With owner Todd Boehly watching from the stands, Chelsea were outclassed in almost every department as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang endured a debut to forget following his deadline day move from Barcelona, failing to muster a big total without shot on goal in his 59th minute. on the field. It wasn’t much better for Tuchel, who was uncharacteristically haphazard with his tactics throughout and even used Raheem Sterling in the center of midfield for much of the second half. For the first time since succeeding Frank Lampard, Chelsea have lost three consecutive away games and their problems are mounting. Tuchel’s response to Saturday’s lucky win over West Ham was to hand Kepa Arrizabalaga his first start of the season in place of Édouard Mendy, while César Azpilicueta, Ben Chilwell, Mason Mount and Kai Havertz were all restored to the starting line-up. It had been almost five years since Aubameyang last appeared in this competition while still at Borussia Dortmund, with his new manager saying the 33-year-old was “hungry to play for us” despite suffering a broken jaw at the end of last year. month in Barcelona. Wearing a black face mask custom-made by a specialist company in Milan, Aubameyang surprisingly missed his first chance to shoot in the seventh minute after being played in by Kai Havertz and then failed to make the most of Havertz’s cross . flashed across the face of the goal moments later. However, despite their home being badly damaged by an earthquake in March 2020, which meant attendance was reduced to just 22,000 here, Dynamo fans were soon given the chance to find their voice. Chelsea’s high defensive line deep in the opposition half was always going to be a risky approach and it was Bruno Petkovic’s clever header from Robert Ljubicic’s pass that gave Orsic space. Wesley Fofana had ground to make up, but the manner in which the Croatian striker – who scored a hat-trick against Tottenham to knock them out of the 2021 Europa League and also against West Ham last season – overcame muscle and then walked away from the £70m signing. from Leicester will have occupied Tuchel. It could have been even better for Dynamo if Arian Ademi’s volley from outside the box had not been deflected away by Arizabalagá just past the half-hour mark. The hosts have won the Croatian title for the past five seasons and are no strangers to protecting a lead, with Chelsea struggling to create a clear opening against an organized defence. Tuchel slowly made his way to the tunnel at the break, thinking clearly where it was all going wrong. The German coach returned to his position five minutes before the start of the second half, having brought on Hakim Ziyech for Azpilicueta and switching to a back four. Despite Raheem Sterling dropping back into an unfamiliar role in central midfield, Chelsea at least looked more threatening and Aubameyang’s smart finish from Chilwell’s cross was correctly ruled out for offside. A spectacular save from Arrizabalaga to push Stefan Ristovski’s superb effort from distance onto the post led to a double change from Tuchel, with Jorginho replacing Mateo Kovacic after a tentative reunion with his former club and Armando Broja ends a disappointing night for Aubameyang. Try as they might, however, Chelsea could not find their rhythm as the home side looked to gain confidence as they approached the final whistle. Another formation change with 20 minutes remaining saw a reluctant Ziyech scrambling after being told to fill in at left-back by an increasingly irate Tuchel, with referee Istvan Kovacs pointing to the Chelsea manager and his assistant Zsolt Löw they show yellow cards after excesses. their complaints on the hotline. Start your evenings with the Guardian’s view of the world of football Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Had it not been for a crucial intervention from Ljubicic, Havertz might well have grabbed a late equalizer after heading home Mount’s cross, before Rhys James hit the post late on and Mount finally brought the Dynamo keeper into action. Dominic Livakovic. But it would be far more than Chelsea and Tuchel deserved.
