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Chelsea beat Plymouth: Four things we learned from FA Cup tie as Romelu Lukaku frustrates
CHELSEA battled their way past Plymouth in Saturday afternoon's FA Cup tie.
In pictures: Chelsea v Plymouth
Chelsea had to dig deep to battle their way past Plymouth in their FA Cup showdown on Saturday. The Blues fell behind in the eighth minute when Macaulay Gillesphey struck past Kepa Arrizabalaga. Yet the west London giants responded through goals from Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso to book their place in the fifth round of the competition.
Chelsea reached the FA Cup final last year before ultimately losing at Wembley.
Yet they’ve boosted their chances of making amends after battling their way past Plymouth in the FA Cup on Saturday afternoon.
Gillesphey put Plymouth in dreamland early on, with the centre-back capitalising on a set-piece situation to stun the home crowd.
But Chelsea levelled through Azpilicueta before going on to win courtesy of a goal from Alonso in extra-time, with Kepa saving a late penalty with mere minutes left on the clock.
Express Sport takes a look at four things we learned from the showdown at Stamford Bridge with Thomas Tuchel, who was absent from the game after testing positive for coronavirus, watching on from home.
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Chelsea miss Tuchel’s authority
Chelsea were slow out of the blocks against Plymouth, with the League One side dominating the early stages of the game.
And they certainly appeared to miss Tuchel’s authority on the sidelines.
The Chelsea boss likes to bark orders from his technical area, sometimes upsetting players due to the emotions he shows.
Yet that usually means his Blues side are better-organised than they were today, with their game management leaving plenty to be desired at times.
Whether Tuchel is able to fly with his Chelsea squad for the upcoming Club World Cup ultimately remains to be seen.
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The magic of the FA Cup is alive
For a few years now, there have been critics of the FA Cup.
But though Plymouth were unable to book their place in the next round of the competition, they still showed the magic of the competition is very much alive.
Plymouth, like Middlesbrough against Manchester United on Friday, pushed their Premier League counterparts all the way.
These games aren’t easy for the top teams, especially when they defend so diligently and capably as Argyle did on the day.
With Kidderminster Harriers also taking West Ham to extra-time, there’s certainly no need to scrap this competition. It still means so much to so many.
Lukaku has another off day
When Chelsea paid £98million to sign Romelu Lukaku back in the summer, they were convinced they’d struck gold.
But the Belgium international is a shadow of his usual self and endured yet another frustrating day at the office.
Lukaku threw himself around the field with enthusiasm but his instincts failed him, with the former Inter Milan striker going particularly close when a ball fizzed across the penalty area.
With just three goals from his last 10 games, the Belgian needs to do better.
If he doesn’t, then it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Chelsea pursue an upgrade at the end of the campaign.
Chelsea fans were unhappy
Mateo Kovacic was one of Chelsea’s best players against Plymouth.
He hit the woodwork twice in the first half and was an energetic presence in the middle of the park.
And Chelsea fans certainly weren’t happy when his number came up with the Blues chasing a winner.
The west London giants have, arguably, one of the best squads on the entire planet.
Yet Kovacic is royalty around Chelsea and taking him off was a gamble, one that ultimately paid off. They don’t always, however…