being rested at the weekend.
Before kick-off Tuchel, Jorginho, Mendy and N'Golo Kante were all presented with awards by UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, having been unable to receive them in Istanbul during the Champions League draw due to international travel restrictions.
They and the rest of Chelsea’s European champions were given a massive welcome on to the pitch for our first Champions League game at Stamford Bridge since lifting the trophy, and that was soon followed by a great atmosphere for the start of the game as the supporters enjoyed the return of European nights to west London.
Cagey start
Zenit tried to come out fighting in attempt to quieten the home fans, and Malcom briefly looked like he might get free in space in the box inside the first couple of minutes, but Rudiger was on hand to snuff out the danger and then launch a searching ball forward into the channel for Mount.
While that attack came to nothing, it did allow us to break upfield and establish control over the opening exchanges from then on. However, the Russians were still carrying a threat and James had to be alert to head away a flicked-on cross with Claudinho poised to pounce at the back post.
For our part, we were doing well in possession until we reached the penalty area, but finding it hard to progress beyond that. Alonso failed to find Mount on the edge of the area, Lukaku couldn’t jump high enough to meet James’ cross and then Ziyech had a shot charged down from 20 yards.
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