A glimpse of Chelsea’s odds percentage against one of European football’s heavyweights in next year’s Champions League round of 16 was provided on Thursday evening.
The blues caught up
Thomas Tuchel’s side were of course back in action on Thursday night.
Already assured of their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League, the Blues made the trip to Russia to face Zenit Saint Petersburg, knowing that they simply needed to match Juventus’ result on the night to ensure the status of the head of the list. in the H.
Ultimately, however, Chelsea failed in their efforts to do just that.
When Timo Werner guided them to a 3-2 lead with ten minutes remaining, the European champions looked set for a 5th win of the group stage campaign.
But, just at death, there was a twist in the story.
After the ball fell to the edge of the box, Magomed Ozdoyev threw an astonishing effort into the roof of the net, securing a share of the booty to Zenit:
A breathtaking strike from Magomed Ozdoyev ????????
Wonderful goal right after Zenit’s death prevents Chelsea from dominating #UCL Group H ???? pic.twitter.com/Rajrv6Hfx7
– Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) December 8, 2021
Juventus, meanwhile, beat Malmö 1-0 on their final matchday, ensuring that the Bianconeri, not Chelsea, were top of the Group H table.
Are Real Madrid watching?
And, as mentioned above, 24 hours later, a glimpse of the cost that the Blues’ latest mistake could still prove to be costly has been provided.
Of course, their fall on day 2 of the final day means Chelsea will enter the Champions League round of 16 draw on the more difficult side of things, ready to face the winner from another group.
With Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City having made up three of these group winners, but also plying their trade in the Premier League, Thomas Tuchel’s troops find themselves with just four potential opponents in the knockout stage:
- Bayern Munich
- Real Madrid
- Ajax
- LOSC Lille
Which of these clubs, statistically, however marks Chelsea’s most likely opponent?
Well, an overview of precisely that has now been provided.
According to renowned statistician Mister Chip, amid a detailed breakdown of the precise percentage chance of every possible draw of the last 16, the most likely test of current Champions League holders in the next round comes in the form of a confrontation with the Real of the former boss Carlo Ancelotti. Madrid.
Such a tie, the most likely of all in the first knockout stage, comes in at 32.3%.
The Blues’ next most likely opponents are Lille (25%), followed by Bayern and Ajax (both 21%).
The @VillarrealCF is passenger number 16 !!!
Here you have the odds of all the clashes that can occur in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League #UCL 2021-22: Real Madrid-Chelsea is the most likely duel. pic.twitter.com/SOYceaL7Vd
– MisterChip (Alexis) (@2010MisterChip) December 9, 2021
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