Chelsea FC also won the Super Cup after the Champions League. At Windsor Park in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the Londoners triumphed 7:6 (1:0, 1:1, 1:1) on penalties against Europa League winner Villarreal. The first goal against the Spaniards was scored by Hakim Ziyech (27th minute), who put a cross from German national player Kai Havertz into the goal. And Gerard Moreno equalized (73). From his point of view, it was Havertz who missed Sergio Asengo’s first penalty shot – due to two saves by substitute goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, it was enough to win the title.
In addition to Havertz, coach Thomas Tuchel has also relied on his other German Football Association players Antonio Rudiger and Timo Werner in the starting lineup. For the attacking players Havertz and Werner, it was not just another trophy, but also self-promotion: the Super Cup would have been the last match before the official announcement of Romelu Lukakus’ transfer from Inter Milan to Chelsea. In addition to the world-class Belgian striker, there were only two more places left in the attack of Londoners.
Accordingly, Chelsea began a quick attack: Werner had his first good sight when he dangerously directed a corner kick from Ziyech with the tip of his toe on goal (7). The midfielder, N’Golo Kante, also approached the early goal with a sharp long-range shot after winning the ball (the ninth). Advance defender Trevoh Kahlobe missed the lead by a narrow margin when Ziyech saved his shot after a wonderful Qatari ball (24).
Villarreal only plays after 0-1
Villarreal managed to make any relief attacks, and the deficit was logical: Havertz received a pass from Marcos Alonso on the left wing and played consistently inside the penalty area, Ziyech completed the powerful attack (27). Only then did Villarreal become active, but in the first match with Chelsea goalkeeper Edward Mendy, Villarreal winger Boulay Diya initially remained the second winner (33).
The balance of power on the field has now shifted significantly in favor of the Spaniards. Villarreal was lucky because Kurt Zouma of Chelsea hit the ball over the goal from close range (36th place). Until the break, it was the strongest stage yet, shortly before the break whistle, Alberto Moreno hit the bottom edge of the bar from five meters with his best chance yet (45 + 4). Shortly before Ziyech left the field, the goal scorer had to leave the field for former Dortmund player Christian Pulisic (43.) with complaints in the shoulder area.
Villarreal remained dangerous in the second half. After a running error by Mendy and a pass from Dia, Gerard Moreno initially only hit the post (52), but he took advantage of the next big opportunity and scored the equalizer after 1-2 with Dia (73). Both teams went into overtime at eye level.
During the extra 30 minutes, teams noticed that they didn’t want to go to their limits a few days before their league started. Pulisic used one of the rare moments when Chelsea quickly played to a dangerous finish – but that just missed the far post (100th). Villarreal goalkeeper Sergio Asengo also kept his team in the match when he saved the substitute Mason Mount (108th place).
Head coach Unai Emery’s team started the penalty shootout with good memories: at 11:10 after the penalty shootout in the Europa League final against Manchester United, all the players converted the penalty shootout. Asengo nullified Havertz’s first shot, but Issa Mandy, who fired the second for Villarreal, was also missed by Arrizabalaga, who was substituted in the confrontation. After Rudiger made the converted sixth penalty kick for Chelsea, Villarreal captain Raul Albiol started – Arrizabalaga jumped into the right corner and took the title for Chelsea.
