Chelsea sealed their progress to the Champions League knockout stage with two games to spare as Olivier Giroud’s late header secured victory at Rennes.
The French striker has played just 127 minutes for the Blues so far this season, but made the most of his time on the pitch here with an injury-time finish after Timo Werner’s effort had been blocked.
Just six minutes earlier, Rennes looked to have denied Chelsea when Serhou Guirassy headed home from a corner to cancel out Callum Hudson-Odoi’s opener.
Frank Lampard’s side dominated the first half and could easily have led by more than just Hudson-Odoi’s calm finish after he had been sent clear by a pinpoint pass from Mason Mount.
They invited the home side on in the second half and had to rely on a defence that included the returning Thiago Silva and goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, who made a couple of good saves against his former club.
A late winner for Sevilla means both they and the Blues have 10 points in Group E, nine more than both Rennes and Krasnodar.
More to follow.
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Rennes
Squad number16Player nameGomis
Squad number27Player nameTraoré
Squad number3Player nameDa Silva
Squad number4Player nameNyamsi
Squad number31Player nameTruffert
Squad number10Player nameCamavinga
Squad number15Player nameNzonzi
Squad number14Player nameBourigeaud
Squad number18Player nameDoku
Squad number9Player nameGuirassy
Squad number12Player nameLea Siliki
Squad number8Player nameGrenier
Squad number11Player nameNiang
Squad number17Player nameFaitout Maouassa
Squad number19Player nameGboho
Squad number22Player nameDel Castillo
Chelsea
Squad number16Player nameMendy
Squad number28Player nameAzpilicueta
Squad number15Player nameZouma
Squad number6Player nameThiago Silva
Squad number21Player nameChilwell
Squad number17Player nameKovacic
Squad number5Player nameJorginho
Squad number19Player nameMount
Squad number20Player nameHudson-Odoi
Squad number9Player nameAbraham
Squad number11Player nameWerner
Squad number7Player nameKanté
Squad number18Player nameGiroud
Squad number22Player nameZiyech
Squad number24Player nameJames
Squad number29Player nameHavertz
Line-ups
Rennes
- 16Gomis
- 27Traoré
- 3Da Silva
- 4Nyamsi
- 31TruffertSubstituted forMaouassaat 86′minutes
- 10CamavingaSubstituted forGrenierat 78′minutesBooked at 87mins
- 15Nzonzi
- 14BourigeaudBooked at 90mins
- 18DokuSubstituted forGbohoat 86′minutes
- 9GuirassySubstituted forNiangat 86′minutes
- 12Lea SilikiSubstituted forDel Castilloat 63′minutes
Substitutes
- 1Salin
- 8Grenier
- 11Niang
- 17Maouassa
- 19Gboho
- 20Tait
- 22Del Castillo
- 23Hunou
- 32Assignon
- 34Soppy
- 35Rutter
- 38Omari
Chelsea
- 16Mendy
- 28Azpilicueta
- 15Zouma
- 6Thiago Silva
- 21Chilwell
- 17KovacicSubstituted forHavertzat 76′minutes
- 5Jorginho
- 19MountSubstituted forKantĂ©at 68′minutes
- 20Hudson-OdoiSubstituted forZiyechat 75′minutes
- 9AbrahamSubstituted forGiroudat 69′minutes
- 11WernerSubstituted forJamesat 90+2′minutes
Substitutes
- 1Arrizabalaga
- 2RĂŒdiger
- 3Alonso
- 4Christensen
- 7Kanté
- 13Caballero
- 14Tomori
- 18Giroud
- 22Ziyech
- 24James
- 29Havertz
- 33Emerson
Live Text
Match ends, Rennes 1, Chelsea 2.
Second Half ends, Rennes 1, Chelsea 2.
Benjamin Bourigeaud (Rennes) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Benjamin Bourigeaud (Rennes).
Kurt Zouma (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Chelsea. Reece James replaces Timo Werner.
Goal! Rennes 1, Chelsea 2. Olivier Giroud (Chelsea) header from the centre of the box to the top left corner.
Attempt saved. Timo Werner (Chelsea) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Hakim Ziyech.
Attempt saved. Ben Chilwell (Chelsea) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Hakim Ziyech.
Clément Grenier (Rennes) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Clément Grenier (Rennes).
N’Golo KantĂ© (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Substitution, Rennes. Yann Gboho replaces JĂ©remy Doku.
Substitution, Rennes. Faitout Maouassa replaces Adrien Truffert.
Substitution, Rennes. M’Baye Niang replaces Serhou Guirassy.
Goal! Rennes 1, Chelsea 1. Serhou Guirassy (Rennes) header from the centre of the box to the high centre of the goal. Assisted by Benjamin Bourigeaud with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Rennes. Conceded by Thiago Silva.
Substitution, Rennes. Clément Grenier replaces Eduardo Camavinga.
Foul by Benjamin Bourigeaud (Rennes).
Thiago Silva (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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