Raheem Sterling was restored to Chelsea's attack and rewarded Graham Potter with a starring role in a 2-1 win over Dinamo Zagreb which saw Ben Chilwell limp off late on.
2022/2023 UEFA Champions League
2-1
Match Report
Chilwell appeared to pull his hamstring chasing a ball in stoppage time and though he got to his feet and played the final seconds of the match, the England defender had to be carried across to the tunnel at the full-time whistle to raise questions over his fitness ahead of the World Cup, which kicks off in less than three weeks.
Sterling's role in Chelsea's 4-1 defeat at Brighton on Saturday was called into question after Potter started him at wing-back, but back in his natural position he scored his first goal for the club since mid-September to cancel out Bruno Petkovic's early opener - and he could have had a first half hat-trick but missed two other chances.
With Chelsea only playing for pride, but needing to shake off the memory of that hammering on the south coast, they could not have got off to a worse start when Cesar Azpilicueta's miscued header teed up Petkovic to stoop and nod home after seven minutes.
Dinamo were playing for their European hopes - needing a win and favourable results elsewhere to qualify for the Europa League play-off round - but were pegged back only 11 minutes later, when Sterling latched onto Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's backheel and bent an equaliser inside the far post.
On the half-hour mark, Chelsea put themselves ahead as a low ball from the right found debutant Denis Zakaria, who marked his first appearance since joining the club two months ago with what would prove to be the winner, a smart near-post strike which crept inside the near post.
Aubameyang hit the bar after half-time as Chelsea pushed for a cushion while Josip Sutalo was kept out by Edouard Mendy at full stretch, but a dead rubber for the hosts ended with a reassuring victory to end their group-stage on a high ahead of Monday's last-16 draw.
What's next?
Chelsea have three more games before the World Cup break. They host Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday; kick-off 12pm. They then travel to Man City in the Carabao Cup, kick-off 8pm.
Chelsea's final Premier League game before the tournament is on Saturday November 12 when they travel to Newcastle, kick-off 5.30pm.
Dinamo Zagreb will also play three more games ahead of the World Cup, twice in the league and one Croatian Cup fixture next week.
Match Events
0' The match is about to start!
6' GOAL! Chelsea 0-1 Dinamo Zagreb (Petkovic)
16' MISS! Sterling's shot flies into the sky
17' GOAL! Chelsea 1-1 Dinamo Zagreb (Sterling)
29' GOAL! Chelsea 2-1 Dinamo Zagreb (Zakaria)
38' Yellow Card! Koulibaly booked
47' SAVE! Fine stop from Mendy
52' CLOSE! Aubameyang's shot over the bar
82' Sub! Sterling replaced by Pulisic
Line-ups
Chelsea XI: Azpilicueta, Aubameyang, Koulibaly, Sterling, Jorginho, Edouard Mendy, Trevoh Chalobah, Mount, Chilwell, Zakaria, Havertz
Subs: Thiago Silva, Marcus Bettinelli, Ziyech, Loftus-Cheek, Marc Cucurella, Pulisic, Conor Gallagher, Armando Broja
Dinamo Zagreb XI: Arijan Ademi, Mislav Orsic, Stefan Ristovski, D. Livaković, Josip Misic, Dino Peric, Petkovic, Sadegh Moharrami, Luka Ivanusec, Robert Ljubicic, Josip Sutalo
Subs: Catherine, Drmic, Mahir Emreli, Ivan Nevistic, Petar Bockaj, Rasmus Lauritsen, Luka Menalo, Dario Spikic, Antonio Marin, Marko Bulat, Daniel Stefulj, Martin Baturina