Jump to content

Blues held by contentious goalline decision


BlueLion.
 Share

Recommended Posts

Chelsea's pre-season preparations were boosted by the return to fitness of Petr Cech - but José Mourinho's men were held to a draw by RZ Pellets WAC.

Cech, who injured himself in the Blues' Champions League semi-final first leg against Atletico Madrid in April, made a full return to action to throw down the gauntlet to the presently holidaying Thibaut Courtois.

But he was left dumbfounded when, in the 54th minute, Pellets' De Oliveira Silvio saw his shot deflected up onto the crossbar by the sprawling Czech goalkeeper and cleared to safety. Though the referee waved play on, the linesmen controversially judged that the ball had crossed the line, giving the hosts a barely deserved lead.

With Pellets well ahead of the Blues in terms of physical fitness - indeed, the Austrian side have already started their league campaign, with a 4-1 win over Admira on the opening weekend - Chelsea found themselves under serious pressure once again, after being in a similarly precarious position against AFC Wimbledon on Saturday.

On that occasion, the Blues were able to bounce back to claim the spoils, and though they left it late on Wednesday night, a fabulous solo strike from Jeremie Boga ensured Chelsea would maintain their undefeated start to pre-season - but only after Cech had performed more heroics at the other end.

Cech was forced into tipping over a fierce Wernitznig Christopher drive and then, moments later, had to tip a Silvio header over the bar with the Brazilian looking to add to his contentious first-half strike.

But where the hosts lacked composure in front of goal, Boga demonstrated enviable skill and determination to restore parity.

Picking the ball up in Chelsea's right-back area, the young Frenchman showed blistering pace and impressive footwork to slalom beyond a number of challenges sixty yards upfield. Playing a one-two with Branislav Ivanovic - again employed as an emergency striker - the Frenchman showed admirable composure to hold off a defender and then accurately slot the ball home.

It was a goal that belies his tender years, and like the impressive Izzy Brown in the demolition of Wycombe and Lewis Baker's staring role in that comeback win over Wimbledon, it was this time Boga who was the young starlet catching Mourinho's eye.

Another happy note for the Portuguese is the début of Filipe Luis, who looked very comfortable slotting in alongside John Terry, and the continued good form of Oriol Romeu in central midfield will also come as a welcome boost.

Chelsea move their attentions to Slovenian side Olimpija Ljubljana, who they face on Sunday at 16:15 BST.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 0
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • 0 members are here!

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

talk chelse forums

We get it, advertisements are annoying!
Talk Chelsea relies on revenue to pay for hosting and upgrades. While we try to keep adverts as unobtrusive as possible, we need to run ad's to make sure we can stay online because over the years costs have become very high.

Could you please allow adverts on this website and help us by switching your ad blocker off.

KTBFFH
Thank You