AC Milan 0-2 Chelsea: 3 talking points from UCL victory

Supposed Chelsea No.9 curse

What do Chris Sutton, Mateja Kezman, Fernando Torres, Radamel Falcao, Alvaro Morata, Gonzalo Higuain and Romelu Lukaku all have in common? They combined to contribute to the dreaded Chelsea No.9 ‘curse’. Although, curse is a fantasy – but certainly not a fallacy. With respect to a supernatural element, obviously there is none. However, regarding tangible numbers, there is a link to the downfall of the Blues nine.

So Sutton, Kezman, Torres, Falcao, Morata, Higuain and Lukaku are all great strikers. In Kezman’s case, he had astonishing ability in an earlier period of his career. Some of them are legendary in the game. Nonetheless, they all failed to live up to expectations in west London. Could the weight of pressure being applied on their assumed prosperity have affected the footballers’ mentally? Yes. Were some of them veterans or past their best? 100%.

Even Tuchel talked about the supposed jinx, perhaps that was why he wanted a reunion with prolific scorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for the campaign. The proud, confident, extrovert ‘Auba’ is not the type to let a silly, fake hoodoo get between him and the goal posts. The Gabonese has duly begun in top scoring fashion for the Blues.

A flailing fluidity, particularly in attack, was highlighted by ourselves as Tuchel’s tenure on Fulham Road expired. An opposite effect has been widely noted and evidently noticeable since Potter’s introduction. Yet the 47-year-old refuses to accept acclaim for Aubameyang’s resumed prowess. But goals are flowing – Chels’ have now hit 200 overall in the UCL – the out of form are rejuvenated, veterans are producing and supersubs are being created through homegrown talent: Conor Gallagher and Armando Broja. Good times.