Uefa Super Cup: Chelsea defeat Villarreal on penalties in Belfast to lift trophy for second time

Chelsea beat Villarreal 6-5 in a penalty shootout to lift the Uefa Super Cup for a second time after a draining 120 minutes of action ended 1-1 in Belfast.

Substitute goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga saved captain Raul Albiol's spot-kick at Windsor Park on a night that began superbly for the Blues with an excellent first-half performance before the Spaniards stormed back into the contest after the break.

Hakim Ziyech opened the scoring for the Blues midway through the opening 45 minutes but was then forced off with what looked like a worrying shoulder injury before half-time.

The Spaniards hit the woodwork either side of the break before Gerard Moreno equalised in the 73rd minute to force extra time.

Chelsea, who look set to complete a deal to re-sign striker Romelu Lukaku for a club record fee of £97.5m from Inter Milan, failed to rediscover their first-half vigour in extra time but did come close to a winner through Christian Pulisic and Mason Mount.

It was the first time the Super Cup was played in Northern Ireland and 13,000 spectators generated a fantastic atmosphere in the south Belfast stadium, the highest attendance at any sports event in the country since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Kepa was brought off the bench by Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel just a few minutes before the end of extra-time and dived low to his right to save from Albiol and spark mass scenes of celebration amongst the Chelsea players and supporters.

Ziyech's goal arrived in the 27th minute when the lively Kai Havertz ran on to ball into the left channel and delivered a precise pull-back, with Ziyech directing his shot in despite not getting a clean connection on the ball.

Villarreal's 73rd-minute equaliser was the result of a poor clearance out of defence by Kurt Zouma, with Morena feeding Boulaye Dia whose clever flick-return to the Spaniard was clinically swept past Edouard Mendy.

It was an equaliser that looked like coming after Alberto Moreno crashed a volley off the underside of the crossbar in first-half injury time and Mendy had dived superbly to tip a Gerard Moreno shot onto the post after the keeper had initially given the ball away.

Ziyech injury a concern for Chelsea after commanding start

The opening 40 minutes were something of a commanding stroll in the Belfast sun for Chelsea as they imposed themselves on Villarreal from the opening minutes, not giving their Spanish opponents a glimmer of hope until just before the break.

The contrasting styles of captain-for-the-night N'Golo Kante and Mateo Kovačić in midfield provided a base from which to apply pressure on the Europa League winners, with Kovačić's diagonal balls to Callum Hudson-Odoi on the right particularly penetrating.

Tino Werner had their first chance in the sixth minute, having his close-range volley well saved by Sergio Asenjo, while Kante flashed just wide from 20 yards before Kurt Zouma volleyed an excellent chance over the bar.

Ziyech then clashed with Juan Foyth and went down, requiring oxygen treatment and going off the pitch with his right shoulder having to be supported amidst what was a chaotic closing few minutes to the first half.

Tuchel's side looked flat as the second half got underway and were not helped when the inevitable host of substitutions began being made though Villarreal deserve credit for taking advantage and giving their enthusiastic supporters something to cheer on their first Super Cup appearance.

Player of the match

HavertzKai Havertz

Chelsea

Squad number29Player nameHavertz

Squad number1Player nameArrizabalaga

Squad number7Player nameKanté

Squad number22Player nameZiyech

Squad number14Player nameChalobah

Squad number16Player nameMendy

Squad number2Player nameRüdiger

Squad number3Player nameAlonso

Squad number28Player nameAzpilicueta

Squad number17Player nameKovacic

Squad number11Player nameWerner

Squad number15Player nameZouma

Squad number10Player namePulisic

Squad number4Player nameChristensen

Squad number5Player nameJorginho

Squad number19Player nameMount

Squad number20Player nameHudson-Odoi

Villarreal

Squad number7Player nameMoreno

Squad number18Player nameMoreno

Squad number12Player nameEstupiñán

Squad number17Player nameDani Raba

Squad number1Player nameAsenjo

Squad number23Player nameMoi Gómez

Squad number2Player nameMario Gaspar

Squad number8Player nameFoyth

Squad number4Player nameTorres

Squad number22Player nameMandi

Squad number6Player nameMorlanes

Squad number3Player nameAlbiol

Squad number16Player nameDia

Squad number21Player namePino

Squad number24Player namePedraza

Squad number25Player nameCapoue

Squad number14Player nameManu Trigueros

Line-ups

Chelsea

Formation 3-4-2-1

16Mendy

14Chalobah15Zouma2Rüdiger

20Hudson-Odoi7Kanté17Kovacic3Alonso

22Ziyech29Havertz

11Werner

Substitutes

Villarreal

Formation 4-4-2

1Asenjo

8Foyth3Albiol4Torres24Pedraza

21Pino14Trigueros Muñoz25Capoue18Moreno

7Moreno16Dia

Substitutes

Live Text

Match ends, Chelsea 1(6), Villarreal 1(5).

Penalty Shootout ends, Chelsea 1(6), Villarreal 1(5).

Penalty saved! Raúl Albiol (Villarreal) fails to capitalise on this great opportunity, right footed shot saved in the bottom left corner.

Goal! Chelsea 1(6), Villarreal 1(5). Antonio Rüdiger (Chelsea) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the centre of the goal.

Goal! Chelsea 1(5), Villarreal 1(5). Juan Foyth (Villarreal) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom right corner.

Goal! Chelsea 1(5), Villarreal 1(4). Christian Pulisic (Chelsea) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom right corner.

Goal! Chelsea 1(4), Villarreal 1(4). Dani Raba (Villarreal) converts the penalty with a left footed shot to the bottom right corner.

Goal! Chelsea 1(4), Villarreal 1(3). Jorginho (Chelsea) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the centre of the goal.

Goal! Chelsea 1(3), Villarreal 1(3). Moi Gómez (Villarreal) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.

Goal! Chelsea 1(3), Villarreal 1(2). Mason Mount (Chelsea) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the centre of the goal.

Goal! Chelsea 1(2), Villarreal 1(2). Pervis Estupiñán (Villarreal) converts the penalty with a left footed shot to the bottom left corner.

Kepa Arrizabalaga (Chelsea) is shown the yellow card.

Goal! Chelsea 1(2), Villarreal 1(1). Marcos Alonso (Chelsea) converts the penalty with a left footed shot to the bottom left corner.

Penalty saved! Aïssa Mandi (Villarreal) fails to capitalise on this great opportunity, right footed shot saved in the bottom left corner.

Goal! Chelsea 1(1), Villarreal 1(1). César Azpilicueta (Chelsea) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom right corner.

Goal! Chelsea 1, Villarreal 1(1). Gerard Moreno (Villarreal) converts the penalty with a left footed shot to the bottom right corner.

Penalty saved! Kai Havertz (Chelsea) fails to capitalise on this great opportunity, left footed shot saved in the bottom right corner.

Penalty Shootout begins Chelsea 1, Villarreal 1.

Second Half Extra Time ends, Chelsea 1, Villarreal 1.

Foul by Christian Pulisic (Chelsea).

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