Injury-time winners send Chelsea, Sevilla to UCL knockout stage
Chelsea and Sevilla became the first sides to secure progression to the last 16 of the Champions League following dramatic late victories over Rennes and Krasnodar, respectively, in Group E play on Tuesday.
The Blues booked their spot in the knockout round for the second season on the spin after substitute Olivier Giroud played the hero with a 91st-minute strike in a 2-1 victory at Roazhon Park in Brittany.
Sevilla, meanwhile, got an even later tally to progress, with Munir El Haddadi scoring in the 95th minute to secure a similar 2-1 triumph.
Callum Hudson-Odoi expertly broke the deadlock for Chelsea midway through the first half after Mason Mount sprung his countryman on the break with a penetrative pass from inside his own half. Hudson-Odoi calmly beat Rennes ‘keeper Alfred Gomis in a one-on-one situation to register his second goal of the Champions League campaign.
The hosts were chasing shadows for much of the opening half before a spell of strong attacking play in the 10 minutes leading up to the interval. Summer signing Serhou Guirassy tested former Rennes ‘keeper Edouard Mendy seven minutes before the break, and the French striker had another chance moments later when Ben Chilwell was dispossessed 40 yards from his own goal.
Guirassy was presented with another prime opportunity to level in the 74th minute, only for Mendy to deny him. Then, seconds later, Mendy pounced on a goalmouth scramble from one of Les Rouges et Noirs 11 corners.
Former Amiens standout Guirassy would get his goal five minutes from time when he headed home unmarked on Benjamin Bourigeaud’s corner.
The Frenchman’s sixth goal on the campaign looked like it was enough to secure the point before countryman Giroud headed a spinning rebound off the palms of Gomis into the top netting.
In Russia, Ivan Rakitic gave Sevilla a fourth-minute advantage when the midfielder struck Lucas Ocampos’ poorly cleared cross from just outside the box and into the bottom corner past a lunging Evgeniy Gorodov.
Rakitic has now scored in both matches against Krasnodar, giving the former Croatian international three goals in all competitions on his Sevilla return following a celebrated six-season spell at Barcelona.
Krasnodar were on the front foot after the break, and the hosts were rewarded for their efforts when Wanderson equalized in the 56th minute. A deft bit of interplay culminated in a deflected strike that sailed past a helpless Tomas Vaclik.
Late heartbreak for Champions League first-timers was the theme of Tuesday’s early kickoffs, and like Rennes, Krasnodar buckled, with Munir registering a 95th-minute winner.
Chelsea and Sevilla sit tied on 10 points, with top spot in the group still to be decided through four matches.
