Chelsea fire blank as Norwich earns FA Cup replay

Chelsea played a 0-0 draw with Norwich City at Carrow Road

Norwich City earned a FA Cup replay after holding a dismal Chelsea side to a 0-0 draw at Carrow Road.

Antonio Conte made nine changes to the side that drew 2-2 with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, with only captain Gary Cahill and midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko keeping their places.

 

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Chelsea looked out of sort in the opening minutes of the match despite having Pedro and Willian in the team.

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Missing a trick?

Chelsea unsurprisingly made nine changes for the tie, with only Gary Cahill and Tiemoue Bakayoko keeping their places from the draw at Arsenal on Wednesday.

What was more surprising was players such as Cesar Azpilicueta, Marcos Alonso and N’Golo Kante did not even travel to East Anglia, with Conte opting for a bench that included four players aged 18 or younger.

With the Premier League beyond their reach and a Champions League last-16 tie against Barcelona to come, many would suggest the FA Cup represents Chelsea’s best chance of a significant trophy this season.

Brazilian centre-back Luiz endured a tough first 45 minutes, losing the ball on the edge of his box after taking too long and getting a yellow card for a late challenge on James Maddison.

He looked more assured in the second half and struck a trademark free-kick narrowly over as Chelsea searched in vain for a winner.

Meanwhile, other fringe player such as Kenedy, Pedro and Michy Batshuayi failed to stake a claim for a more regular starting berth.
Goal-shy Canaries lack killer edge

While this result in isolation will be seen as a success for Norwich, it did highlight the lack of goal threat in their side.

It was not for want of trying – Murphy, Pritchard and Maddison all troubled the Chelsea backline at times but failed to really test Argentine Caballero.

Daniel Farke’s side have averaged just one goal a game in their 26 Championship matches this season. Portuguese forward Nelson Oliveira was left out with an extra defender preferred, and it did not make them a potent force.

However, they will be in the hat for Monday’s draw for the fourth round, which they have not reached since 2013, and get a second chance against last season’s FA Cup runners-up.

‘I’m a big believer in the cup’

Norwich City manager Daniel Farke: “To be honest I’m a bit disappointed it was not a win for us. We had an outstanding game and in the first half we dominated, and didn’t give a chance away.

“It was pretty close to a celebrating day, so I praise my lads, but we are a bit sad that we didn’t win. It was important to be good in possession, especially against a good possession team like Chelsea.

“A replay is a good thing for the club. Maybe it doesn’t help us for the league but I’m a big believer in the cup. Today it was a bigger chance to beat Chelsea than in the away game, but we will try everything.”

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte: “It’s a bit frustrating. We knew the difficulty of the game. When you play away in this competition it’s not easy. It was a pity, but [we had] great commitment from our players. We tried to win the game but we must accept the final result.

“In the first half we had difficulty in attack but in the second half we created chances to score.

“We have to play another game – the schedule is busy.

“Norwich deserve to have another game. For us it’s not simple to add another game in the schedule. These are the rules though.”