UCL: Late goal hands Chelsea early Round of 16 spot
It was a dramatic encounter between Chelsea and Rennes on Tuesday as Chelsea left it late to seal a place in the Champions League knockout stage with two games to spare thanks to Olivier Giroud’s late header.
The French striker has played just 127 minutes for the Blues so far this season, but made the most of his time on the pitch here with an injury-time finish after Timo Werner’s effort had been blocked.
Just six minutes earlier, Rennes looked to have denied Chelsea when Serhou Guirassy headed home from a corner to cancel out Callum Hudson-Odoi’s opener.
Frank Lampard’s side dominated the first half and could easily have led by more than just Hudson-Odoi’s calm finish after he had been sent clear by a pinpoint pass from Mason Mount.
Lampard’s men were a bit sloppy in the second half and had to rely on a defence that included the returning Thiago Silva and goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, who made a couple of good saves against his former club.
In the other game of the group, a late winner for Sevilla means both they and the Blues have 10 points in Group E, nine more than both Rennes and Krasnodar.
