Chelsea won 2-1 against RB Salzburg thanks to Kai Havertz's outstanding second-half goal, securing their spot in the Champions League's round of 16.
The challenging Austrian evening was decided by the Germany international's magnificent effort midway through the second half, extending Graham Potter's Blues reign's unbeaten start to nine games.
Mateo Kovacic's excellent goal gave the Premier League team the lead, and only a run of saves by the dependable home goalkeeper Philipp Kohn prevented a rout at halftime.
Junior Adamu's incredible breakaway goal early in the second half gave the Austrian team a point as Chelsea appeared to be in danger. Havertz ultimately had the final word, however, as his 20-yard attempt that reached the top corner gave his team the victory and advanced them.
If Dinamo Zagreb loses to AC Milan in the late game, Chelsea will take first place in Group E. After a scoreless first period, Chelsea took the lead halfway through the first period on a Kovacic own goal.
The midfielder received a loose ball on the outskirts of the area, and with his first shot, he found the top corner. Almost two minutes later, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's deflected header from a corner was stopped by a fantastic save by Kohn, who got low and made the save.
When Potter's team regained their offensive stride, the score should have been 2-0 in the 32nd minute, but Kohn once again delivered. Aubameyang had all the time in the world to shoot but he blasted straight at the legs of the goalie after Havertz made a clear break down the left side.
Ten minutes before halftime, Kohn was required to make another stop, but this one was more of a result of a bad header by Havertz from six yards out after Gallagher's cross had lay it on a plate.
Kohn had his best save for the final seconds of the first half, when he produced a brilliant save from Aubameyang's effort after some incisive play by Chelsea had split their opponents open. Kohn got low to his left and kept the ball out with a strong left hand.
Chelsea suffered the consequences of those squandered opportunities early in the second half when Salzburg equalized with an outstanding breakaway goal. As soon as the VAR decision that Kovacic did not control the ball denied the hosts a penalty, they quickly went from behind to ahead thanks to Adamu's conversion of Maximilian Wober's lovely cross.
At the other end, Adamu did an outstanding job of stopping Chelsea from responding right away by lunging to clear Jorginho's header off the line. Nobody was able to stop Havertz's outstanding goal in the 64th minute, which proved to be the game-winner.
After giving the ball some space, Christian Pulisic fired a precise shot into the upper right corner. Benjamin Sesko's attempt had to be stopped by Kepa Arrizabalaga with a fantastic save for Chelsea, while Strahinja Pavlovic's header had to be cleared off the line by Thiago Silva as well.
In the end, they won easily to make history as the first visitors to Salzburg to do so in 41 attempts.
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