Chelsea v FC Basel Live Match Commentary
Chelsea v FC Basel Live!
Chelsea travel to Switzerland as they face FC Basel in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final clash. The Blues will look to rescue a season that has had its ups and downs. A place in the final and the possibility of a trophy could give the former European Champions something to be proud of, but FC Basel will do everything they can to prevent that from happening. Join us below as Mike Prindiville takes you through the match.
Thanks for reading and swing by SWOL next time for more live commentary. Remember you can follow me on Twitter @mprindi. Enjoy your Thursday, everyone!
It was a match that Chelsea seemed to have under control from the very start. They went up 1-0 on a Victor Moses header off Frank Lampard’s 12th minute corner but Basel took their chances and were awarded an 85th minute penalty that Schar converted to draw level. In the final seven minutes both teams were going for the win but it was Schar’s foul on Ramirez that led to David Luiz’ tricky free-kick that Yann Sommer couldn’t handle and Chelsea grabbed their victory. Final score, Chelsea 2 Basel 1.
Wow, what a finish to this match. It wasn’t the best free-kick that Luiz has hit but it found its way through the box and managed to fool Sommer when it should’ve done anything but that!
94′: And that’s it!!! Full time score, Chelsea 2 Basel 1.
94′: GOAL CHELSEA!!!! David Luiz’ free kick rounds the wall and finds the side netting to give Chelsea the lead!
93′: Corner is played out, Ramirez collects and Stocker is called for a foul. Free kick to Chelsea from 25 yards out in the middle of the pitch. Luiz danger zone.
92′: It’s frantic end-to-end stuff here to finish this match as Chelsea come back down and Cole earns his side a corner.
92′: Basel on the break and Stocker finds Steller who’s shot is easily saved.
91′: INCHES WIDE!!!! Oh dear me. Ivanovic put his header back across the goal, Moses flicked on and John Terry couldn’t poke it in from 2 yards out. Should’ve scored that.
91′: Oscar and Mata link up and the Brazilian earns Chelsea a corner.
90′: Four minutes of injury time.
90′: Mata’s left-footed curler goes wide. Sommer had it all the way.
89′: Yellow card, Schar. The 21 year old takes down Moses on the left wing and Chelsea have a free kick from 24 yards out.
88′: Ramirez fires in and Sommer saves. Torres looks for the rebound but can’t hit it, Mata’s effort is blocked and Luiz’ shot blasts over the bar.
85′: Chelsea 1 Basel 1. Five minutes to play at St. Jakob’s Park.
85′: GOAL!!! Fabian Schar pummels his penalty right down the middle and Basel are level!
85′: Azpilicueta is adjudged to have taken down Stocker in the box and Basel have a chance to go level. Questionable penalty call there.
85′: PENALTY TO BASEL!!!
85′: Corner to Basel. The ball bounces around and they can’t convert.
84′: Poor free kick and it’s headed wide. But Zoua finds it, drives to the line and does well to play in back across the box but Cole blocks it out of bounds.
84′: Free kick to Basel from 40 yards out.
83′: Yellow card, Luiz. The Brazilian lunges in for a challenge and ends up studding Frei. The 24 year old is down in a heap of pain.
82′: Basel trying to bully it through the center of the Chelsea defense but it doesn’t work. Why not try the channels, fellas?
82′: Luiz cuts out Frei’s pass and is promptly fouled.
81′: Mata’s left footed curler finds Ivanovic at the back post but the Serb’s effort flashes wide.
81′: Yellow card, David Degen. Well, that didn’t take long as Degen pushes over Mata and gives him a little love-choke to boot.
80′: Final 10 minutes to play at St. Jakob’s Park and the ball is pinging back and forth down the middle for the field.
79′: Lampard off, Oscar on for Chelsea.
78′: Salah off, David Degen on. Yes, that’s Philip’s brother. Love us the Degens.
77′: Chelsea come down the pitch and Dragovic breaks up the attack, dribbles 65 yards before slotting brilliantly to Salah who’s first touch is awful and rolls right to Cech. Salah’s touch letting him down AGAIN! It has to be better from the Egyptian international.
76′: Salah makes a slick diagonal run in the box and the ball is played right to his foot but his touch is horrid and it goes out for a throw. Poor stuff there from Salah.
74′: Both teams getting well stretched out now - you can smell a goal coming in the next 10 minutes.
73′: Diaz cuts in the box and unleashes a curler that flies two feet wide of the upright. He should’ve done better there - a golden opportunity for Basel.
72′: And Mata’s first action of the day nearly results in a goal as the Spaniard shrugs off the challenge, dribbles 30 yards and threads a ball to Ramirez but he’s called for off-sides. Not sure about that call.
71′: Hazard off, Mata on for Chelsea.
71′: With that card, Dragovic misses the next match as well. That will hurt Basel dearly.
70′: Yellow card Dragovic. The big man went in spread-legged on a tackle with Torres and sees yellow for the intent. To be fair, he didn’t touch Torres and it was a great tackle. It just looked bad.
69′: Tight call there by the ref but he’s done well this match - we’ve hardly noticed he’s there - so we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.
68′: Yellow card, Ashley Cole. Cautioned for wasting time on the throw, Cole will miss the next game through accumulation.
67′: Shot by Fabian Frei from 30 yards out whizzes wide. The 24 year old really hit that one flush but couldn’t manage to get it on target.
66′: Basel can’t get it right in the box. Degen’s cross is knocked down by Streller but Stocker can’t get his footing right.
65′: Elneney off, Zoua on for Basel.
65′: Well, Basel are going to have to start taking chances here if they plan on scoring on their home ground. Haven’t produced much in the way of opportunities here in the second half.
64′: The ball is worked up to Streller and the big man’s back heel goes to Diaz, who shoots and it’s blocked, out of bounds for a throw.
62′: Joo Ho Park can’t control the outlet pass and Chelsea have a throw at midfield.
62′: Big punt by Cech goes the length of the field but Moses fouls Degen and Basel have it back.
60′: Serey Die out, Marcelo Diaz on.
60′: Hazard on the break finds Ramirez, who dances in the corner but doesn’t have the moves to get by Dragovic. Goal kick.
59′: Stocker again finds his way in but his cross is headed out.
59′: The corner is headed out and now Basel are on the break.
58′: Torres breaks on the counter and earns the Blues a corner.
57′: Oooh. Elneny puts in a great ball deep to the back end of the 6 yard box where Streller was all alone but the 31 year old had his eyes closed.
57′: Corner kick, Basel.
56′: Impressive slide tackle by Ivanovic thwarts a breakthrough by Basel.
55′: Chelsea on the ball now. Trying to find a way through the Basel defense.
53′: Eden Hazard weaved his way in brilliantly on the left side, avoided the careless challenge by Degen and crossed right to Torres who blasted a one time left-footed shot off the inside of the post.
53′: OFF THE POST!!! Fernando Torres rips a left footed shot off the post.
52′: Serey takes down Torres at midfield and Chelsea have a free kick.
51′: Chelsea back in possession now. They look a little sleepy here in the second half. Could be susceptible if they aren’t careful.
50′: Serey Die cuts out the Chelsea attack again, this time foiling Lampard. The Ivorian has been a strong presence in the midfield today.
50′: The Basel faithful remains in full voice, urging on their squad.
48′: The 24 year old buzzed in from the left side, left Luiz in the wake and ripped a low, hard shot off the left post. Great effort by Stocker.
47′: OFF THE POST!!! And guess who it was? My man Valentin Stocker.
46′: Degen’s barreling run into the box results in a cross by Salah that goes too far wide.
46′: So far the cameras have only managed to pick out Roger Federer in this game on 8 different occasions. We should hit double digits by the hour mark.
45′: And we’re off!
If Basel is to have a prayer at winning this one they need to switch from a 4-5-1 to either a 4-4-2 or 4-3-3.
The teams make their way back onto the pitch for the second 45.
It was a first half that Basel controlled but had little to show for as the home side were unable to unlock the staunch Chelsea defense. The Blues broke the deadlock through a Victor Moses header in the 12th minute but were unable to convert a few counter-attacking opportunities that really would have broken this game open. As it stands, Chelsea have the lead at halftime, 1-0.
Halftime: Chelsea 1 Basel 0.
45′: The 4th referee shows 1 minute of injury time.
44′: Hazard gets through again but spurns his effort wide.
43′: A comedy of errors for Chelsea as Torres looked to be on a breakaway, tripped over the ball, played it to Azpilicueta. The full back crossed to Torres, who whiffed his bike attempt and then Hazard blasted over. Whew.
43′: And rightfully so, Chelsea should make you proud. It’s an intelligent approach to this game. They’re letting Basel possess but Chelsea look comfortable.
41′: Basel seems to be most dangerous attacking down the wings with Salah and Stocker yet they consistently play down the spine of the field, limiting their options.
40′: Back come Basel on the attack. They’ve done well to control the game in Chelsea’s half but they’re having some real problems finding that last link between midfield and defense.
39′: Foul called on Schar as his knee collides with John Terry’s face. The Chelsea center-back is wincing in pain. No wonder, that looked painful.
38′: Basel once again possessing around the box but the cross in is headed out by the Chelsea defense.
37′: Luiz looks good in the holding roll - taking up a lot of space in defense and distributing well on the attack.
36′: That was a fantastic chance by Chelsea - they have numbers up in the box but Ramirez couldn’t get a hold of his shot. Not the most clinical in front of goal, the Brazilian.
35′: SAVE SOMMER!!! Moses marches into the box, beats three men, drops it back to Lampard, who finds Ramirez on the right side and the Brazilian’s snubs his shot right at Sommer.
34′: Serey and Luiz doing battle in the midfield and a foul is called on Serey. The man with the blond-dyed mohawk is not happy.
33′: Hazard dances his way through the midfield, feeds Torres on the left wing and his 25 yard shot is handled comfortably by Sommer.
32′: Basel get into Chelsea’s box again and Salah’s cross is saved by Cech.
31′: Sommer makes himself big and comes up with the save. The score remains the same, Chelsea 1 Basel 0.
30′: Torres comes in from the right side of the box and fires a left footed shot that is blocked Schar and out for a corner.
28′: Chelsea back in possession now with Cole inching up the right side.
27′: OFF THE POST! Stocker gets the ball in the corner of the box, turns, and twists a probing cross in that goes off the outside of the post for a goal kick.
26′: Serey breaks up Chelsea’s possession and now it’s Basel back at it.
25′: Super Frank bends it in beautifully but Sommer is there with the punch.
25′: Moses earns a corner.
24′: Streller getting frustrated at his lack of touches dropping deep into the midfield to pick it up but Basel lose possession.
23′: The cross comes in to Stocker and he’s just a second too late. Stocker again making himself dangerous. He’s a tricky little customer, the Swiss.
23′: Ivanovic heads out and the ball comes to Dragovic on the right side but his cross is too heavy, and goes out for a goal kick.
22′: Salah slips in between Cole and Terry, sends in his cross that is deflected over for a corner.
21′: Azpilicueta played into the corner and does well to get his cross into the box but it’s void of white jerseys. Chelsea fans wondering where Fernando was.
19′: Mohamed Elneny winds up from 30 yards out and blasts it 100 feet over and 50 feet wide (approximately).
19′: Valentin Stocker looks a real threat down the left wing for Basel. Azpilicueta has his hands full tonight.
18′: Stocker gets into the box and goes down on an apparent foul by Ivanovic but no call says the referee.
17′: OVER THE BAR!!! Fabian Schar unleashes a rocket that whistles over the bar.
16′: Basel slowly building out of the back, continually looking for Salah on the wing and Steller up top. Foul on Ivanovic. Free-kick from 30 yards out for Basel.
14′: Hazard makes a pitch long scamper, finds Torres who feeds it back to the Belgian and his shot is saved by Sommer.
13′: Now we’ll see what this Basel squad is made of. Can they find a leveler?
12′: Moses is loving the Europa these days, his third goal in three matches.
12′: GOAL CHELSEA! Victor Moses heads in Lampard’s corner and it’s 1-0 to the visitors.
11′: SAVE SOMMER!! Azpilicueta’s cross into Lampard goes out for a corner.
10′: Luiz cuts out the pass from his position at holding midfielder but his outlet attempt to Torres is disrupted. Basel back in possession.
9′: Some slow building possession by Basel and they try for a long ball over the top to Salah but it’s to deep and Cech scoops it up.
7′: Lampard’s corner is snatched by the phenomenal Yann Sommer. Look for the big clubs to come calling for him this summer.
6′: Salah gets by Cole and his cross is to deep. Chelsea on the counter. Hazard does well to possess, gets the ball outside to Moses and its headed out for a corner.
5′: Hazard brings the ball into the corner, finds his way out of a double team and manages a cross that is cleared by Dragovic.
4′: For Chelsea, Ashley Cole returns from a hamstring injury and John Terry starts in defence. Frank Lampard is back in midfield, with David Luiz alongside him. Victor Moses also starts in a side showing four changes following last weekend’s draw at Liverpool.
4′: Swiss champions Basel field the same starting XI which began the second leg with Tottenham.
2′: Elneney’s corner is played short and he gets the ball back and sends it over the goal.
2′: Basel with a nice bout of possession and they earn themselves a corner.
2′: It’s back and forth here from the start with no real possession by either side.
0′: And we’re off!
Chelsea arrived here by defeating Russian side Rubin Kazan 5-4 on aggregate and will look to book their place in a final to add a piece of silverware to an otherwise trophy-less season.
Basel were surprise winners over Tottenham in the quarter-final and the Swiss side will hope today will provide the platform to make it two straight English scalps, and a trip to the Europa League final next month in Amsterdam.
The players are warming up for this first leg of action and what a contest we have on our hands today.
Hello and welcome to today’s Europa League semi-final between FC Basel and Chelsea.
Chelsea: Cech, Azpilicueta, Ivanovic, Terry, Cole, Luiz, Hazard, Ramires, Lampard, Moses, Torres.
Basel: Sommer, Philipp Degen, Schar, Dragovic, Park, Fabian Frei, Salah, El-Nenny, Die, Stocker, Streller.
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Chelsea make me proud