In the last match before heading to the Club World Cup, Chelsea found it difficult to defeat Plymouth Argyle, in the fourth round of the FA Cup, with a goal in extra time. Despite having been superior practically throughout the match, the tight result of the Blues can give hope to the Palmeiras fan.
Chelsea did not have Tomas Tüchel on the sidelines, as the coach tested positive for Covid-19 moments before the match. With that, the German will not accompany the delegation on the trip to Abu Dhabi, but will go to the Worlds as soon as he is released.
Even without the coach, the Blues entered the field with many starters, such as Lukaku, Jorginho, Kovacic, Ziyech and Rüdiger. The match just didn’t go to penalty kicks because goalkeeper Kepa saved a penalty charged by Hardiel at the end of the second half of extra time.
Plymouth opened the scoring in the 7th minute of the opening period. After a free kick from the left, defender Gillesphey headed into the back of the net. Chelsea reacted and hit three balls on the post until the equalizer, scored in the 40th minute, by Azpilicueta.
Throughout the 90 minutes, the Blues were superior, but they missed many opportunities and showed difficulty in the defensive part. The winning goal came in the 15th minute of the first half of extra time, with Marcos Alonso. In the end, Plymouth Argyle went on top and had a penalty in their favor, saved by Kepa.
Chelsea debut in the Club World Cup on Wednesday (9), at 1:30 pm. The opponent of the English team in the semi-final of the competition will be decided this Sunday (6), at 1:30 pm, between Al Hilal and Al Jazira.
