Chelsea were the winners of the UEFA Super Cup 2021 on Wednesday night after defeating Villarreal on penalties in Belfast.
The Blues went ahead in the first half courtesy of Hakim Ziyech but were pegged back in the second half by Villarreal’s Gerard Moreno to force the tie to extra time.
When neither side could get the winner in extra time, penalties ensued with the Blues winning 6-5 in the shootout.
Chelsea’s extra time substitute Kepa Arrizabalaga was the hero in the shootout after denying Raul Albiol in sudden death.
It was the Blue’s second time of winning the competition after previously lifting the crown in 1998.
Highlights of the Chelsea Super Cup 2021 win
The Blues dominated the first half of the game with Werner pulling an early save from the Villarreal goalkeeper in the opening minutes.
Shortly after, N’Golo Kante who captained Chelsea for the night released a long-range attempt which was just narrowly wide of the post.
The breakthrough eventually came in the 27th minute when Kai Havertz’s cross from the left-wing found Hakim Ziyech who made no mistake from six yards. Ziyech’s strike for Chelsea makes him the first ever Moroccan to score in the UEFA Super Cup.
Villarreal almost immediately grabbed an equaliser through Alberto Moreno’s long-range effort but the former Liverpool man couldn’t find the target as he blazed wide,
Mendy was eventually called into action when a through ball found Dia in the box. The Senegalese however made a comfortable save from his countryman’s attempt.
At the other end of the pitch, the Villarreal goalkeeper was forced to parry away Alonso’s attempt from inside the box.
Moments later, Ziyech’s freekick found Zouma in the box but the defender could not keep his attempt on target as he blasted it over the bar.
Goalscorer Ziyech was forced to withdraw from the match after it appeared he had sprained his shoulder.
Just before the stroke of half-time, Alberto Moreno’s attempt was whiskers away from being an equaliser. His powerful shot rattled the crossbar and then bounced off the goalline.
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Unai Emery’s men started the second half the way they ended the first. They were the better side for the majority of the half, gaining more possession and creating more chances.
It took a fingertip save by Mendy to keep out Gerard Moreno’s attempt early in the second half. The Chelsea keeper had his near post covered moments later when he blocked off a powerful shot by Estupinan.
Villarreal finally grabbed their equaliser when a good link-up play by Dia and Moreno ended up with the Spaniard finding the back of the net.
The equaliser pushed the match into stoppage time as neither side could find a winner.
Chelsea duo Christian Pulisic and Mason Mount both came close to snatching the win in extra time but they were let down by their finishing and denied by the Villarreal goalkeeper.
In the ensuing penalty shootout, Kai Havertz swung the balance in favour of the Yellow Submarines when his penalty was saved by Asenjo.
Gerard Moreno and Cesar Azpilicueta both converted theirs to make it 1-1.
Kepa evened out the balance once again as he stopped Mandi’s penalty.
Penalties from Marcos Alonso, Estupinan, Mount, Gomez, Jorginho, Raba, Pulisic, Foyth and Rudiger were all converted.
A tame effort from Villarreal captain Albiol allowed Kepa to get down to his right to make the game-clinching save.
The Super Cup win gives Chelsea a bounce going into the new season. The Blues begin their Premier League campaign against Crystal Palace on Saturday at Stamford Bridge.
Villarreal have more time to recover with their La Liga opener against Granada at home coming on Monday.
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