Chelsea qualified for the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League after a hard-fought 2-1 victory over RB Salzburg. Mateo Kovacic opened the scoring for the Blues in the 23rd minute, and Chelsea carried a one-goal lead into the second half. Junior Adamu levelled the score early in the second half. Chelsea took back the lead as Kai Havertz scored the winner 15 minutes after conceding a goal. This was the winning goal, and Chelsea have a three-point lead in Group E.
We’ve broken down all the key stats for you to digest, including;
* shot maps
* xT (expected threat)
* pass networks
* xG timelines * defensive duels
* average positions and much more!
We also try to answer some questions for you with the visuals;
How many positional attacks were created by the home team? Who won the most defensive duels for Chelsea?
To navigate the stats gallery simply click on the numbers to move through the pages.
RB Salzburg played the match in a 4-3-1-2 formation. Junior Adamu and Noah Okafor led the line and Luka Sucic played behind them. Benjamin Sesko replaced Susic in the 61st minute and that was the first change made by the manager.
Chelsea played the match in a 3-4-1-2 formation in this match. Kai Havertz and Pierre-Emrick Aubameyang led the line and were supported by Conor Gallagher in the number ten role.
The home team only averaged 29.68% ball possession at the end of the match. They averaged around 25% possession in the first half. Salzburg took hold of the ball in the initial stages of the first half. They averaged around 35% possession in the second half.
Chelsea had a very high possession rate of 70.32%. Graham Potter’s men were patient and built their plays from the back. They had around 75% ball possession in the first half.
The home team created 32 positional attacks and attempted ten shots. They targeted the right side of Chelsea’s defence and created most of the chances from that particular side.
Chelsea players created 32 positional attacks and attempted six shots from these attacks. The Blues were also more creative from the left side.
RB Salzburg players attempted 13 shots and seven were on target. The first shot came in the 16th minute. This was followed by two more shots in the half. The second half saw ten shot attempts with a 60% shot accuracy rate.
Chelsea were very accurate with their shooting in this match. They attempted 13 shots and only one was off target. The first shot on goal found the back of the net. Chelsea attempted an equal number of shots in both halves.
The home team ended the match with an xG rate of 1.09. They attempted six shots from inside the penalty box and managed to hit the target four times.
Chelsea had an xG rate of 1.4. They attempted seven shots from a very close range, and the goals were scored from the edge of the penalty area.
The average position of RB Leipzig players shows that they stretch their play and create pass links on the flanks. The team attempted 219 passes and had a low accuracy rate of 60.27%.
Chelsea players also created their own channels of play on the flanks. The three centre-backs played a few passes amongst themselves, and they started most of the attacks from the back. The team attempted 569 passes and had an 86.82% accuracy rate.
Salzburg players attempted 45 passes to the final third and delivered 22. Noah Okafor and Maximilian Wober were involved in a few plays on the left side.
The Blues attempted 62 passes to the final third and had an accuracy rate of 82.26%. Trevoh Chalobah attempted passes from the right side, while Marc Cucurella attempted passes from the left. Conor Gallagher also delivered a few passes from the centre.
The home team made 40 recoveries in the defensive third, 36 in the middle third, and 11 in the final third. They made most of the recoveries on the left side.
Chelsea recovered the ball 44 times in the defensive third, 39 times in the middle third, and 18 times in the final third. Most of the high recoveries were made on the left side. Marc Cucurella made 20 recoveries in total, and eight were made in the attacking half.
Both teams contested 252 duels, and Salzburg won 116. They had a high win ratio on the left side in the attacking half. Bernardo contested 28 duels at the back and won 21.
Chelsea players won 123 duels in the match. They had a high win ratio on the right side in the defensive half and a high win ratio on the left side in the attacking half.
The home team won 49 defensive duels in the match. Bernardo had a good day at the back as he won all the 11 duels contested by him.
The visitors won 38 defensive duels in the match. Marc Cucrella contested 13 duels for his side and won 11.
Salzburg managed to win 20 aerial duels. They had a high win percentage in the attacking half. The players contested eight aerial duels inside the opposition penalty box and won five.
The Blues won 25 aerial duels in the match. They lost most of their duels in the defensive third.
Kai Havertz led the line for Chelsea and scored the winner. He attempted four shots and ended the match with an xG rate of 0.61. The German scored the goal from outside the penalty box and always targeted the right side of the goalkeeper.
Marc Cucrella gave a solid performance on the left side of the defence. He contested 23 duels and won 61% of them. The player even made the most recoveries for his team. Cucrella was also disciplined in the defence and didn’t commit a foul in the game.
Chelsea are playing well under Graham Potter and are unbeaten under him in the UEFA Champions League. They are starting to show dominance and are becoming one of the contenders for the elite title. The Blues will look to finish as the group winners and carry the momentum into the knockout stages.
Visuals via Wyscout and the TFA data viz engine