, Nego 56.
CHELSEA (4-3-3): Caballero; Zappacosta, Ampadu, Christensen, Emerson; Barkley, Fabregas, Loftus-Cheek; Hudson-Odoi, Morata (Giroud 45), Willian (Pedro 56). Booked: Loftus-Cheek. Goals: Willian 30, Giroud 75.
Referee: A Stavrev (Macedonia).