Chelsea suffered a 1-0 defeat in their first match against a tenacious Dinamo Zagreb side.At 16:45 GMT today, Romanian Referee Istvan Kovacs officiated the UEFA Champions' League group stages match at the Stadion Maksimir.
The Modri scored early in the game in the 13th minute through Mislav Orsic ending the first half with the Blues down by one to nil. Mislav Orsic became the first goal scorer in this year's 2022/2023 UEFA Champions' League group stage. His goal eventually became the match winner as the English side failed to equalize in the entire 90 minutes plus 8 minutes of added time. Chelsea's only rare chance came when James hit post and Mount went close late in the game.
Mislav Orsic has joined elite players in the world who have such honours like Cristiano Ronaldo, Alvaro Morata, Lionel Messi, Edinson Cavani, Hulk, Angel Di Maria and many great players.
Dinamo Zagreb played in 3-5-2 formation with Livakovic in post as the Goalkeeper. Sadegh Moharrami, Josip Sutalo, and Dino Peric in defense for the Croatian side.
The midfielders were S. Ristovski, Arijan Ademi, Josip Misic, Laka Ivanusec, and R. Ljubicic, with Ristovski and Ljubicic as wing backs. Bruno Petkovic and Mislav Orsic led the attack.
Chelsea used a 3-4-3 formation with Kepa Arrizabalaga (GK), Wesley Fofana, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Captain Cesar Azpilicueta.The midfield coach, Thomas Tuchel, started Ben Chilwell, Mateo Kovacic, Mason Mount, and Reece James.
In the attack, R. Aubameyang will have had his dream Champions League debut for Chelsea and after years of absence, alongside Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz.
N’Golo Kante and Mendy have been ruled out for Chelsea because of injuries, while Bosko Sutalo and Menalo did not feature because of thigh and ankle injuries respectively.
The Blues couldn’t impact the game as they wanted. Prior to this match they had lost three games in their last five matches, conceding 9 goals. The Heralded Dinamo had their game plan worked into perfection as well as their execution to stop the mighty Chelsea.
Chelsea had the lion's share of the possession of 61% to 39% of Dinamo with 14 total attempts and 72 attacks (588 passes completed).
The Captain, Ademi of Zagreb, was adjudged the Player of the Match.
This victory means a lot to the Croatians, according to Elvir Islamovic, and is the greatest victory in the club's history. He stated, "Full-time verdict – Dinamo Zagreb: This is one of the greatest victories in the club's history. just like the one against Tottenham last year. And honestly, this team deserved it. They gave everything they had, and they could. They fought bravely as a team and showed the real beauty of football, where a small team can defeat a mighty opponent. Well done, Dinamo! "
In the end, Chelsea started the Champions League with a defeat.
blogpay
