February 05, (THEWILL) – At their Stamford Bridge ground, English Premier League side Chelsea, who were without manager Thomas Tuchel after the German tested positive for COVID-19, survived and inglorious upset in their FA Cup 2-1 win over League One Plymouth Argyle.
Despite peppering Argyle goalkeeper Mike Cooper from the start of the game, the Blues were taken to the distance on Saturday, needing extra time to win the game.
Marcos Alonso’s 105th-minute winner was the Blues’ 39th shot of a tight, hard-fought contest played in front of 6,000 Plymouth supporters, who were in ecstasy when they went ahead in the eighth minute.
Chelsea unleashed a barrage of attacks, and despite Cesar Azpilicueta’s equaliser near the conclusion of the first half, it took more than an hour for Chelsea to claim victory.
Plymouth posed a genuine threat in the second half of extra time, forcing a couple of saves from Kepa and drawing a penalty appeal for handball as the total number of shots in the game surpassed 50, but it was a 117th-minute penalty from Ryan Hardie that gave the visitors the chance to force a shootout.
Unfortunately, Hardle’s penalty was feeble and low, allowing Kepa to deal with it comfortably.
Chelsea will now proceed to the Club World Cup with their position in the fifth round of the FA Cup secured, despite a late flurry of half-chances yielding nothing more than Hardie’s easy chance from 12 yards.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
