Hargreaves insists it's 'far from over' for Chelsea despite defeat

‘Considering they spent £600m and they don’t have a centre forward is just CRAZY – and that game summed it up’: Chelsea ‘need someone who can put the ball in the net’, says Owen Hargreaves after they drew a blank in defeat at Dortmund

  • Chelsea suffered 1-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the first-leg on Wednesday 
  • The Blues wasted their chances while Karim Adeyemi expertly scored 
  • Pundit Owen Hargreaves though still feels that Chelsea can ‘easily advance’  

Owen Hargreaves says there’s still hope for Chelsea in the Champions League against Borussia Dortmund, despite finding it crazy how they don’t have a centre forward despite spending over £600m since the summer.

The Bundesliga side hold the advantage after a 1-0 victory at the Signal Iduna Park on Wednesday night – giving Graham Potter’s side an uphill task to reach the quarter-finals.

Chelsea again struggled to find the back of the net, unlike Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi who from a blistering counter-attack, burst past £110m signing Enzo Fernandez before slotting home with a brilliant finish.

The Blues have scored just four goals in nine games in 2023, and Hargreaves finds it amazing that Chelsea didn’t invest in an out-and-out striker despite all the money have spent.

He said: ‘Considering they (Chelsea) spent £600m and they don’t have a centre-forward is just crazy and that game summed it up. They need someone who can put the ball into the back of the net.’

Chelsea are on the brink of elimination after their 1-0 defeat against Borussia Dortmund

Chelsea squandered a number of opportunities including from Joao Felix (pictured)

Owen Hargreaves though still feels Chelsea can ‘easily advance’ into the quarter-finals

He did though go on to add that he felt Chelsea can ‘easily advance’ if they can sort out their finishing.

Hargreaves said: ‘I think the tie is far from over. I think Chelsea can easily go to the Bridge and win the game in the second leg, but again Dortmund are a threat we saw that. 

‘They dominated the game in the first half, they had really good possession, they have really good attacking players and look a bit more solid defensively. 

‘So, it’s far from over, but if Chelsea sort their finishing out and find someone to play up top there, they could easily go through to the next round.’

Hargreaves comments were echoed by fellow BT Sport pundits Rio Ferdinand and Joe Cole.

Ferdinand: ‘For all the good chances they had and created, and the positives, they’ll be in that changing room and they’ll be disappointment everywhere. You’ve got to try and extract some positive from it, yeah their approach play was good, but at this level you have to finish your chances. 

‘You can’t create the amount of chances that they did and not finish them and at this level you get punished if you don’t do that and today there were.’

Chelsea legend Cole said Kai Havertz’s record up top is not good enough for where Chelsea want to be and says that the Blues look anxious in front of goal.

He said: ‘There were patches of the game and moments where all the patterns of play; Joao Felix was getting on the ball, Kai Havertz was getting on the turn, and they looked good. But it’s that final third, when you start not scoring goals – I think it’s 23 in the Premier League – it’s not good enough for where Chelsea want to be. 

Graham Potter’s Chelsea side have scored just four goals in nine matches so far in 2023

Dortmund’s Adeyemi showed Chelsea’s forwards how it’s done with a brilliant finish

‘When you start not scoring goals or your strikers aren’t in form you start getting that anxiety building and they looked like a team that was anxious in front of goal.

‘Snatching at things, easy chances are becoming more difficult. There were some positives and the game is still in the balance, we’ve all played European ties where we’ve lost the away leg 1-0 and you go and win the home leg, but in the circumstances, they’ll be a disappointment that they didn’t get a result tonight.

Potter’s side probably should have entered half-time with the lead in Germany.

Joao Felix struck the cross bar, had another opportunity following excellent work by Hakim Ziyech, while captain Thiago Silva booked for diverting the ball into the back of the net with his hand.

However, Chelsea also rode their luck with Adeyemi missing a clear-cut chance and Sebastien Haller rippling the side netting. 

It has been a miserable season for Chelsea, with the Champions League the final competition that they are in the race for.

Chelsea, who are 10th in the Premier League, face Southampton, Tottenham and Leeds before the second leg on March 7. 

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