2 years ago
Chelsea expected additional future time from a goal down and overcome League One Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup fourth round.
Chelsea got away from a FA Cup shock at Stamford Bridge on Saturday as they beat Plymouth Argyle 2-1 after additional time.
Thomas Tuchel, missing from the game after a positive COVID-19 test, saw his side fight back from an early Macaulay Gillesphey header through the impossible team of Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso.
Azpilicueta's jazzy completion drew the Blues level yet it was not until the sixteenth moment of the extra time frame that Alonso struck to send them into cycle five.
Plymouth almost constrained a shoot-out yet Ryan Hardie's punishment was serenely saved by Kepa Arrizabalaga in a sensational completion, the Chelsea manager saving the blushes of Malang Sarr.
The guests, whose last success over Chelsea was in the EFL Cup 42 years prior, had recently gone 13 continuous FA Cup ties against first class groups without going through since they beat West Brom in 1983-84.
Their voyaging fans were naturally in joys when Gillesphey outmuscled Romelu Lukaku to look in Jordan Houghton's cross in only the eighth moment to put them ahead.
Karma then, at that point, had its impact in protecting Plymouth's lead, Mateo Kovacic and Callum Hudson-Odoi each hitting the crossbar and the previous rifling a low shot off the left-hand post.
Chelsea got their balancer four minutes before the break, however, Azpilicueta backheeling home Mason Mount's low cross from the right.
The Spain safeguard rehashed the stunt not long before the hour mark, yet he was plainly offside after a header from Lukaku, who had prior neglected to meet a prodding Mount cross.
Chelsea couldn't transform strength of the ball into numerous significant possibilities, however, and Kepa Arrizabalaga must be aware of square a work from Hardie, who was through on goal.
Michael Cooper then, at that point, traveled to one side to tip over a Mount strike as Plymouth remained undaunted against an assaulting quintet of Lukaku, Mount, Ziyech, Timo Werner and Kai Havertz to drive the additional 30 minutes.
Not long before the extra-time span, Chelsea at last set up a clinical move, Havertz playing a one-two with Werner prior to squaring for Alonso to side-foot home.
That resembled being the finish of the dramatization yet, in the 117th moment, Hardie won a punishment from Sarr just to see his helpless endeavor saved by Kepa
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