Chelsea saw safe passage to the knockout stages slip agonisingly away as Daniel Wass' fluke stole a 2-2 draw at the Mestalla. England striker Tammy Abraham was taken to hospital after a nasty-looking fall on a night where the Blues thought Christian Pulisic's nudged finish would sneak them into the European top tier's last 16.
Abraham suffered a suspected internal injury after falling awkwardly on his hip, no doubt adding to boss Frank Lampard's frustrations as Valencia gained the greater boost in Group H from the draw.
Mateo Kovacic fired his first Chelsea goal on his 71st Blues appearance, cancelling out Carlos Soler's opener. Jorginho was lucky to escape a second yellow card and a dismissal for the foul on Jose Gaya that gifted Valencia a second-half penalty. Captain Dani Parejo stepped up for the spot-kick only to see Kepa Arrizabalaga pull off a fine save.
Maxi Gomez missed a hat-trick of first-half sitters as Valencia paid the price for shocking profligacy, but just when Chelsea started to home in on victory up popped Wass.
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Lefty-righty
Bizarrely, Chelsea have a right-footed defender (Cesar Azpilicueta) playing at left-back and Valencia have a left-footer (Jaume Costa) operating at right-back.
Will be interesting to see how that pans out.
Photo: AFP
Celades wary of 'super team' Chelsea
Valencia coach Albert Celades is targeting qualification for the Champions League knockout stages but hinted his side will be satisfied with a point against 'super' Chelsea.
Photo: AFP
Both sides will qualify with a victory but Celades is wary of the Blues' form going into their clash and says it could go down to the final matchday.
"Chelsea are a super team, one of the best in Europe and are playing very well at the moment," Celades told a news conference.
"It's a great opportunity for us to try and reach the next round. But even if we don't win we'll still have a good chance.
"But we will go out to win the game first of all and then see what happens next. We are a big club and we have to have that type of mentality."
James, Christensen start
Chelsea coach Frank Lampard has opted to make two changes to his side ahead of the crunch Champions League clash against Valencia.
Photo: AFP
Andreas Christensen comes in for Fikayo Tomori to make his first start since September 28, while Reece James comes in at right-back as Emerson drops to the bench.
Captain Cesar Azpilicueta will switch to left-back, a position he operated in under Jose Mourinho in the 2014-15 Premier League title-winning campaign.
Mason Mount starts on the bench again as Lampard opts to keep the midfield three of N'Golo Kante, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic, who all started against Manchester City.
Valencia are short on numbers in midfield with Goncalo Guedes, Geoffrey Kondogbia and Denis Cheryshev all out, so Daniel Wass moves into central midfield.
Valencia vs Chelsea team news
Valencia XI: Cillessen; Jaume Costa, Garay, Gabriel, Gaya; Ferran Torres, Parejo (c), Wass, Soler; Rodrigo, Maxi Gomez.
Subs: Domenech, Thierry Correia, Mangala, Gameiro, Manu Vallejo, Lee, Coquelin.
Chelsea XI: Kepa; James, Christensen, Zouma, Azpilicueta (c); Kante, Jorginho, Kovacic; Willian, Abraham, Pulisic.
Subs: Caballero, Pedro, Giroud, Mount, Batshuayi, Tomori. Emerson.
Here it is then: the Estadio Mestalla.
We're moments away from getting the confirmed team news for tonight's early kick-off. Stay tuned!
Photo: Reuters
Bad omen?
Chelsea's Under-19 side were beaten 2-1 by Valencia earlier today and that defeat means they will not progress beyond the group stage for the first time ever.
Billy Gilmour had an early penalty saved and that proved costly as Joseda put the Spanish side in front. Henry Lawrence replied six minutes later for the Blues but a late strike from Jordi Escobar condemned them to defeat.
Stat attack
++ Valencia have won three of their last four Champions League games at the Mestalla - only Ajax have come away with a win after a 3-0 success in October.
++ Maxi Gomez is Valencia's top scorer in La Liga with six goals in 13 appearances. However, the Uruguayan has failed to find the net in all four his Champions League outings so far this season.
++ Chelsea's 2-1 defeat at Manchester City on Sunday brought an end to their run of seven straight victories away from home in all competitions.
++ The Blues have scored in every away fixture since the opening day of the season, scoring 22 goals in just nine games.
Here's what the group looks like going into the penultimate round of group stage fixtures...
Permutations
It promises to be a fascinating finale to Group H with Ajax, Chelsea and Valencia all locked in on seven points after four games.
Of course, that means the head-to-head is going to be key in deciding who qualifies from the group. So let's take a look at the scenarios...
What Chelsea need
- If Chelsea will be through if they win due to their H2H against Ajax and Valencia in a three-team head-to-head.
- A draw would mean Frank Lampard's side would likely need to better Valencia's result on Matchday 6 as they would have a superior H2H.
What Valencia need
- A win would see Valencia qualify due to their H2H against Chelsea directly or against Ajax and Chelsea in a three-team head-to-head.
- A draw could see both teams qualify on MD6 but only if Lille beat Ajax later tonight.
Injury news
Chelsea will be without Ross Barkley for tonight's Champions League tie against Valencia.
Photo: Reuters
The England midfielder was omitted from the squad travelling to Spain due to the combination of ongoing ankle injury trouble and Frank Lampard's assertion that he showed a "lack of professionalism" after being pictured shirtless in a nightclub.
Callum Hudson-Odoi also misses the trip to the Mestalla, though could return from a thigh issue in the London derby against West Ham on Saturday.
Centre-back Antonio Rudiger (groin) is said to be training hard following a long lay-off, but needs to build up his match fitness before making his comeback.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek remains a long-term absentee as he continues to recover from an Achilles tendon rupture, while Dutch midfielder Marco van Ginkel is still out with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.