Chelsea were soundly beaten by Roma in the Champions League following a performance littered with individual mistakes. Defensively, Chelsea have looked vulnerable all season and they were well and truly exploited by Roma’s front line on a night that seemed doomed from the very beginning.
Stephan El Shaarawy stunned Antonio Conte’s men just 39 seconds into the game when he hammered home a half-volley from the edge of the area. Marcos Alonso was slow to track the Egyptian’s run, and El Shaarawy pounced to tremendous effect.
Eden Hazard looked vibrant and Chelsea were well on course to finding an equaliser, but an inexcusable lack of awareness and communication from Antonio Rudiger saw El Shaarawy ghost in behind the German defender to poke the ball beyond Thibaut Courtois.
Roma put the game well beyond Chelsea midway through the second-half, when Diego Perotti beat Courtois at his near post to condemn the Blues to a humiliating loss in Europe.
Courtois’s mistake made it three errors and three goals for Roma, which offers very little confidence for Sunday’s huge table-topping match against Manchester United.
Source: Read Sport
