English FA Cup
Result: Norwich City 0-0 Chelsea
Venue: Carrow Road
Date: 6 January 2018
A lacklustre Chelsea were held to a 0-0 draw by Norwich City at Carrow Road in the third round of the FA Cup.
The first half was an unforgettably forgettable one, with neither keeper being properly tested.
The major talking point of the half came when a poor touch from David Luiz nearly allowed Alex Pritchard through on goal in the 23rd minute. However, the Norwich man was unable to control the ball properly and the chance passed him by.
Chelsea were abysmal in the first half, but looked slightly brighter when they came out after the break. It took until the 50th minute before the game’s first shot on target — a weak effort from Michy Batshuayi, which was comfortably gathered by Angus Gunn.
Gunn’s first real test came in the 56th minute, when he did well to keep out a deflected low shot from Willian at the near post.
Chelsea survived a nervy moment in the 69th minute, when Willy Caballero’s failure to properly punch away a delivery into the danger area presented Josh Murphy with a chance, but he fired wide of goal.
David Luiz went close to opening the scoring at the other end eight minutes later, firing a well-hit free-kick just over the bar.
In the 93rd minute, Davide Zappacosta fired just wide of the target with a sweetly struck long range effort.
That ultimately proved to be Chelsea’s last chance of the game. If they are to progress to the fourth round, it will have to be through a replay.
