Match ends, Malmö 0, Chelsea 1.
Malmö FFMalmö FF0ChelseaChelsea1
Reigning champions Chelsea moved closer to the last 16 of the Champions League with a hard-fought win over Malmo in Sweden.
After being frustrated in the first half, the Blues went ahead when Hakim Ziyech converted at the back post following an excellent cross from Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Thiago Silva nearly grabbed a second but his glancing header was cleared off the line by Anel Ahmedhodzic.
It was another masterful defensive display from Thomas Tuchel's side, who denied Malmo a single shot on target.
Chelsea have nine points from four matches in Group H and are three points behind Juventus, who booked their place in the last 16 with two games to spare when they beat Zenit St Petersburg.
Chelsea need one more point to join the Italians in the knockout stages.
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Another strong Chelsea defensive showing
Malmo, managed by ex-Newcastle striker Jon Dahl Tomasson, were playing their 12th match in this season's competition after battling through four rounds of qualifying, knocking out Rangers on the way.
However, they had suffered heavy losses in their three previous group matches, including a 4-0 defeat by Tuchel's team at Stamford Bridge in October.
Only the form of home goalkeeper Johan Dahlin denied Chelsea a first-half goal as he kept out efforts, albeit sometimes unconvincingly, from Cesar Azpilicueta, Ziyech, Kai Havertz and Andreas Christensen, while England midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek twice narrowly missed the target.
A capacity crowd at the Eleda Stadion produced a fine atmosphere with the home fans trying to inspire their team to their first Champions League point of the season.
Top goalscorer Antonio Colak almost gave the supporters something to cheer about in first-half injury time as he showed great technique to connect with a volley from a long ball forward, but could only steer the shot wide.
Soren Rieks also put a half volley wide early in the second half as the Swedish league leaders threatened to cause a shock.
Loftus-Cheek, lively in only his fifth start of the season, had an effort parried by the erratic Dahlin before Marcos Alonso's glanced header was blocked.
But Chelsea, just as they had done in their 3-0 win over Newcastle on Saturday, had to be patient before eventually making the breakthrough, which came in the 56th minute.
Hudson-Odoi, on the right wing, played a one-two with Havertz and then produced an exquisite low cross which evaded Ahmedhodzic and Dahlin, with Ziyech putting the ball away at the back post.
Chelsea were again without injured strike-pair Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner, while Mason Mount had not recovered from an illness that also saw him miss the Newcastle game.
But there was one returning player as United States midfielder Christian Pulisic came on as a second-half substitute for his first club appearance since August after an ankle injury had kept him out for two months.
Another pleasing aspect for Tuchel was yet another impressive performance from his defence as they kept their 10th clean sheet from 17 matches in all competitions.
Player of the match
ChristensenAndreas Christensen
with an average of 7.91
Malmö FF
Avg
- Squad number24Player nameNielsenAverage rating
5.30
- Squad number27Player nameDahlinAverage rating
4.99
- Squad number15Player nameAhmedhodzicAverage rating
4.81
- Squad number9Player nameColakAverage rating
4.81
- Squad number37Player nameNanasiAverage rating
4.73
- Squad number22Player nameNalicAverage rating
4.68
- Squad number5Player nameRieksAverage rating
4.61
- Squad number6Player nameLewickiAverage rating
4.60
- Squad number7Player nameRakipAverage rating
4.59
- Squad number32Player nameBergetAverage rating
4.58
- Squad number19Player nameBirmancevicAverage rating
4.54
- Squad number20Player nameInnocentAverage rating
4.47
- Squad number31Player nameBrorssonAverage rating
4.43
- Squad number13Player nameOlssonAverage rating
4.37
- Squad number2Player nameLarssonAverage rating
4.37
- Squad number8Player namePeñaAverage rating
4.37
Chelsea
Avg
- Squad number4Player nameChristensenAverage rating
7.91
- Squad number12Player nameLoftus-CheekAverage rating
7.81
- Squad number20Player nameHudson-OdoiAverage rating
7.75
- Squad number22Player nameZiyechAverage rating
7.63
- Squad number6Player nameThiago SilvaAverage rating
7.60
- Squad number16Player nameMendyAverage rating
7.59
- Squad number2Player nameRüdigerAverage rating
7.53
- Squad number29Player nameHavertzAverage rating
7.40
- Squad number28Player nameAzpilicuetaAverage rating
7.37
- Squad number5Player nameJorginhoAverage rating
7.26
- Squad number10Player namePulisicAverage rating
6.83
- Squad number18Player nameBarkleyAverage rating
6.75
- Squad number3Player nameAlonsoAverage rating
5.97
Line-ups
Malmö FF
Formation 3-5-2
- 27Dahlin
- 15Ahmedhodzic
- 24Nielsen
- 31Brorsson
- 32BergetSubstituted forLarssonat 86'minutes
- 7RakipSubstituted forBirmancevicat 86'minutes
- 20Innocent
- 8PeñaSubstituted forLewickiat 58'minutes
- 5RieksSubstituted forOlssonat 57'minutes
- 9Colak
- 37NanasiSubstituted forNalicat 74'minutes
Substitutes
- 1Ellborg
- 2Larsson
- 4Moisander
- 6Lewicki
- 13Olsson
- 17Abubakari
- 19Birmancevic
- 21Gwargis
- 22Nalic
- 29Eile
- 30Diawara
Chelsea
Formation 3-4-2-1
- 16Mendy
- 4Christensen
- 6Thiago SilvaBooked at 69mins
- 2Rüdiger
- 28Azpilicueta
- 12Loftus-CheekBooked at 80mins
- 5Jorginho
- 3Alonso
- 22ZiyechSubstituted forBarkleyat 74'minutes
- 20Hudson-OdoiSubstituted forPulisicat 74'minutes
- 29Havertz
Substitutes
- 1Arrizabalaga
- 10Pulisic
- 13Bettinelli
- 14Chalobah
- 17Saúl
- 18Barkley
- 21Chilwell
- 24James
- 31Sarr
- 68Vale
- Referee:
- Dr. Felix Brych
- Attendance:
- 19,551
Match Stats
Home TeamMalmö FFAway TeamChelsea
- Possession
- Home27%
- Away73%
- Shots
- Home4
- Away22
- Shots on Target
- Home0
- Away11
- Corners
- Home1
- Away8
- Fouls
- Home12
- Away9
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Malmö 0, Chelsea 1.
Post update
Offside, Chelsea. Kai Havertz tries a through ball, but Christian Pulisic is caught offside.
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Ross Barkley (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Eric Larsson (Malmö).
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Jorginho (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Antonio-Mirko Colak (Malmö).
Post update
Foul by Antonio Rüdiger (Chelsea).
Post update
Veljko Birmancevic (Malmö) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Offside, Malmö. Eric Larsson tries a through ball, but Antonio-Mirko Colak is caught offside.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Andreas Christensen (Chelsea) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Ross Barkley.
Substitution
Substitution, Malmö. Veljko Birmancevic replaces Erdal Rakip.
Substitution
Substitution, Malmö. Eric Larsson replaces Jo Inge Berget because of an injury.
Booking
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Post update
Foul by Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea).
Post update
Erdal Rakip (Malmö) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Marcos Alonso (Chelsea) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Post update
Foul by Bonke Innocent (Malmö).
Post update
Attempt missed. Ross Barkley (Chelsea) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Antonio Rüdiger with a headed pass.
Post update
Attempt saved. Kai Havertz (Chelsea) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Ruben Loftus-Cheek with a through ball.
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Comments
Join the conversation
- Chelsea Job done
- RLC is amazing (even at this deep position)
- MOTM: Malmo crowd
Champions of Europe.
And a win is a win is a win as the south bootle rovers appreciation society say!
😁
destroy teams in the PL get the job done in the CL
Job done, move on.
Hopefully no injuries and a few minutes for Pulisic.
Even with a raft of players out, and no fit recognised striker, they are steam-rollering everyone in recent weeks.
The season is still young, but signs are good for Chelsea - the fact that Mount, James, Hudson-Odoi, Loftus-Cheek, Chilwell and Chalobah are performing so well means that the signs are good for England too.
Three points was all that was needed - same if it’s 1-0 or 4-0.
But RLC looked like the closest England have got to Zidane …(same physical strength, running style, technique & the ability to hold/slow the ball/beat an opponent when needed)
At 25, he needs games, goals/assists & consistency
Chelsea are very very lucky if he goes on to 1/4 of Zizou’s career