FC Basel played a smart match, defended fairly well, grabbed a late equalizer, and still it wasn’t enough to get by Chelsea, as the Blues won the first leg of their Europa League semifinal tie on Thursday at St. Jakob-Park.
Chelsea grabbed the win on a late free kick from David Luiz, capping off a good match for the defender who loves to get forward. Luiz’s strike from well outside the 18-yard-box was a fitting end to a match that featured plenty of shifts in momentum and flow
To the Swiss side’s credit, they did not seem intimidated by the reigning European champions. Basel executed a fairly simple game plan of pressing Chelsea high to try and force mistakes, throwing lots of men forward on most attacks, and lining up three central playmakers behind the strike force.
But Chelsea’s backline stymied Basel’s efforts for most of the match, clearing danger with relative ease. Despite throwing caution to the wind during significant stretches of the match and pushing forward, Basel was largely unable to break down a resolute Chelsea defence.
Quick start
Basel had a fairly bright start in front of their home support, looking composed and confident on the ball, but neither side was able to generate any chances in the first ten minutes. Chelsea took the lead on a Victor Moses header in the 12th minute off an excellent corner delivery from Frank Lampard. Moses has been a bright spot in the Blues’ recent Europa League form; generally not known as a prolific scorer, the headed effort was his third in Chelsea’s last three Europa league matches.
Despite going down at home, Basel continued to do some good work on the counter, and looked like they might have a chance to equalize several times in the first half. On most of their attempts though, the buildup was too slow, too cute, and lacking a cutting final ball. Meanwhile, Rafa Benitez’s was happy to drop five men into defence and dealt with the moments of danger quite easily for the most part.
Basel have shown throughout their Europa League campaign that they have some excellent talent up front, but with their attacking players unable to get much going, Basel’s willingness to throw numbers forward left them extremely vulnerable to a counter-attack; several times in the first half, Chelsea broke out of their half with loads of space. The Blues were unable to make the home side pay though, and Basel could count itself somewhat lucky as Eden Hazard scuffed an excellent chance just before half and the match went to the break 1-0.
Lively second half
Basel midfielder Valentin Stocker was inches away from leveling in the 49th minute, as he made a great effort to cut to the middle of the box and put a shot in. His strike left Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech glued to his spot, but hit off the bottom of the post.
After a Fernando Torres effort hit the bar in the 54th minute, the match really seemed to open up. Basel applied the pressure in search of an equalizer, and was finally rewarded on a questionable penalty call in the 87th minute. Fabian Schar, who was good throughout the match, blasted the shot in and Basel looked content to see the game out.
Late heroics
But after the game was tied, Chelsea really seemed to go for the throat of their Swiss counterparts for the first time all night. John Terry was absolutely robbed on a late header that, admittedly, he could have placed better.
But in the 94th minute, Luiz’s free kick, a hard, low shot that travelled through a mass of players in the box, eluded Basel ‘keeper Yann Sommer to the far post. It was the last kick of the match, and unquestionably, a stomach-punch of a finish for a Basel side that approached the match without trepidation, and just didn’t have the quality to knock off a determined Chelsea side.
Looking ahead
Basel and Chelsea face off in the second leg at Stamford Bridge next Thursday. Chelsea would be well-served to come out with a similarly conservative approach for the return leg, as Basel looked mostly unlikely to break down their defence despite several promising moves.
For Basel, it’s all-or-nothing at this point, and they might as well just go for it. Their dangerous attacking players throughout this competition — Mohamed Salah, Mohamed El-Ninny and striker Marco Streller — really struggled to get going, so perhaps a slight shift in the lineup or formation would pay dividends. Talented midfielder Marcelo Diaz looked lively coming on as a sub, so maybe a start for the return match is in order.
Three stars
Eden Hazard, Chelsea – Looked like his usual threatening self throughout. Was lacking the final touch on a few occasions, but still a fine outing.
David Luiz, Chelsea – Scored the winner on a well-taken (albeit, lucky) free kick, controlled the middle of the park and was a crucial part of the Blues’ strong defending throughout the match.
Yann Sommer, FC Basel – The Swiss ‘keeper was fooled by Luiz’s winner, but was good throughout, and made a couple of great saves to keep the score level before Chelsea went ahead for good.