Dinamo Zagreb against Chelsea was not one for the Premier League visitors. Mislav Orsic's first-half goal lifted the Croatian hosts to a 1-0 win on Tuesday in both clubs' 2022-23 UEFA Champions League group stage debut.
Thomas Tuchel was raging after the defeat, as Orsic was cool while the Chelsea defense made several mistakes that led to his 13th-minute goal.
Tuchel was raging before the goal, and he finished the day with a yellow card and a spot in the basement of Group A as Red Bull Salzburg drew AC Milan in Austria.
Tuchel, "I'm angry at myself and I'm angry about our performance." "This is a colossal underperformance on our part. It's not precise enough. It's not clinical enough. It's not aggressive enough on the ball. It's not determined enough. As a whole, it is inadequate. It's not good enough as a team."
Only three saves were forced out of Dinamo goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic despite Chelsea controlling the ball for 68% of the game and having 15 of the game's 21 shots.
Even worse, according to Tuchel, Dinamo didn't surprise him because The Blues were prepared and didn't carry out his plan.
"We expected what we got," Tuchel remarked. "It was the story of the last few games: We start okay for 15-20 minutes but then lacked determination, precision and maybe even lacked the smell of blood."
Tuchel responded, "Because I didn't see it coming. "Obviously, I was in the wrong movie. I did not see that coming." (NM) (NM)
The Blues are among the favorites to win the Champions League after their success in the 2020-21 season and then being knocked out at the quarterfinal stage last season by eventual winners Real Madrid. However, after a busy summer of the ins and outs, they have a lot of new players settling in. Tuchel has been backed heavily in the transfer market by new co-owner and chairman Todd Boehly, and it will take these players a few months to gel as a unit. Adding Denis Zakaria and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on deadline day was a bonus, and both have traveled with the Chelsea squad to Croatia and could make their debuts. However, Chelsea has to improve defensively, and despite some injuries in midfield, Tuchel will want to see his side step things up considerably after a slow start to the new season. There is a whiff of an upset in the air as this will be a tricky trip to a fired-up Dinamo Zagreb with nothing to lose. (JPW)
Zagreb came through the qualifying rounds and beat North Macedonian side Shkupi narrowly in the second qualifying round before beating Ludogorets and then Bodo/Glimt in extra time in the playoffs to reach the group stage. Domestically they are unbeaten and currently sit top of the Croatian top-flight after seven wins from their opening eight games. However, in their last six attempts to advance past the Champions League group stage, they have always finished last in their division and have won just three of their previous 36 games. Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic is returning to the club where his career began, and he's a hero at Dinamo and in Croatia. Bruno Petkovic and Mislva Orsic are the forwards to watch out for. (JPW)
With Wesley Fofana, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Raheem Sterling all starting for Chelsea, the starting lineup is drastically different now that Aubameyang and Zakaria can make their debuts. Thiago Silva, a seasoned center defender, has not gone to Zagreb, while N'Golo Kante is still sidelined due to injury. Ben Chilwell starts over Marc Cucurella after having a huge impact off the bench in their win against West Ham at the weekend. Still, USMNT star Christian Pulisic drops to the bench with Aubameyang, Sterling, and Havertz starting in attack. (JPW)
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