Dynamo vs Chelsea: The One with the 40 Year Old Keeper

As old as Diego Costa looks

After Saturday’s ‘successful’ experiment with the Chelsea lineup, Jose Mourinho decided that Chelsea’s Champions League opponents this week just may be a little more difficult to beat than an under pressure Tim Sherwood and his band of merry men. Both Eden Hazard and Nemanja Matic were relieved of their duties on the naughty step while Ramires kept his place and Cesc Fàbregas was pushed into the space just behind Diego Costa.

The Baba Rahman experiment came to a swift close for now as Cesar Azpilicueta was reinstated to left-back and Happy Kurt Zouma stood in for the still injured Branislav Ivanovic. But you know all that and if you don’t - what are you doing here reading this?!

It’s difficult to take one game in isolation and decide that it’s all working out - especially as the match ended in a draw. But despite the lack of goals, this team looked a lot more purposeful than the one on Saturday. If we’re all being honest about Saturday, the result had a lot more to do with Aston Villa than it did with Chelsea. Own Goal easily could have been credited with both goals! Unfortunately for Chelsea, OG was kept quiet on Tuesday night.

Chelsea were unlucky to not be 2 or even 3 goals up by half time against Dynamo. The posts and crossbar were unkind to Chelsea - like an invisible electric fence to a little dog who’s just trying to have some fun, have a little adventure. And if it wasn’t the posts than it was 40 year old Oleksandr Shovkovskiy. The man had not conceded a goal in the league or Europa League until the weekend before the match. He was never going to be easy to beat.

Fortunately for the travelling support, the players did not let the constant rejection from Dynamo’s goal frustrate them. They continued to press and try to find a way through. Disappointing that they didn’t, but a change from the heads going down in other matches. If they continue on like that you can forget top half of the table - you might just see Chelsea challenging for a spot in Thursday Night Cup.

Falcao's heatmap

For those that just read things on social media and take them as gospel, there was a tweet making the rounds that this was the first time that Chelsea had kept consecutive clean sheets in 6 months. Obviously followed by the Ivanovic witch hunt with insightful tweets like “Ivanovic missed two games this season and we got a clean sheet in both of them. Coincidence.” First, Chelsea kept consecutive clean sheets vs Tel Aviv and Arsenal. Arsenal, a match which Ivanovic very much played a part in. We get it, he’s not having a stellar season, but let’s dial it back a bit. Or at least get the facts right. And let’s be honest, with 1 shot on target, I’m not entirely sure that the clean sheet was down to anyone being in or out of Chelsea’s back four.

That being said, Chelsea’s defence, by and large, looked organised and played with a semblance of a unit absorbing the pressure well. There was a questionable lazy attempt at a clearance from John Terry with about 2 minutes left on the clock, but other than that solid. Dynamo Kyiv were looking for a home win and managed 9 shots . Azpilicueta looked better back on the left while Zouma did a sound job deputising on the right.

Chelsea currently sit third in Group G but, the only remaining away game is Maccabi Tel Aviv. I won’t jinx the team by predicting overwhelming success but there’s a good some a chance that Chelsea could maximise the points from their remaining games if they continue playing Eden Hazard the positives that were on display this week.

jb x

Editor's note: Obviously between the organised defence, Eden Hazard realising the season has started and Willian continuing his fantastic form there was a lot I did enjoy about Chelsea's match this week. But for whatever reason, if truth be told, I enjoyed Falcao all bundled up in his blanket. Footballers in blankets is never not funny. But the question is, why was he all by his lonesome?