With Cesar Azpilicueta nodding in his first goal for Spain in their Euro 2020 victory over Croatia on Monday, we take a look at some other occasions when the Chelsea captain has used his head to good effect.
While he may not be the biggest of players, the Spanish defender has shown some good aerial ability in the opposition box during his Chelsea career with more than a quarter of his 14 goals for the Blues coming from headers.
Qarabag – Sep 2017
With Qarabag’s defenders focusing their attention on targetmen Gary Cahill, Marcos Alonso and Michy Batshuayi as they defended a Chelsea free-kick from the right during a Champions League clash at Stamford Bridge, no one sensed the danger posed by Azpilicueta on the edge of the six-yard box.
It proved costly as the Spaniard ghosted into a position at the near post completely unmarked to meet Cesc Fabregas’ delicately chipped cross with a header which flew past the Qarabag goalkeeper for the third goal in our 6-0 thumping of the Azeri club.
Watford – Oct 2017
Just a month after scoring his first headed goal for the Blues, Azpi got his second in a situation of much greater consequence against Watford in the Premier League.
With the match deadlocked at 2-2 in the 87th minute, Willian swung in a cross from the right which flew past Michy Batshuayi and two Watford defenders in the middle but found the Spaniard lurking at the far post. He directed a downward header past Heurelho Gomes to put us back in front as we won 4-2.
Cardiff City – Mar 2019
Another late Azpiliicueta header proved crucial as we came from behind to grab a win at Cardiff City Stadium late in the 2018/19 season.
With the Blues trailing 1-0 to the Welsh side with six minutes left, a Willian corner from the right was flicked on at the near post by Marcos Alonso for his Spanish compatriot who buried his header in the far corner to level the score.
The goal stood despite the home team’s offside claims and Ruben Loftus-Cheek struck in stoppage time to secure a vital 2-1 away win.
Lille – Dec 2019
Antonio Rudiger, Kurt Zouma and Tammy Abraham were poised for a Chelsea corner but Emerson swung the ball towards the near post for his captain, who timed his leap perfectly and sent a thumping header into the back of the net to give us a two-goal lead against the French side.
With Lille pulling a goal back late on at Stamford Bridge, Azpi’s header would be decisive as we held on to win 2-1 and edged out Ajax for second place in our Champions League group and earned a spot in the knockout rounds.