It’s no wonder Mauricio Pochettino spends most of his time watching Chelsea on the edge of the touchline with his hands clasped tightly in his pockets and a tense expression on his face.
Even with his side 2-0 up and cruising against Blackburn thanks to goals from Benoît Badiashile and a rejuvenated Raheem Sterling, the Chelsea manager was a bundle of nerves throughout what turned out to be a comfortable victory in the end.
But while the lack of cutting edge that has become a hallmark of the Todd Boehly-era in west London still looms large as he prepares for his first return to table-topping Tottenham on Monday night, Pochettino could take heart from Cole Palmer’s brilliant performance as the former Manchester City forward helped to dispatch Jon Dahl Tomasson’s battling side.
Pochettino stuck to his word and named a strong side to take on the winners of this competition in 2002. He made four changes to the team that lost to Brentford so meekly here at the weekend, with Enzo Fernández restored to the midfield but no place for fellow £100m signing Moisés Caicedo in the starting lineup. There was also a first appearance of the season for Badiashile as Thiago Silva was handed the evening off, while captain Reece James made his first start since the opening day of the season as he continues his return from injury.
Blackburn’s fortunes since Andy Cole scored the winning goal that saw off Tottenham in Cardiff more than 20 years ago under Graeme Souness have seen the Lancashire club drop down to the third tier for a season before coming close to reaching the Championship playoffs in the past two campaigns.
They currently find themselves 12th after an inconsistent start but Tomasson opted against sending out his first choice side despite Chelsea’s recent vulnerabilities at home, with five changes from the team that lost at home to Swansea at the weekend.
The hosts made their intentions clear straight from the kickoff as Nicolas Jackson raced onto a through ball and forced a corner when his shot was blocked. Blackburn captain Lewis Travis was very lucky not to concede a penalty when he slid in against Sterling after 10 minutes, with no VAR to overrule what looked like a clear and obvious error from referee Tim Robinson.
It took a good save from Leopold Wahlstedt to deny James after a typically lung-bursting run into the box but Blackburn then enjoyed a good period of possession in their opponent’s half. In particular, former Tottenham academy player Dilan Markanday – who became the first player of Indian descent to play for Spurs in 2021 and had been heartily embraced by Pochettino before kick-off – caused problems for Marc Cucurella at left-back with his dribbling ability.
James was inches away from breaking the deadlock midway through the first half but his shot just eluded the far post before Fernández forced Wahlstedt to palm away his effort soon afterwards.
But the Swedish goalkeeper was at fault when Chelsea finally found the goal they were looking for, palming Conor Gallagher’s cross straight to the feet of Badiashile and he calmly sidefooted home with the kind of finish that Chelsea have been crying out for all season. Blackburn’s supporters then felt aggrieved when a Callum Brittain cross struck Gallagher’s trailing arm but once again Robinson waved away strong appeals for a penalty.
The visitors showed they had no intention of surrendering without a fight when Harry Leonard caught Axel Disasi napping and raced onto a long ball at the start of the second half, only to curl his shot wide of the post. Not for the first time, Robert Sánchez was then far too casual as the Chelsea goalkeeper’s pass was almost intercepted.
Almost 15 minutes had passed by the time Fernández had Chelsea’s first effort of the second half. Palmer came close from a tight angle but having cleared the ensuing corner, Blackburn shot themselves in the foot as they tried to play out.
Brittain’s pass was intercepted by Palmer and Sterling curled home from the edge of the area to give Pochettino some welcome breathing space. Jackson should have made it even more comfortable but blazed over from close range before the post denied the outstanding Palmer a goal with a deflected shot.
Sterling could and probably should have added to his tally after finding space in behind Blackburn’s defence on more than one occasion in the closing stages. But it was Palmer who was afforded a standing ovation when he was withdrawn at the end as Chelsea’s supporters celebrated only their fourth home win of the season – three of them in this competition.
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November 02, 2023 at 05:03AM
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