The finishing was nothing like the standard of Jimmy Greaves, paid dutiful and deserved respect when hailed ahead of kick-off as the finest Chelsea striker of all. Sometimes, though, mistakes and gaffes make for great entertainment. Especially so in the low-stakes early rounds of a competition managers use to experiment with the outer limits of their squads.
And the penalty shootout followed a similar pattern, with Ben Chilwell repeating the feat of England left-back predecessor Ashley Young in whacking his spot-kick off the crossbar. Reece James walloped home the decisive kick after Chilwell’s miss briefly delayed the home fans’ celebrations – Marvelous Nakamba had also missed – and Chelsea will face Southampton in the next round.
Written by John Brewin at Stamford Bridge
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/sep/22/chelsea-aston-villa-carabao-cup-match-report under the title “Reece James’s penalty helps Chelsea win shootout with Aston Villa”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
