Chelsea’s poor run of the season continued into their opening Group E game of the 2022/22 UEFA Champions League as they were defeated 1-0 by Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday evening.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang got the game underway in what was his debut match for the Blues at the Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb, Croatia.
Chelsea hit the ground running immediately, putting a lot of pressure on Zagreb’s half but event quickly took a new turn when Zagreb embarked on a counterattack.
The hosts outpaced all the Chelsea players who were in their half as Bruno Petković assisted Mislav Oršić to give the host the lead in the 13th minute of the match.
Afterwards, Chelsea launched several attacks to level the game but the Croatian side did well to absorb the pressure as the first half neared an end.
Raheem Sterling looped the ball onto Aubameyang, who was in Zagreb’s half, but the debutant nodded it against Peric’s back.
The Blues were behind as the action-packed first 45 minutes ended 1-0.
Coming into the second half, César Azpilicueta made way for Hakim Ziyech.
In the 58th minute, Chelsea players protested for a penalty as Harvetz went down in the box following an infringement by Satulo but the referee said play on. Mason Mount was, however, booked for dissent afterwards.
Chelsea had a chance to get something done in the last ten minutes of the encounter when Havertz set Ziyech up, but the Moroccan fired the shot off the bar.
Thereafter, there were multiple offensive plays from The Blues but they didn’t do enough to break the more composured Dinamo Zagreb back line.
There was no goal in the second 45 minutes of the game as Dinamo Zagreb walked away with an impressive 1-0 victory.
Chelsea have now conceded in all of their last six fixtures across all competitions, making it their joint-longest run without a clean sheet since Thomas Tuchel took over at Stamford Bridge.
