Nifty bit of play and spinning ball over the defense across the field almost creates something. Nice from CP.
DAMN.. CP off the crossbar. Great fun into a channel, perfect pass from Kovacic, little bit of a tough angle, and CP beats the keeper but not the bar.
Chilwell abuses a Corona mistake, dribbles around the keeper, and makes one of his biggest plays in a Chelsea shirt. 2-0, and away goals.
Great play by Chilwell. Nice strike by CP but should have done better. Nice run and positioning, too.
You saw Pulisic's positioning help open the space for Chilwell's run off the ball. For my money, Puli has been good in his appearence here. He's been good tactically, smart on the ball, and dangerous only when necessary.
He is doing a ton of dirty work off the ball, and on the occasions he sees. Really loving his work here, from a coach stand point.
Great job by CP. Few inches away from epic job, if he puts in that finish. And great scoreline for the club.
If the shot had gone in off the crossbar, would you still say he "should have done better?" Because there's essentially zero difference between a shot that hits the underside of the crossbar and barely stays out vs. a shot that hits the underside of the crossbar and barely goes in. Soccer players don't really aim their shots down to the millimeter. For the same reason, Zidane's PK in the 2006 WC was actually a huge blunder (an even bigger one than the headbutt red card). There's no reason that a panenka should even brush the crossbar - he screwed up and got very lucky.
Uh, no. And if my aunt had balls she'd be my uncle, but that too is neither here nor there. The issue is it's not really about the two inches between in off the crossbar and out off the crossbar... because he had a lot to aim at, for the most part. He hit it well, which I said, but despite him having a good spell today these are the moments which matter most to him IMO, these will be what dictate whether he's going to be a top attacker or not. And it wasn't quite good enough today in his biggest moment of the match. That's all I was saying. As for Zidane's pen, he hit that beautifully. And it worked out for Zizou, as it so often did during his playing career. For CP, arguably it doesn't work out for him enough. You may not like the distinction which rests on such a fine line, but that's how it is measured on the highest level; these are the very fine margins we are talking about when it comes to success or failure. And it does matter. A strongly hit ball off the crossbar is not only not a goal, it's not even a shot on target. That's just the nature of the beast.