Chelseathey have taken back control Champions LeagueGraham Potter is the new head coach for group stage, and they’ve done it in the most impressive manner possible: convincingly beating the holders of the Serie A title AC MilanHome and away in a matter of weeks to a 5-0 aggregate scoreline
Having these two matches so close together made the first Champions League meetings between the two clubs feel a little like a knockout tie — and the stakes were close to that level for Chelsea. A loss away to Dinamo Zagreb and draw at home with RB Salzburg in their opening two group games left them knowing that realistically no fewer than four points would be required to keep qualification from group E to the competition’s last 16 firmly on the horizon.
They did more than that, and now remarkably are in top spot following Salzburg’s 1-1 draw in Zagreb on Tuesday.
Chelsea’s successes at Stamford Bridge and then San Siro were built on creating and exploiting tactical advantages, and the scorelines only underlined how clearly Potter won the chess match with opposite number Stefano Pioli.
Let’s take a closer look at how Chelsea did it, and how things changed in those few days between games one and two…
Without the ball
For the competitive portion at Stamford Bridge, ie, until
