Chelsea began the defense of their Champions League title with a 1-0 win over Zenit St Petersburg.
It was a hard-fought victory for the Blues but they were able to get the job done courtesy of summer signing Romelu Lukaku.
Since being signed, the Belgian has proven how good he can be and was the match winner at Stamford Bridge.
Thomas Tuchel’s side were made to work hard as their visitors sat back and “parked the bus”, happy to let the hosts dominate possession and hardly creating any chances themselves.
The breakthrough came in the second half when a Cesar Azpilicueta’s cross found Lukaku in the box. The former Inter man rose highest to head the cross beyond the reach of the Zenit goalkeeper.
Despite Chelsea completely dominating the game, Zenit could have snatched an equaliser late on when substitute Artem Dzyuba slid wide from six yards as he tried to turn in Sardar Azmoun’s cross.
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The Blues were always favourites to win but their brilliance not only comes from winning but showing they were very capable of grinding out results when needed.
The win also proves how integral Lukaku is to the side having scored his fourth goal in as many games since signing for the Blues.
While the visitors limited Tuchel’s men to only a handful of chances, Lukaku capitalised on his only major opportunity and made them pay for it.
In the Belgian, Chelsea have a proper striker, one that was obviously lacking in their arsenal last season. He has proven to be worth every penny spent since making a club-record move in the summer.
Chelsea would be happy with the 1-0 win against Zenit especially when Group H rivals, Juventus, started their campaign with an impressive 3-0 win against Malmo in Sweden.
Obviously there will be difficult times ahead for the Blues but there is no better way to kick off their Champions League season than with three points.
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