Batshuayi steals it for Chelsea at the death
THIS felt like a big night, a big scalp, a big beast slain, for Chelsea on their return to the Champions League with the formidable and dogged Atletico Madrid defeated at home with the final kick of the match. It as also the first time Atletico have ever lost at home to English opposition.
The goal came from substitute Michy Batshuayi side-footing in from closerange to stun the home supporters and earn the kind of result that even this early in the competition, what Uefa call match day two, reverberates around Europe. Chelsea are back and have taken control of Group C.
It was Alvaro Morata’s evening also. The former Real Madrid striker, back in his hometown, scored the precious equalising goal and the Madridista did so, of course, with Diego Costa, the man who he replaced, sitting in the stands having completed his acrimonious return to Atletico Madrid.
The King is dead. Long live the Prince. Morata claimed his seventh goal in seven games for Chelsea but it was the Bat-man who won it.
“We want to see where we are,” said Antonio Conte in the moments before kick-off, with the Chelsea manager declaring this “a big game”. And it was a big game. A game which is usually the preserve of March or onwards when the Champions League becomes serious and only the serious players with serious aspirations, such as these two clubs and these two managers, are left. These opponents last met in the semi-finals, of course, in the months before Costa joined Chelsea in 2014.
There was a little more recent history, as far as Atletico’s fans are concerned, with Morata whose name was fiercely booed when it was read out. There were whistles, also, for him but he quickly showed the threatening form he is in as he went close with a couple of shots, dragged across goal, with Eden Hazard, who created both those chances, also then shooting into the side-netting following a clever run.
Chelsea continued to threaten with Hazard the sharp point of that as he proved by fashioning space 25 yards out and beating Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak – only for the ball to cannon back off the post after taking a deflection.
That was unlucky particularly because Chelsea’s positive start meant a goal then would not have been undeserved.
After 51 years at the chaotic, crumbling but charismatic Vicente Calderon, this was only Atletico’s third match and their first in European competition at their vast new home, the Wanda Metropolitano, built as part of Madrid’s failed bid to host the 1997 World Athletics Championships and closed in 2004 before Atletico converted it into a football stadium.
No one could fault the design lines or the red-hot atmosphere but certainly Chelsea were not fazed with Hazard continuing to be prominent.
As was Morata and the Spaniard was afforded another good chance with David Luiz’s precise, flighted cross-field ball picking him out only for Oblak to tip over his header. Chelsea continued to dominate but, with Atletico, there is always that nagging, dogged threat and so it transpired as they opened the scoring with a penalty.
It came from a corner with Luiz ruled to have pulled back defender Lucas Hernandez at the near post. Luiz was booked and the visitors’ protests were minimal.
Antoine Griezmann confidently thumped the spot-kick past Thibaut Courtois to make it three in three for him at this new home. Atletico were ahead.
It was a tough half-time scoreline on Conte’s men but it could have been worse as Courtois pushed out Koke’s powerful low drive and with the goal beckoning Saul Niguez sent the rebound wide.
Chelsea were frustrated and not least Marcos Alonso who argued that he had been pulled back by Juanfran in the Atletico penalty area, with a bear hug, without punishment.
So they tried to get into this and began to dominate, with Morata close to converting a dangerous Cesar Azpilicueta cross and then doing just that as he met an inviting, inswinging ball in from the left from Hazard to glance a header neatly beyond Oblak.
The pass out to Hazard had come from Luiz and the goal was the least Chelsea deserved. Atletico coach Diego Simeone responded by throwing on another striker – former Chelsea striker Fernando Torres – but it was Morata who again went close as he brilliantly out-stripped Hernandez on a counter-attack only to stab his right-foot shot across goal and wide as he bore down on Oblak.
Morata was later substituted - to an angry cacophony of boos - but that was music to his ears.
There was stunned silence also when the man who replaced him, Batshuayi, converted Alonso’s cross to win it. (© Daily Telegraph, London)