Having begun the defence of their continental crown with a 1-0 win against Zenit St Petersburg, then lost by the scoreline to Juventus in Turin, Chelsea took a significant step towards the knockout stage earlier this month as they crushed Malmo at Stamford Bridge.
Penalty specialist Jorginho – current UEFA Player of the Year – demonstrated a customarily cool head to dispatch a pair of penalties against the Swedish champions, after Andreas Christensen had opened the scoring as early as the ninth minute.
Kai Havertz’s second-half strike sealed a 4-0 success for Thomas Tuchel’s men, putting any anguish at the defeat to Juve behind them and leaving the Premier League side in touch with the Bianconeri at the top of the table – just three points behind.
The Germany international’s previous Champions League goal was, of course, the winner in May’s all-English final at Estadio do Dragao, and his single-minded manager is intent on reaching a second successive showpiece next spring.
Certainly, the Blues’ league form since taking Malmo to the cleaners last time around will give Tuesday’s home side serious cause for concern.
After they strode to a ruthless 7-0 victory over hapless Norwich City, Tuchel’s team proceeded to put three past Newcastle on Saturday with no reply; wing-back Reece James spectacularly netting his second and third goals in the last two games.
Chelsea have now posted 13 points from a possible 15 away from home in the Premier League – which they lead by three points from Liverpool – and have conceded just once on the road in that competition. All of which makes uncomfortable reading for their next hosts.
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Having started in the first round of qualifying, Malmo are back in the big time after six years away, after securing their 21st Swedish title – and fifth in the last eight Allsvenskan campaigns.
They also had to traverse some tricky ties in the preliminary process, knocking out Riga, HJK Helsinki, Rangers and then Ludogorets merely to reach the group stage.
However, the fairytale run Di Blae had enjoyed has subsequently come to a juddering halt over the past few weeks, as Jon Dahl Tomasson’s side have conceded 11 goals in their first three games, having previously lost at home to Juventus (3-0) and away to Zenit (4-
