Qarabag vs. Chelsea, Champions League: Half-time report

Chelsea have one foot in the knockout round after a good/lucky first half that saw Qarabag hit the post, then have a man sent off for what was (probably) just foul enough on Willian inside the area. Once the foul was called, the red card had to follow for the last man.

Eden Hazard made no mistake from the spot for his sixth goal of the season, and soon after returned the favor for Willian to put Chelsea two goals up at the end of a gorgeous team move.

Chelsea’s 3-4-3 has had a decent amount of control, as Qarabag’s main strategy has been to put 9-10 behind the ball and look to break down the flanks or through their lone striker, Ndlovu. But when the hosts have passed it around they’ve looked not entirely incompetent (as in the first leg, despite the scoreline), and with a bit of luck Michel’s shot (which, admittedly, was created through a bit of a lucky bounce) goes just below the crossbar rather than straight at it and we’re likely talking a very different half-time scenario. Them’s the breaks.

As it stands, Chelsea are a man and two goals up and would require something mightily impressive to mess it up from here. An early goal or two in the second half should allow the team to relax and ever conserve some effort for the weekend maybe.

Come on, Chelsea!