| Chelsea 2 v 2 Ipswich Town FA Premier League Sunday, 13th April 2025 Kick-off 14:00 |  |
Chelsea 2-2 Ipswich Town - Match Report Sunday, 13th Apr 2025 16:10 Goals from Julio Enciso and Ben Johnson gave Town a 2-0 half-time lead, but an Axel Tuanzebe own goal and Jadon Sancho stunner saw Chelsea grab a 2-2 draw against the Blues at Stamford Bridge. Town made three changes from the team which lost 2-1 at home to Wolves last weekend with Leif Davis, Jack Clarke and George Hirst coming into the team for Conor Townsend, Nathan Broadhead and Liam Delap. Davis returned at left-back with Clarke ahead of him on the left with Enciso moving into the middle. Hirst replaced Delap, who hadn’t trained properly in the week due to a rib injury sustained against the Old Gold, as the number nine with all three players dropping out of the XI on the bench. Omari Hutchinson remained out with his hamstring injury, while Kalvin Phillips was also absent from the squad due to the effects of his recent foot injury, with Massimo Luongo on the bench. Chelsea made five changes from their 0-0 Premier League draw at Brentford last weekend and nine from their 3-0 Europa Conference League victory at Legia Warsaw on Thursday. Former Blues loanee Trevoh Chalobah started at the back for the home side. Town, wearing pink, won an early free-kick, but Dara O’Shea was flagged offside at the far post. On five, a promising Blues attack was stopped when Johnson accidentally caught Marc Cucurella with a stray arm, the former Brighton man making a lot out of not much. From the restart, Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez played the ball straight out to Clarke 30 yards out but the ex-Sunderland forward blazed well over having taken a few paces towards the edge of the box. The home side had made a scrappy start but in the eighth minute they almost took the lead via their first serious attack, Nicolas Jackson turning against the near post from an Enzo Fernandez cross from the right. Moments later, Chelsea skipper Fernandez shot well over after a well-worked corner was played to him when completely unmarked. It was a fortunate escape for the Blues. The home side maintained their pressure, O’Shea blocking a strike from distance, then in the 11th minute Noni Madueke was found by a deep Pedro Neto cross from the left beyond the far post and Blues keeper Alex Palmer did well to bundle his volley behind. Chalobah shot low through to Palmer before some respite for the the Blues, Hirst winning a free-kick but O’Shea’s knock into the area was too close to Sanchez. Chelsea quickly went on the offensive again, Madueke crossing and Levi Colwill heading towards goal, but Palmer batted it away. Town were unable to get the ball out of their final third but Cucurella shot deep into the Blues fans behind the goal, much to their delight with the Spaniard a pantomime villain among the Town support since the Portman Road fixture in December. And the 19th minute, the 3,000 travelling fans had even more to cheer when their side went in front. Hirst did well to hold the ball up, then swept it wide to Johnson on the right. The ex-West Ham man broke into the area and was allowed to cross low by Cucurella and Enciso deftly stabbed his first goal for the club across Sanchez and into the net. The goal, which had come completely against the run of play and was the first conceded at Stamford Bridge by Chelsea since February 3rd, did little to change the home side’s approach with the pressure quickly restored. In the 25th minute the game was held up when Jackson inadvertently caught Palmer with his knee after the keeper had cleared an O’Shea back-pass which had put the Town glovesman in a little trouble. After brief treatment, the ex-West Brom man was able to continue. Two minutes later, Enciso, who in addition to his opener for the Blues scored a goal of the season contender for Brighton at Stamford Bridge in 2022/23, tried his luck again but this time his effort was scuffed well wide. Moments later, Jens Cajuste struck a low shot not too far past Sanchez’s left post with the Blues increasingly looking the more dangerous side and Chelsea starting to lose a bit of composure. And in the 31st minute, they doubled their lead. Hirst flicked on to Clarke, who fed Enciso on the left of the area from where the Paraguayan international sent a high ball towards Johnson, who nodded across Sanchez and into the net for his first goal for the club on his 50th Premier League start.
As the Town team celebrated, linesman Constantine Hatzidakis raised his flag. However, the jubilation was only temporarily halted with VAR judging that Enciso was onside when the pass had been made. The shell-shocked West Londoners set about putting the Town goal under pressure once again, Jackson looping a header well over, then Madueke shot wide from not too far out on the left. Palmer got his name taken in the 38th minute for his relaxed approach to taking goal-kicks with the Blues continuing to withstand Chelsea pressure but with the backline defending resolutely, despite Cole Palmer seeing more of the ball for the home side. Seconds before the announcement of four additional minutes, Moses Caicedo scraped a low shot wide of Town keeper Palmer’s right post. Jackson lofted an early shot over Palmer but also well over the bar when chasing a ball down the middle in the final minute of time added on. And that was the last action of a breathless half, dominated by the West Londoners in terms of possession, but the Blues when it came to goals. Town had defended strongly while also riding their luck for most of the period up to Enciso’s well-taken and well-worked goal. The Blues’ best spell was prior to their second goal, Enciso returning the favour to Johnson, with Chelsea continuing to dominate from there but looking more frantic and as if they had lost some of their belief in front of a frustrated home crowd. The West Londoners made a change at the break, Malo Gusto taking over from Tosin Adarabioyo. And 18 seconds after the restart, Chelsea pulled a goal back. Madueke got round the outside of Burgess on the Town left and crossed low and Tuanzebe turned into his own net ahead of Cucurella from close range. It was the worst possible start to the half for the Blues and the best for Chelsea with their fans, who had been on the verge of turning, now firmly behind them. As rain began to fall heavily, the home side went looking for a leveller, Palmer tricking his way into the area before Tuanzebe dispossessed him before he could get in a shot. On 53, Neto shot through to Town keeper Palmer, before the Blues twice went close to restoring their two-goal advantage. First, Hirst brought the ball in from the left before curling a shot which flew only just past Sanchez’s left post. Then, within a minute, Tuanzebe crossed from the right and found an unmarked Hirst in the box, but the ball scuffed off the Scotland international’s head and wide. Neto shot into Palmer’s arms, before the Blues attacked again, Cajuste’s effort from the edge deflecting wide for a corner. The flag-kick taken by Davis on the left almost found Tuanzebe at the back of the box but the Town defender slipped and Chelsea counter-attacked at pace, however, Johnson got back quickly to snuff out the danger. The Blues made their first change of the game in the 62nd minute, the more defensive Townsend taking over from Davis at left-back. Town, who had looked dangerous on their comparatively rare attacks, worked an opportunity on 64, Clarke taking the ball forward and playing inside to Enciso, whose low shot was comfortably saved by Sanchez. Chelsea’s Palmer joined his Town namesake in the book for dissent after he felt he was fouled as he broke towards the area, before Jackson shot into the side-netting from a tight angle on the right. Ahead of the restart, Madueke made way for Sancho, a decision not entirely appreciated by the home fans. On 69, Palmer’s shot deflected wide for a corner, following which Neto smashed a strike from the edge of the area which flew only narrowly over the Town bar. The Blues swapped Hirst and Clarke, who had both made significant contributions to the Town display, for Delap and Jaden Philogene. The former Aston Villa man almost immediately required treatment for a knock sustained when competing in a block tackle before briefly carrying on. As play restarted, Townsend did superbly to get across in front of Fernandez and turn behind as Sancho’s low ball came in from the left. Ahead of the corner, Philogene underwent further treatment in the centre circle before being helped off the pitch. Nathan Broadhead took over, while one-time Chelsea schoolboy Jack Taylor replaced Enciso. Fernandez struck a low effort through to Palmer, before Delap, a big Chelsea target, got involved for the first time, winning a corner on the left but the flag-kick came to nothing. And in the 79th minute, Chelsea equalised. There had seemed little immediate danger when Sancho curled a brilliant 30-yard strike under the bar and into the net. Town weathered another brief storm following the leveller before Delap did well to win a corner on the left, O’Shea heading straight at Sanchez. Within a minute, Broadhead won another flag-kick on the left, O’Shea this time heading wide at the far post with the Irishman claiming it had touched a Chelsea player on the way out. Town skipper Sam Morsy was booked for a foul on Cucurella and from the free-kick the home side went close to going in front. The ball reached Chalobah at the far post and somehow Palmer was able to keep it out. Following the resultant corner, with the game by now in the 86th minute, Cole Palmer shot not too far over. Before the game could get back under way, Jackson was yellow-carded for a clash with keeper Palmer and moments later was swapped for Christopher Nkunku. The Blues weren’t far away from a third in the final scheduled minute, Burgess nodding a free-kick down to Taylor, but the midfielder’s volley looped over, the fourth official subsequently indicated six additional minutes. O’Shea tried an audacious 50-yard effort after spotting Sanchez off his line having brought the ball out from the back but the keeper was able to claim. Cole Palmer thought he’d scored the winner in the 93rd minute, but Alex Palmer brilliantly got across to his right to save. Neto shot wide after the corner, before the Blues had a great chance to win it but Taylor shot into the side-netting from a tight angle on the right after the ball had broken to him. Seconds later, Chelsea had a chance to win it themselves, a cross from the left reaching Fernandez, who hit a shot which Palmer again somehow kept out. That was the last action of a pulsating clash from which the Blues thoroughly deserved their point. Having established their lead before the break, the early second-half goal was a blow for Town, who would have wanted to hold onto their two-goal advantage in order to frustrate the home team and crowd further. But despite the setback they continued to battle at the back and looked dangerous whenever they broke forward and Hirst will feel he should have scored his second opportunity. Sancho’s equaliser was unstoppable and both sides had chances in the latter stages with Chelsea appearing to tire more than the Blues, but with Palmer making two fantastic stops to seal a point which ultimately will mean nothing in the context of Town’s season - the gap to safety is now 14 points after Wolves beat Spurs 4-2 - but gave travelling fans plenty to sing about on the way back to Suffolk. Chelsea: Sanchez, Chalobah, Tosin (Gusto 46), Colwill, Cucurella, Caicedo, Fernandez (c), Madueke (Sancho 68), Palmer, Neto, Jackson (Nkunku 86). Unused: Jorgensen, James, Acheampong, Badiashile, Dewsbury-Hall, George. Town: Palmer, Tuanzebe, O'Shea, Burgess, Davis (Townsend 62), Morsy (c), Cajuste, Johnson, Enciso (Taylor 75), J Clarke (Philogene 71 (Broadhead 75), Hirst (Delap 71). Unused: Walton, Woolfenden, Taylor, Luongo, Chaplin, Broadhead. Referee: Stuart Attwell (Warwickshire). VAR official: Michael Salisbury. Att: 39,805.
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