Roma 3-0 Chelsea

Thibaut Courtois — Chelsea conceded three of the six shots on target they faced

Chelsea became the first English team to lose a Champions League game this season as they were well beaten by a clinical Roma.

The Blues would have progressed with a victory, but trailed within 39 seconds when Edin Dzeko flicked Aleksandar Kolarov's cross down to Stephan El Shaarawy, who smashed home from 25 yards.

Alvaro Morata missed a huge chance to equalise from close range, and El Shaarawy made it 2-0 when ex-Roma defender Antonio Rudiger failed to deal with Radja Nainggolan's long ball forward.

Chelsea had more shots - 14 to 13 - but were three behind when Diego Perotti cracked home from 20 yards after Blues defenders failed to close him down.

Roma should have led 4-0 when Chelsea's defenders all ran to Dzeko, who managed to square to a totally unmarked Perotti, but he fired over when he should have finished.

The Blues were hugely fortunate that Atletico Madrid's failure to beat Qarabag - their game in the Spanish capital ended 1-1 - means Chelsea are still likely to qualify for the last 16 from Group C.

Antonio Conte's side are four points above third-placed Atletico - and a win in their next Champions League game at Qarabag (17:00 GMT on Wednesday, 22 November) will take them through.

Roma, who are fifth in Serie A, now lead the group by a point.

Chelsea get it wrong at the back - again and again

Stephan El Shaarawy took advantage of a defensive mix-up to double Roma's lead

Chelsea had hoped midfielder N'Golo Kante would be able to return from the hamstring injury which has kept him out for a month, but he did not feel fully fit and was left out.

And how the Blues missed him. David Luiz started in midfield in the reverse game - a 3-3 draw at Stamford Bridge two weeks ago - but played in defence at the Stadio Olimpico. Centre-back Gary Cahill replaced Davide Zappacosta from Saturday's win over Bournemouth, meaning a reshuffle with Cesar Azpilicueta moving to the right.

They actually should have been 1-0 up within 21 seconds - when Pedro shot straight at Alisson Becker - before El Shaarawy scored the sixth quickest Champions League goal of the past decade, following good work from ex-City pair Kolarov and Dzeko.

Chelsea had plenty of shots - but rarely looked like scoring, with the lively Hazard forcing two saves and shooting wide. Morata also missed a sitter and Marcos Alonso forced a good diving save with an effort from the corner of the box.

But the Blues were error-ridden at the back. They should have conceded when Luiz made a mistake on the halfway line and El Shaarawy played in Dzeko, whose shot was saved.

They trailed 2-0 when Rudiger, a summer signing from the Italian side, let Nainggolan's pass bounce and El Shaarawy took advantage to score past the onrushing Thibaut Courtois.

Things did not improve when Antonio Conte brought on Willian for captain Cahill, moving Pedro to the right - and the Spaniard let Perotti go past him with no other defenders shutting the Argentine down before he smashed in the third.

They were lucky not to concede again with defending resembling football seen on five-a-side pitches - or school yards - across the world. All three Chelsea centre-backs ran to Dzeko - with two men free in the centre but Perotti got it wrong.

Courtois denied Kostas Manolas' header with a good reaction save as Chelsea were just glad to get off the pitch at the end.

Morata struggling for confidence

Alvaro Morata only had 26 touches - missing two chances - before being withdrawn

Chelsea striker Morata had another disappointing evening in front of goal.

The 25-year-old Spain forward, a £60m summer signing from Real Madrid, had scored seven goals in his first eight games in English football.

But it is now six games in a row without scoring and he was replaced by Michy Batshuayi with 15 minutes left.

At 1-0, he missed a glorious chance to score. Kolarov's clearance hit Pedro and landed at Morata's feet six yards out. The Spaniard was not expecting the ball and blazed well over.

He only had two shots on a quiet night - dragging a shot wide from just outside the box after a one-two with Hazard.

Former England defender Phil Neville - at the Stadio Olimpico for BBC Radio 5 live - said: "Morata missed two really good chances at Bournemouth on the weekend and he's not scored for five games [before today].

"I just wonder if his confidence has been knocked. He had to score that."

What's next?

Could Morata be in danger of losing his place for Sunday's Premier League game against Manchester United at 16:30 GMT? Roma go to Fiorentina at 14:00 GMT that day.

Man of the match - Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma)

Match stats - Fabregas reaches landmark

The other 16 games involving English clubs in this season's Champions League have seen them win 12 and draw four.
Chelsea are now winless in their past six away games against Italian clubs in the Champions League (D1 L5).
This was only the third time that Chelsea have lost a Champions League game by a margin of three or more goals. The previous two were 5-1 at Barcelona in April 2000 and 3-0 at Juventus in November 2012.
Stephan El Shaarawy's opening goal was the first time that Chelsea have conceded in the opening minute since 1 December 2013 when Jay Rodriguez netted after 13 seconds for Southampton.
This goal was also the quickest that Chelsea have ever conceded in the Champions League and the quickest scored in the 2017-18 competition so far.
Cesc Fabregas made his 100th Champions League appearance in this match, becoming the fifth youngest to reach this landmark (30 years, 180 days).

Line-ups
Match Stats
Live Text

Line-ups

Roma

Formation 4-3-3

1Alisson
24FlorenziSubstituted forManolasat 76'minutes
20Fazio
5Nunes Jesus
11Kolarov
4Nainggolan
16De Rossi
6Strootman
92El ShaarawySubstituted forSantos da Silvaat 75'minutes
9Dzeko
8PerottiSubstituted forPellegriniat 87'minutes

Substitutes

7Pellegrini
15Moreno
17Ünder
21Gonalons
28Skorupski
30Santos da Silva
44Manolas

Chelsea

Formation 3-4-3

13Courtois
24CahillSubstituted forWillianat 56'minutes
30David Luiz
2Rüdiger
28Azpilicueta
4FàbregasSubstituted forDrinkwaterat 71'minutes
14Bakayoko
3Alonso
11Pedro
9MorataSubstituted forBatshuayiat 75'minutes
10E Hazard

Substitutes

1Caballero
6Drinkwater
16Kenedy
21Zappacosta
22Willian
23Batshuayi
27Christensen

Referee:: Jonas Eriksson
Attendance:: 55,036

Match Stats

Home TeamRomaAway TeamChelsea

Possession: Home49%; Away51%

Shots: Home13; Away14

Shots on Target: Home6; Away6

Corners: Home5; Away3

Fouls: Home5; Away8

Live Text

Post update
Match ends, Roma 3, Chelsea 0.
90'+3'
Full Time
Second Half ends, Roma 3, Chelsea 0.

90'+2'
Post update
Offside, Chelsea. David Luiz tries a through ball, but Michy Batshuayi is caught offside.
90'+2'
Post update
David Luiz (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
90'+2'
Post update
Foul by Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma).
89'
Post update
Corner, Chelsea. Conceded by Daniele De Rossi.
87'
Substitution
Substitution, Roma. Lorenzo Pellegrini replaces Diego Perotti.
84'
Post update
Attempt blocked. Pedro (Chelsea) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Eden Hazard.
84'
Post update
Attempt saved. Daniel Drinkwater (Chelsea) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Willian.
83'
Post update
Corner, Chelsea. Conceded by Juan Jesus.
83'
Post update
Attempt blocked. Pedro (Chelsea) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Eden Hazard.
82'
Post update
Attempt missed. Eden Hazard (Chelsea) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Willian.
79'
Post update
Corner, Roma. Conceded by Thibaut Courtois.
79'
Post update
Attempt saved. Kostas Manolas (Roma) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Radja Nainggolan with a cross.
78'
Post update
Corner, Roma. Conceded by Thibaut Courtois.
78'
Post update
Attempt saved. Radja Nainggolan (Roma) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top left corner. Assisted by Gerson.
76'
Substitution
Substitution, Roma. Kostas Manolas replaces Alessandro Florenzi.
75'
Substitution
Substitution, Chelsea. Michy Batshuayi replaces Álvaro Morata.
75'
Substitution
Substitution, Roma. Gerson replaces Stephan El Shaarawy.
73'
Post update
Attempt missed. Edin Dzeko (Roma) right footed shot from the right side of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Radja Nainggolan.

As It Stood

A

	Team	P	W	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Man Utd	4	4	0	10	1	9	12
2	FC Basel	4	2	2	8	5	3	6
3	CSKA Moscow	4	2	2	5	8	-3	6
4	Benfica	4	0	4	1	10	-9	0

B

	Team	P	W	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	PSG	4	4	0	17	0	17	12
2	Bayern Munich	4	3	1	8	4	4	9
3	Celtic	4	1	3	4	10	-6	3
4	Anderlecht	4	0	4	0	15	-15	0

C

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Roma	4	2	2	0	8	4	4	8
2	Chelsea	4	2	1	1	11	7	4	7
3	Atl Madrid	4	0	3	1	2	3	-1	3
4	FK Qarabag	4	0	2	2	2	9	-7	2

D

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Barcelona	4	3	1	0	7	1	6	10
2	Juventus	4	2	1	1	5	5	0	7
3	Sporting	4	1	1	2	5	6	-1	4
4	Olympiakos	4	0	1	3	3	8	-5	1

E

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Liverpool	3	1	2	0	10	3	7	5
2	Spartak Moscow	3	1	2	0	7	3	4	5
3	Sevilla	3	1	1	1	6	7	-1	4
4	NK Maribor	3	0	1	2	1	11	-10	1

F

	Team	P	W	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Man City	3	3	0	8	1	7	9
2	Shakhtar Donetsk	3	2	1	4	4	0	6
3	Napoli	3	1	2	5	5	0	3
4	Feyenoord	3	0	3	2	9	-7	0

G

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Besiktas	3	3	0	0	7	2	5	9
2	RB Leipzig	3	1	1	1	4	5	-1	4
3	FC Porto	3	1	0	2	6	6	0	3
4	Monaco	3	0	1	2	2	6	-4	1

H

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Tottenham	3	2	1	0	7	2	5	7
2	Real Madrid	3	2	1	0	7	2	5	7
3	B Dortmund	3	0	1	2	3	7	-4	1
4	Apoel Nicosia	3	0	1	2	1	7	-6	1

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Comments

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217 comments

Comment posted by unknown user , at 21:41 31 Oct 2017
Fabragas is a different player this season.

Every time he gets the ball he gives it away
Comment posted by alex1817, at 21:49 31 Oct 2017
Come on BBC give Chelsea the hiding they deserve.

If it was Arsenal or Liverpool it would be a "crisis", "get the manager sacked", "they don't know what their doing".
Comment posted by User0766887094, at 21:48 31 Oct 2017
Need to spend another 300 million to fix this.
Comment posted by footyfan94, at 21:49 31 Oct 2017
One of the most dominant and impressive displays in europe this season. Was a completely one sided match and Roma dominated Chelsea in all aspects of performance.
Comment posted by Razz, at 21:44 31 Oct 2017
calm down lads, it's only Chelsea, plastic club with plastic fans who wave plastic flags. If it wasn't for the Russian they'd be Leeds
Comment posted by Theworries, at 21:45 31 Oct 2017
@Spare it's easy to do well when your club is bankrolled by an ENTIRE country! Pep wouldn't have given City the time of day without that oil money.. Don't act like City did it Liverpool or Arsenal did. You got lucky so please show a little class. (Something money CAN'T buy)
Comment posted by User0523122302, at 21:51 31 Oct 2017
Chelsea got lucky. It could easily have been 6 or 7 nil. Chelsea again look out of their depth at this level. League cup is their only chance of silverware this season
Comment posted by Fat Rat, at 21:53 31 Oct 2017
Sloppy Chelsea?

How about different-class Roma. Call it for what it is and put your Premier League bias to the side. This wasn't a one-off. Roma were unlucky not to win at the bridge. They're a class above Chelsea and once again, the overrated PL has been shown up for the mediocrity it is.
Comment posted by TheUEFA_BlueBadgesElite, at 21:51 31 Oct 2017
Russian mafia guy's platic club humiliated in Rome. Good.
Comment posted by Chia15, at 22:03 31 Oct 2017
Sloppy Chelsea??? Roma were head and shoulders better than them in both legs
Comment posted by craig, at 21:43 31 Oct 2017
Always like to see Chelsea lose .
Comment posted by Guy Fawkes, at 22:19 31 Oct 2017
Reckon if you really put your mind to it BBC you could get Conte sacked by the morning.
Comment posted by Beavo, at 22:13 31 Oct 2017
Mistakes absolutely everywhere.

Which included:

- Playing Azpilicueta RWB

- Not starting Zappacosta

- Allowing Gary Cahill anywhere near the pitch

- Starting Fabregas in a game requiring mobile midfielders

- Not starting Drinkwater

Morata's attitude stinks, Bakayoko can't control a ball and we don't deserve Hazard.

Thought Pedro played well though!
Comment posted by Khlysty, at 22:03 31 Oct 2017
@1. Posted by markthelegendkid

"Like Liverpool you only win trophies by penalties."

You wouldn't know but....you have to win a few games before you get to the final to get to those penalties!

Lucky?
Possibly once, maybe twice...but not 5 times for the European Cup/CL and 3 times in the UEFA Cup and 3 times in the Super Cup!
Comment posted by U16805692, at 21:41 31 Oct 2017
Ouch.
Comment posted by iknoweverythinglol, at 21:46 31 Oct 2017
These guys must need more money
Comment posted by User0654796991, at 23:42 31 Oct 2017
Always good to see one of the sugar daddy clubs get well & truly slapped, well done Roma!
Comment posted by whoatemyjam, at 00:02 1 Nov 2017
Never rated Phil Neville as a pundit but 100% agree with him when he mentioned the person who sold Matic must be sacked , rather then sacking all good managers i think its time to sack the whole board now and tweak some of their silly recruitment policies, something up there is so wrong in footballing terms
Comment posted by Born and Bread, at 21:58 31 Oct 2017
LFC fan in peace. Comiserations on your resul tonight. Unfortunately as you may be aware, Man Utd inexplicably won again tonight. I speak on behalf of all non-United fans, that we need you to get your act together asap. The Utd fans on here are already lauding their last 2 fluke wins, and you can imagine how insufferable theyll become if they beat you too. We will NOT be happy if you let us down.
Comment posted by Arch Stanton, at 22:57 31 Oct 2017
I hope Roma get the credit they deserve. Scored 3 at stamford bridge, should have scored 5 at home.