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It is Branislav Ivanovicbirthday and we take a look at the top five Serbian moments in a Chelsea shirt.
Chelsea signed 23-year-old Branislav Ivanovic from Lokomotiv in 2008 for € 13million. Although he was signed for an amount which was considerably high at the time, Ivanovic had to work hard to enter the Chelsea side.
Ivanovic said the first six months at Chelsea were the most difficult time of his career and he even considered leaving the club. However, once he hits his stride next season, there has been no turning back.
Ivanovic won three premier league titles, one UEFA Champions League title, three FA Cups, three Europa League titles and one League Cup during his nine years at Stamford Bridge.
On his birthday, we take a step back and take a look at some of Branislav Ivanovic’s best moments in a Chelsea jersey.
Head n ° 1 against Benfica in the final of the Europa League
The 2013 Europa League final was approaching extra time when Ivanovic scored the Chelsea winner in the dying embers of the game. Fernando Torres had given the advantage to the Blues in the 60th minute, but Benfica drew one against Cardozo eight minutes later.
Ivanovic passed everyone and sent an imposing header in a bid to win the Europa League for Chelsea. After scoring the winning goal in the Europa League final, Ivanovic was pictured sitting on top of the goal post with the Serbian flag tied around his waist during the title celebrations. The photographs have since become quite iconic.
# 2 The goal against Napoli in the Champions League
Chelsea won a spectacular comeback against Napoli in the round of 16 of the 2012-13 UEFA Champions League. After losing the first leg 3-1 at the Napoli stadium, Chelsea won 4-1 at home to win 5-4 on aggregate.
Again, it was Branislav Ivanovic who scored the all-important final goal that won the game for Chelsea. Ivanovic arrived after a low cross from Didier Drogba and smashed the ball past the Napoli goalkeeper to win the draw for Chelsea.
# 3. Goals against Liverpool in the 2008-09 Champions League
In the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final of the 2008-09 season between Chelsea and Liverpool, the latter passed a goal from Fernando Torres in the sixth minute.
But Branislav Ivanovic scored twice to give Chelsea the lead before Lampard added another to finish off the Merseysiders. Either way, Liverpool found Chelsea’s right-back difficult to score thanks to his movement and he made them pay for it.
# 4. The goal against Manchester City at Etihad in the 2013-14 season
Branislav Ivanovic scored Chelsea’s lone goal in their victory over Manchester City at the Etihad in the 2013-14 Premier League season. Ivanovic managed a blocked shot and brought the ball home from outside the box with his left foot to give Chelsea the lead.
He was pierced so quickly that the Manchester City goalkeeper had no chance of saving.
# 5. The goal against Reading in March 2012
In the 2011-12 season, Chelsea came from behind to register a 4-2 victory over Reading. With the score 3-2 in favor of Chelsea, Reading signed everyone, including their forward goalkeeper, for a corner in the last minute.
Ivanovic directed the ball clearly, then Torres moved the ball wide towards Hazard. With the goalkeeper behind them and rushing back, Ivanovic bombed to help Hazard out and calmly returned the ball after being spotted by the Belgian.
Posted on Feb 22, 2021 at 6:15 PM EST
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