Jorginho and Emerson with the Italy squad before UEFA Euros 2020. (imago Images)
Chelsea have had a number of players from their current squad in the 2020 UEFA Euros. And three of them have written their name in history as qualified for the semi-final on Friday night.
Italy took on Belgium in a battle of the behemoths as the finalists of the 2012 UEFA Euro looked to reach the last-4 of the competition. The Italians were imperious and raced to a 2-0 lead.
However, a penalty from former Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku in first-half added time meant Italy’s lead was cut in half. Leonardo Spinazzola played a great game, which saw him make a goal-line clearance in the second half.
But the Roma wing-back, who has been linked to Chelsea by a report from The Mirror (as covered by ASBTF), went down with a serious injury. He was then replaced by Emerson Palmieri, the out-of-favour Blues full-back.
Emerson and Jorginho played a vital role as they helped the Italians keep the scoreline at 2-1 until full-time. This result came after Spain had beaten Switzerland on penalties earlier in the day.
With Cesar Azpilicueta in their defence, the Spaniards were unable to score past a 10-man Switzerland as the game stayed 1-1 until the end of 120 minutes. A first-half Denis Zakaria own goal was cancelled out by Xherdan Shaqiri’s strike in the 68th minute.
Despite Remo Freuler’s 77th-minute red-card, Schweizer Nati held on, but completely fell apart in the shoot-outs. Spain scored thrice as compared to Switzerlands’ one, as Yann Sommer’s masterclass in goal went to waste.
But that meant Chelsea’s defensive stalwart, Azpilicueta, booking a spot in the semi-final of the competition, where they will now face the Italians.
Chelsea fans were quick to congratulate the trio on Twitter, and here are some of the best reactions as found on the social media website.
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