Chelsea Net Seven To Cement Top Spot Without Lukaku
24 October, 2021
Chelsea cemented top spot in the Premier League after thrashing ten-man Norwich City 7-0 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon.
CAF Champions League
Result: Chelsea 7-0 Norwich City
Date: 23 October 2021
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner missed out for the hosts , as Kai Havertz got a recall to lead the line, with Callum Hudson-Odoi, Reece James, Mateo Kovacic and Trevor Chalobah also returning.
The hosts got off to the perfect start as Mount smashed home the opener in the eighth minute with a low strike past shot-stopper Tim Krul after he was teed up by Jorginho from a possession turn over.
Thomas Tuchel's charges were finding spaces behind the Norwich defence and Hudson-Odoi doubled their lead in the with minute with a side-footed finish after a through ball by Kovacic from the halfway line.
The Canaries were struggling to settle and James made it 3-0 for Chelsea just before the half-time break with a chip over the on-rushing Krul after a through ball by Mount.
Chelsea were waiting for Norwich to commit themselves in attack and exploit the spaces behind, as Ben Chilwell made 4-0 just before the hour-mark with a strike across goal after he picked out unmarked by Kovacic.
The Blues were running riot, as the fifth goal arrived just after that when Maximillian Aarons deflected a shot by Hudson-Odoi across goal past Krul for the own goal.
Things went from bad to worse for Daniel Farke's men, as they went a man down in the 65th minute after Benjamin Gibson got a second yellow card in a space of ten minutes for a foul on James and was sent off.
Tuchel made a double change in the last 20 minutes to keep the pressure on Norwich with fresh legs, as Hakim Ziyech replaced Hudson-Odoi and Ross Barkley came on for Havertz.
The Blues were awarded a penalty in the last five minutes for a handball inside the box after Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review. Krul initially saved Mount's spot-kick but a retake was ordered after the shot-stopper came off the line before the penalty was kicked.
And at the second time of asking, Mount smashed home the retake to make it 6-0 for Chelsea before the English international completed his hat-trick in stoppage time with a tap-in after a cut-back by Ruben Loftus-Cheek to round off the scoring.
Source: www.soccerladuma.co.za
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