Jude Bellingham ‘surprised’ at Chelsea’s tactics for Adeyemi goal in Champions League tie

Jude Bellingham was left surprised by Chelsea’s tactics for Karim Adeyemi’s goal in Wednesday night’s Champions League tie.

The Blues were defeated 1-0 by Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie at the Signal Iduna Park.

Chelsea had some fantastic opportunities, Joao Felix hit the bar and saw another big chance go begging, ultimately though, they could not find a much sought after goal and were punished by Dortmund.

In the second half, it was German forward Adeyemi who broke away on a sharp counter-attack and rounded Kepa Arrizabalaga to give the hosts the lead in the contest.

The visitors continued to push for an equaliser, but failed to find the back of the net, meaning they face an uphill battle in the second leg at Stamford Bridge.

There were plenty of positives to take from the tie, but the west London side will walk away disappointed to not have anything to show for their efforts.

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The result sees a run of four games unbeaten come to an end for the Blues, in this period there was just one win, but signs of improvement had been shown.

One element of Chelsea’s game that had looked strong, most noticeably in the first half, was the counter-attack, they progressed the ball forward quickly, but failed to make the most of chances they crafted, unlike their opposition.

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Speaking on Dortmund’s rapid goal that begun from a Chelsea corner after the game was midfielder Jude Bellingham, he said: “I was surprised that they (Chelsea) only left one player back with the pace and power that Karim (Adeyemi) has.

“He got the ball under control well and he just used the attributes that we all know we’ve got and that we’ve seen in training from him.”

It was a frustrating goal for the Blues to concede, especially given they looked the more dominate force at this moment in the match.

Attention for Graham Potter and his Chelsea side will turn towards their Premier League clash with Southampton on Saturday, but their second leg with Dortmund in March will remain in the back of their minds.