Match Report - Abraham goal secures victory for Chelsea in the FA Cup
On a cold freezing night in Yorkshire, Chelsea had to wait until midway through the second half to find a way through a very spirited and resilient Barnsley side, however , a Tammy Abraham goal was enough to send Chelsea into the next round of the FA Cup, this was Chelsea's first success against Barnsley in the FA Cup following two previous defeats.
The most recent of those came back in 2008 when Chelsea then led by Avram Grant were knocked out at Oakwell however, this time though the only goal of the game went to Chelsea and was down to good combination play from three Chelsea academy graduates, with Tammy Abraham netting in from close range after quickness of thought from Billy Gilmour along with Reece James's pace and cross created the opening goal.
Barnsley may well consider themselves unlucky not to have gone ahead in the goalless first half. Having started the better side, Barnsley wing-back Callum Brittain has his shot well saved early on by Kepa Arrizabalaga before seeing another shot go narrowly wide just before half-time.
Chelsea showed signs of improvement in-between those chances, with the first time passing of Hakim Ziyech, the odd run from Christian Pulisic and Callum Hudson-Odoi's movement down the right hand side looking the most likely chance in creating an opportunity for Tammy Abraham, but Chelsea rarely threated the Barnsley goal for the whole duration of the first half.
Host's Barnsley from the championship provided a good account of themselves after the restart, never allowing Chelsea to properly settle, Chelsea were thankful for a goal-line clearance from Tammy Abraham for preserving their slender 1-0 lead which was provided by his fourth FA Cup goal of the season.
A case of Que Sera Sera
Chelsea take a step closer to Wembley as a result of reaching the quarter-finals of the FA Cup for the fifth time in a space of six seasons . The draw for the quarter-finals was made shortly before the game kicked off at Oakwell and Chelsea will face another side from South Yorkshire in Sheffield United at Stamford Bridge. The tie is due to take place between the 19th-22nd March.
Team Selection
Only Andreas Christensen retained his place from the win against Sheffield United in the premier league last Sunday. Tuchel stated that he required both fresh minds and bodies for this game but was still able to select a strong line-up for the first time which included Kepa, Kurt Zouma, Emerson Palmieri and Billy Gilmour in his initial team selection.
The German opted to keep a back-three and it would be Emerson who would join Christensen and Zouma with Callum Hudson-Odoi and Marcos Alonso operating as the wing-backs. There was a change in formation for the second half.
Chelsea under pressure
Chelsea in the first half were required to do lots of defending in the early stages of the game and within 10 minutes were grateful for a block by Kepa Arrizabalaga saving Brittain's close range effort after a cross from the left hand side had been allowed to go through the defence towards the back post.
A tackle by Toby Sibbick on Tammy Abraham effectively resulted in a shot from long distance which was gathered by former Chelsea academy goalkeeper Bradley Collins above his head and that was the best that Chelsea were able to show for a while.
Moments later the ball was won by Hakim Ziyech but was unable to thread the ball through to Abraham as he set off towards goal. Then moments later, Gilmour found Abraham with a pass However, he was then tackled and any muted appeals for a penalty were waved away.
With the clock on 33 minutes, Marcos Alonso did well to head away a threatening cross close to goal and under a challenge after more pressure from Barnsley started to be exerted. After this and again out wide Alonso was unable to prevent a cross from coming in however, Chelsea's right wing-back Callum Hudson-Odoi was on hand to clear behind.
The best move for Chelsea in the first half came five minutes before the break with the ball being switched across the pitch at pace, but A stretching Christian Pulisic was unable to turn Hudson-Odoi's cross on target.
Chelsea faced a big scare just before half-time when a short -corner routing from Barnsley was well worked with Callum Brittain's shot going just wide.
Chelsea take their chance
At half time Thomas Tuchel made some changes. He switched to a back four with both Alonso and Christensen removed and replaced by Reece James and Antonio Rudiger. Emerson moved to the full-back role with both Hudson-Odoi and Pulisic swapping wings.
Despite these chances, the hosts started the second half the stronger side. This was until Hudson-Odoi, cut in from the left hand side, slalomed superbly into the penalty area but saw his shot go wide and across goal.
With 60 minutes on the clock, Hudson-Odoi won a free-kick which was delivered by Ziyech towards the aerial threat which is Kurt Zouma, though the big Frenchman went close it was not close enough.
Chelsea only had to wait a few minutes later in order to break the deadlock. Having won the ball in the Barnsley half, Chelsea sprung into action and took advantage of the space provided. Billy Gilmour spotted the run of Reece James and found him, and when James was centred, Tammy Abraham was in the right place to tap in from close range.
The hosts Barnsley did come close to an equaliser but for Abraham to head an effort goal bound over the Chelsea crossbar.
This was very much appreciated by his team-mates however, there was still more defending to be done before the game finished as set-pieces were sent in by Barnsley, however, they failed to force the game to go to extra-time and Tuchel's team had now two wins in South Yorkshire within the space of five days.
What's next for Chelsea
No match this weekend for Chelsea as they in action in the premier league on Monday night when Newcastle United visit Stamford Bridge. Steve Bruce's Newcastle currently sit in 16th position and Chelsea will hope to achieve the double over them this season, having won the reverse fixture at St James Park back in November.
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