Chelsea’s journey in The Mind Series reached its conclusion with a draw against rivals Tottenham Hotspur. The Blues led two-nil at one point but were pegged back by their opponents. Elsewhere, Barcelona lost to Salzburg through a late goal.
Hakim Ziyech gave Chelsea the lead in the 16th minute. The Moroccan collected the loose ball following N’Golo Kante’s tackle on Lucas Moura, ran the distance, and slammed a fierce shot past Pierluigi Gollini to give the home side the lead. The Moroccan threatened to double Chelsea’s lead shortly after, while Timo Werner had a goal disallowed for offside. Replays, however, showed the German to be well onside, but the absence of VAR prevented a check.
Ziyech doubled Chelsea’s lead in the 49th minute after his shot took a minor deflection off Eric Dier and ended up in the back of the net. However, Tottenham pulled a goal back just seven minutes later through Lucas Moura. The Brazilian’s shot took a deflection as well before looping over Edouard Mendy. Spurs were level in the 70th minute when Steven Bergwijn’s shot from a tight angle went through Mendy’s legs and into the net.
Chelsea finished The Mind Series with a win and a draw, while Tottenham play Arsenal next for the competition’s conclusion.
Barcelona lost their latest friendly match against RB Salzburg through a 90th minute Brenden Aaronson goal. Luka Sucic gave Salzburg the lead in the 43rd minute, but Barcelona pulled a goal back late into the match through Martin Braithwaite. The Danish striker stood his ground as the ball deflected off of a Salzburg defender, hit his knee, and crept past the goalkeeper.
Nonetheless, a similarly peculiar goal gave Salzburg the lead in the 90th minute as the ball bounced back off the post to Aaronson, who tapped into an empty net.