BLUES ARE SAVED BY HAZARD
EDEN HAZARD rescued Chelsea’s unbeaten start to the Champions League after Roma had fought back from two down.
The Belgian gave the Blues a two-goal lead in the first half after David Luiz’s wonderful opener.
But the Serie A side fought back, with Aleksandar Kolarov scoring before Edin Dzeko netted twice in six minutes.
That lead lasted just five minutes as Hazard levelled to keep Chelsea’s two-point lead at the top of Group C intact.
Blues boss Antonio Conte: “It was a difficult game against a good team. In the first half we suffered, our performance was good but our football wasn’t up to our usual standard.
“We suffered by losing possession and it wasn’t easy after the break.”
They just can’t escape the spectre of Manchester City.
Crushed in the Premier League by Pep Guardiola’s team two weeks ago, Conte’s men were undone by two of Roma’s Etihad old boys.
After two successive defeats, normal service looked to have been resumed for the Italian gaffer and his troubled side as half-time approached.
He needed this result. For morale as much as the three points.
Especially with Carlo Ancelotti tweeting pictures of himself at Stamford Bridge pre-match.
Conte needed to take advantage of Atletico Madrid’s slip-up at Qarabag hours earlier.
It was indeed Roma who found themselves having to batten down the hatches early on. Chelsea started fast and took the game to their in-form visitors with Luiz drawing first blood.
The Brazilian arrived to support an 11th-minute attack, at first attempting to thread the ball to Alvaro Morata.
The ball was cut out by defender Juan Jesus but the centre-back could do nothing about the vicious drive as Luiz instead went for goal himself.
The effort curled around keeper Alisson Becker and nestled in the bottom corner.
Chelsea may have led but Roma remained a threat. Radja Nainggolan forced a fabulous save from Thibaut Courtois on the half hour.
Chelsea haven’t looked the same side since they beat Atletico Madrid in Spain. But they heeded the warnings here.
Morata’s attempted shot fell to Hazard who made no mistake.
But then Kolarov struck back, ghosting between Davide Zappacosta and Cesar Azpilicueta to send a deflected effort past Courtois. Game on.
Roma smelled blood. From Federico Fazio’s ball over the top in the 64th minute, Dzeko volleyed in a sublime equaliser.
And from Kolarov’s free-kick, Dzeko headed home unchallenged. This was turning into a nightmare for Conte.
Hazard rescued a point with his second in 75 minutes, heading in from Pedro’s cross but this was another unconvincing display from Chelsea.