Chelsea - Rennes: A pair of first-half penalties led Chelsea past 10-man Stade Rennais in a 3-0 win in UEFA Champions League play at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
Timo Werner won one of the penalties and converted both, while Tammy Abraham won the other and put home a Reece James goal to account for the third marker.
[ 3 THINGS: Istanbul Basaksehir – Man Utd ]
Chelsea joins Sevilla on seven points through three matches, with Rennes and Krasnodar on one.
The Blues did not have injured Christian Pulisic or recent positive COVID-19 test Kai Havertz. They’ll host Sheffield United on Saturday.
Chelsea - Rennes didn’t leave a lot of entertainment due to Dalbert conceding both penalties to earn his pair of yellows and a sending off.
Three things we learned from Chelsea - Rennes
1. No drama thanks to VAR twist: Rennes had a lot of the ball to start, even after Chelsea went ahead on Werner’s first penalty. But the second yellow card to Dalbert for a handball was joined by Werner’s second conversion and the Blues were up two goals and one man five minutes before halftime.
2. Attacking depth no problem for Chelsea: We asked on PST Unfiltered whether the Blues can cope with continued Christian Pulisic injury problems and the answer was a pretty quick yes. It’s true even with Kai Havertz now missing after a positive COVID-19 test. Tammy Abraham won a penalty and made a run to slash home a Reece James cross late.
Reece James serves it up and Tammy Abraham puts it away 💪
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) November 4, 2020
A @ChelseaFCinUSA homegrown goal, you love to see it! pic.twitter.com/oXRSAxhXNK
3. Mendy untested by former team: Edouard Mendy touched the ball just 18 times by the hour mark, completing all 13 of his passes as Rennes declined to force him into a save until the late stages. He’d finish with two.
Man of the Match
Werner. Yeah, two penalties, we know. You could make an argument for Abraham, N’Golo Kante, or Thiago Silva, but the main difference maker for Chelsea was its German striker.
The keeper may have gone the right way, but Timo Werner can not be stopped from the penalty spot 👀@ChelseaFCinUSA lead 1-0! pic.twitter.com/g8KUfm6IHT
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) November 4, 2020
