Chelsea’s run to the Europa League knock-out stages could end with them having picked up six wins out six. All that stands in their way are the good old “boys from Dave.”
This is it. We can forget about all of the Thursday night, stupid-kick-off-time-football… at least until next year.
With the hard work done, Chelsea have already clinched top spot in their Europa League group. It may not have the kudos of the Champions League, but Europe’s inferior cup competition offers a route to its big brother for the following season, somewhat upping the ante.
Once the Round of 32 comes around next year the Champions League drop-outs will be amongst those, like Chelsea, who have already fought their way through on merit. With 6-7 teams now vying for a crucial top-four Premier League position, Maurizio Sarri will be keen to grab some secondary Euro glory as an insurance policy in case his side drop below the fourth place cut-off.
As we have previously found out, Mol Vidi, Videoton or for the less formal Vidi, come from the Hungarian town of Székesfehérvár, preferably called “Dave.” We also know Chelsea supporters won’t have the pleasure of visiting “Dave” because Vidi’s home stadium in the city is currently under renovation. Instead, Blues fans will be heading to Budapest and the Groupama Arena.
Whilst Chelsea can relax, there is still something riding on the game: MOL Vidi and BATE Borisov are still battling out the second spot. Maurizio Sarri will likely respect that. He’ll also be keen for that invincibility tag, though as Chelsea head into the knock-out stages.
For the sake of BATE, though, the boys from “Dave” can expect a game. Some Chelsea fans may still clamour for a wholesale rotation to bring in the Blues’ development squad, but those seeking the “yoof” may be disappointed.
At Stamford Bridge in early October, Chelsea dominated the Hungarian outfit, amassing 28 shots at goal. Disappointingly, only five of those were on target. In the end, it took an emotional Alvaro Morata to clinch the game with an instinctive finish in front of goal 20 minutes from the end.
Following the goal, Morata appeared to have something in his eye. The lingering hug with the goal provider, Willian, reflected Morata’s relief at scoring. Subsequent games have seen the Spaniard still struggling and speculation continues as to how long he’ll remain in London. It’s clearly been tough for Morata since he arrived at Chelsea carrying a £70 million price tag. It can only be hoped that history and his time in SW6 don’t portray another waste of Roman Abramovich’s money.
As Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham power on in the so-called Champions League (technically, only one of them is a champion), Chelsea and Arsenal fans know their place and which European tournament really matters.
Thursday night, stupid-kick-off-time-football – here we come once again.