A brace from Samuel Eto’o and another from Demba Ba helped Chelsea ease past Schalke in the Group E match in the Champions League. Following the Saturday’s defeat to Newcastle in the league Jose made six changes to the side with Cahill, Azpilicueta, Schurrle, Mikel, Willian and Eto’o in the side and the likes of Mata, Lampard, Luiz and Cole were dropped to the bench while Eden Hazard was dropped due to disciplinary issues as the Belgian missed a training session.
Chelsea started casually and Schalke had the better chances early on. First Julian Draxler and then Szalai had chances to put Schalke one up but couldn’t capitalize. As the game progressed though Chelsea began to get the grip on the game and established their footings. The first goal was an error from Hildebrand as he delayed his kick and Eto’o closed on him and was rewarded as the kick bounced off Eto’o and went straight in goal. Chelsea went 1-0 at the break.
In the second half Chelsea were tested early and had to thank Cech for a sublime save to deny Draxler after the German stepped away from Azpiliceuta. Within 2 minutes though, Chelsea extended their lead after a brilliant counter attack as Willian played a pass to Eto’o who coolly finished the move.
Demba Ba, Lampard and KDB were thrown in the last fifteen minutes and Ba got into the action with the third for Chelsea after he was picked by a lovely pass by Lampard. Game. Set and Match.
What we learned?
You perform you play – You don’t you stay out
Jose made this very clear with his team selection dropping players after a poor performance vs Newcastle. Lampard and Luiz in particular were left out and rightly so. Eden Hazard missed the game after he missed the training session going to show that stardom counts for nothing. Discipline is important and the rules are the same whether you are a prodigious talent or not.
Mourinho on Hazard: “I dont want to lie. He’s not injured. He forgot the time. Kids make mistakes. Fathers have to be clever.”
Eto’o and Demba on the score sheet – Strikers finally firing?
First we had Torres scoring; now Eto’o is starting to score consistently for us. Even Ba got on the act today and scored a good goal. The turnaround is fantastic as the forward are finally getting on the score sheet. This takes away the burden from our midfield, and it’s all Jose’s magic that’s working wonders for us.
John Terry with another perfect game
The skipper was fantastic tonight as he won 100% of his aerial duels. He is like the JT of old and with every passing game he just keeps on getting better. Surely he is the most important piece in the defense along with Petr Cech, a duo we just can’t thank enough.
Willian had a fantastic game
Willian had a great game and he is slowly staking a claim to be a first team regular. First a good show vs Arsenal and today another great performance. The dribble and then the pass to set up Eto’o was fantastic. If early signs are anything to go by we have signed one top class player.
Willian created 18 passes in the final third and completed 14 of them successfully which makes for a percentage of 78%
One step in the last 16
After the disappointments of last season in the UCL this season after a poor start Chelsea has had a great run winning all three games. With 2 games still to play in the group stages, Chelsea sit pretty on the top with 9 points.
1. Chelsea 9pts
2. Schalke 6pts
3. Basel 5pts
4. Steaua 2pts
Chelsea needs just a point to qualify for the last 16 and a win to get the top spot sealed. With 2 games against Basel and Steaua to play I think it’s safe to say that things are well under control.
A win against Basel now will be a sweet revenge for MatchDay 1.
Good job blues!!!
CHELSEA
Delighted with a fantastic win. We sit comfortably at the top of our group.
Glad Mou is not messing around. You don’t perform you don’t play. That’s right!
Love my Jose Mourinho <3.
Willian is a great player. hard working guy and always try to help the team. believe me sooner or later is going to be our best option in number10 role. he got creativity, good dribbler, pace,and keep balance between defense and attack. it’s question of time he will be important.
Shurlle-Willian-Hazard are going to be our best combo by next year. Eto’o is super fast..damn the keeper didn’t saw him coming. anyway he is a legend of football so i’m not really surprised by he is performance..just more to come. J terry is chelsea. what a legend! long live JT. MOU is the best coach i ever see. it doen’t matter who you are, you don’t perform you don’t play. i’m also happy for Demba BA. he is a great guy and great person deserved good thing.for Lampard i think he should be used that way. just as a super sub..35years old it’s too much he can’t run 90mins. Azpi should start more game in my opinion. Ramires is a machine, i like everything about him. he was weak in passing but now is getting better. CHELSEA until i die
deserves*
nothing was learnt about that man that have the control of th MF in his pocket, the one that give room to rami to move forward. He shield the back for very well and connect with them with maturity and perfectly link the back to the MF and to the attack. He’s great and mou i think should have learnt his lesson by giving him his worthy place in that pivot. Who’s that man? John Obi Mikel…….. Every will now see that Cahil is a disciplined and better defender than a playmaker defender in david luiz. Mou, this is the third time stop giving that spoiler a chance so that he can learn his lesson and he did not by january…. Sell him..
Mikel did ok! but he nearly cost as a goal in the early minutes
Yes, Mikel was shaky in the opening minutes but grew in stature afterwards
I was going to say something about this, Michael. People always rate Mikel based on goals passes made & forward runs.. While I know Mikel still has that Xavi ability hidden in him & can be that deep lying playmaker who opens up defenses with long passes, an anchor man isn’t rated based on those. We use team work; how easier did he make it for his teammates to play their roles, how many tackles did he make, how many aerial duels did he win,how many times did he relieve pressure from his teammates, how many attacks did he star. If you use those, you’ll realize that Mikel is one of the best anchor men in the business. Starting Mikel should be a no-brainer.
How else can I put it…spot on! Spot on!
Well done blues continue with that perfomance ,mourinho s chelsea godfather
I’m waiting for the time will play as our number 10. He has great creativity which Mourinho has never and might never notice.
I mean Willian to play number 10.
Oscar was shit yestarday, it got to time I was longing for mata’s presence in the #10 role but Mourinho never made the change.
oh how I enjoyed mikel n rami’s pivot, it always gives ramires the room to move forward unlike where he’s always caged when playing with Lamps…
You can’t say Oscar was shit. Yes, he didn’t put in the kind of performance we have come to expect, but he wasn’t that bad. 6.5/ 10 for me. Yes, I wouldn’t have minded a Mata in that game, but Mata would have struggled. He plays better in easy games where Chelsea are dominating, not yesterday’s type were we were being pressured. I agree with you on the RaMikel
Emile 10, I don’t think you heard what JT said after post-match. He said the first 10-15 mins was a bit shakky for the Blues but they later got in to the game. So, will you because of that ALMOST say Mikel wasn’t fantastic? For just one…whereas against Newcastle, Lamps did worst.
I think we Chelsea fans should be lover of the team more than fanatics of a particular player. We should learn how to criticise players not condemn and give praise when need be. If this continues, soon what we will want to see is a 11 Lamps on thje field or 11 Mikel or 11 JT.
You Emile failed to see the number of interceptions and successful tackles he made after that early mistake.
Mou did a fantastic job yesterday, meaning he knows his team to the bone.
KTBFFH!
I still do not see how you could see him as good yesterday. He kept passing to the back of course pass completion is high. Im not comparing with lamps but mikel is not gd enuff either. Oscar will fit that role nicely if chelsea wants to play offensive football. Mata should slot in that number 10 role instead of oscar. No space for back passing mikel.
Mr Chelsea for life, we are not Barca, we will never be Barca. So forget attacking football. Recent games eg Newcastle where we have been forced to play offensive football, we have struggled. Chelsea plays best when we play solid defensive football with rapid counter attacking. If you don’t have a solid spine, you can’t soak up the pressure that will allow you counter. Mikel is that spine. Without Mikel, the slow JT and erratic Luiz are blatantly exposed. Like Mikel or not, but until MVG comes back, he is the only option. Oscar in the pivot will replace Ramires, not Mikel. The only thing Oscar is doing that Lampard isn’t doing already is to provide better tackling.
@ chelsea4life hatred blinds & leads 2 stigmatisation.every good passer of the ball must make back pass 2 maintain possesion even xavi does it.oscar has fragile structure & can come in 4 rami not mikel.oscar should remain upfront wit mata,willian,schurle & hazard.we should talk about hazards lack of direct playing style.he is talentd but overdribl@ chelsea4life hatred blinds & leads 2 stigmatisation.every good passer of the ball must make back pass 2 maintain possesion even xavi does it.oscar has fragile structure & can come in 4 rami not mikel.oscar should remain upfront wit mata,willian,schurle & hazard.we should talk about hazards lack of direct playing style.he is talentd but overdribl@ chelsea4life hatred blinds & leads 2 stigmatisation.every good passer of the ball must make back pass 2 maintain possesion even xavi does it.oscar has fragile structure & can come in 4 rami not mikel.oscar should remain upfront wit mata,willian,schurle & hazard.we should talk about hazards lack of direct playing style.he is talentd but overdribl@ chelsea4life hatred blinds & leads 2 stigmatisation.every good passer of the ball must make back pass 2 maintain possesion even xavi does it.oscar has fragile structure & can come in 4 rami not mikel.oscar should remain upfront wit mata,willian,schurle & hazard.we should talk about hazards lack of direct playing style.he is talentd but overdribles.
@ chelsea4life hatred blinds & leads 2 stigmatisation.every good passer of the ball must make back pass 2 maintain possesion even xavi does it.oscar has fragile structure & can come in 4 rami not mikel.oscar should remain upfront wit mata,willian,schurle & hazard.we should talk about hazards lack of direct playing style.he is talentd but overdribles.
I think we Chelsea fans should be lover of the team more than fanatics of a particular Player!!!! TRUE 😀 😀 😀 we want a different performance than the last season, we have to make changes!!! I think that Mou is finding who really wants to play and who is wasting his fame like Luiz that he doesn’t want to play in our team like the last seasons!!!
Mikel did ok! I already said that. And I’m one of you guys who think lamps should come in from the bench or remain out!
you must be a Mikel fan, but the truth still remains that, Mikel always make dangerous mistakes which either gives opponent chances at goal or even sometimes, it really resulted in goals… He is a great handler, I like his pivoting, but boy! Mikel got to up his confidence and stop loosing critical balls to the opponents. that is what I’ve noticed many seasons ago about him Mikel… No one is being partial… people keep record you know???
I think Oscar need some rest and Mikel has proven that he’s ready to be back in the first 11. Weldone guys. UP BLUES!!!
Oscar needs some rest. It is time for Mata.
Good goes from Chelsea
Oscar is a hardworker that’s very true. But is he a creative genius? That’s a No.
Oscar is capable of wriggling out of tight corners, maintaining ball possession, quick 1-2, scoring amazing goals, making devastating late runs into the box BUT he is not the man for a KILLER PASS. I rate Mata, De Bruyne and Willian ahead of him when it comes to picking out a final pass. I see Oscar flourish better in a 3 man midfield along side Mikel and Ramires OR a pivot role as d deep lying playmaker along side Mikel or Ramires.
Up BLUES
100%
Great game yesterday. We where energized, focused and got the job done. I think Asplicueta looks fitter and better at left back….if he can do it in a champions league game, definitely he can in the epl….what do you guys think?
I concur!
That is really fantastic game with so much emotion.All chelsea’s defender had great perfomances.Beside the strikers did a good job too.They just like warriors.Come on the Blue.We will come to an end.
Cahill was fantastic. I missed the first 15 minutes or so, so I didn’t see when Schalke were the better team,but from when I started watching, Azpilicueta was generally too much for Draxler until he was subbed off.
vaal i respect u 4 such proffessional & tactical analysis.u are on point.some fans have litle knowledge of footbal so they tink footbal is all about making runs,drible & score goals.thats why some fans rate luiz/lamp ahead of cahil/mikel which shouldnt be.tank vaal i respect u 4 such proffessional & tactical analysis.u are on point.some fans have litle knowledge of footbal so they tink footbal is all about making runs,drible & score goals.thats why some fans rate luiz/lamp ahead of cahil/mikel which shouldnt be.tank vaal i respect u 4 such proffessional & tactical analysis.u are on point.some fans have litle knowledge of footbal so they tink footbal is all about making runs,drible & score goals.thats why some fans rate luiz/lamp ahead of cahil/mikel which shouldnt be.tank vaal i respect u 4 such proffessional & tactical analysis.u are on point.some fans have litle knowledge of footbal so they tink footbal is all about making runs,drible & score goals.thats why some fans rate luiz/lamp ahead of cahil/mikel which shouldnt be.tank u.
Eto’o was simply marvelous i think this is jst de begining.Eto’o is a real 9 dats why he took 29 dat is 2 nines in 1.Ba did good too