Chelsea 4-0 Maccabi Tel Aviv: Willian, Oscar, Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas all find the back of the net to ease the pressure on Jose Mourinho despite Eden Hazard's horrendous penalty miss
- Chelsea eased to victory against Maccabi Tel Aviv in their opening Champions League group game
- However, it didn't get off to the greatest start as attacker Eden Hazard blazed an early spot kick over the crossbar
- Willian earned the hosts the lead before Oscar showed Hazard how to successfully take a penalty before the break
- Diego Costa scored a third for Chelsea in the second half before Cesc Fabregas sealed all three points
A
tiny portal to a happier past briefly opened at Stamford Bridge.
Thirteen minutes into the second half, Cesc Fabregas clipped a neat pass
into the penalty area, which Diego Costa volleyed into the roof of the
net, having muscled in front of his man, Yuval Shpungin.
It
was the third goal for a Chelsea side asserting their supremacy over
inferior opponents, as they would have at this stage last season. The
nil in the scoreline would have been a source of small delight for Jose
Mourinho, as well. The first clean sheet of the season, and long
overdue.
It
vindicated the manager’s decision to leave some of the stellar names
out of his starting line-up and go with fresher legs — and perhaps
fresher minds, too. And while Maccabi, the first Israeli side to reach
the Champions League group stages since the 2010-11 season, were
undoubtedly the poorest of opponents for the English clubs in the
competition this week, this was a much-improved display from Chelsea. It
did not flatter them when, in the 78th minute, Maccabi goalkeeper
Predrag Rajkovic parried a low finish from Loic Remy, only for Fabregas
to slot the fourth into an empty net.
Scroll down for video
Chelsea
midfielder Cesc Fabregas celebrates his first and Chelsea's fourth goal
of the game with his team-mates on Wednesday night
Fabregas has no trouble extending
Chelsea's lead at Stamford Bridge late on as he rolls the ball into an
empty net to secure the victory
Spanish international striker Costa points to the sky has he celebrates his goal against Maccabi Tel-Aviv in the Blues' 4-0 rout
Chelsea striker Costa celebrates with his Brazilian team-mate Oscar after scoring his side's third goal of the game on Wednesday
Mourinho
sat down after that. Relaxed at last. It is Arsenal here next, and he
knew Chelsea had to make a statement of intent before that game. He must
be sick of Chelsea being the marks this season — taken apart by
Manchester City and an Everton substitute. So poor has Chelsea’s form
been that some already consider the title beyond them; the Champions
League is discussed as the season’s saving grace.
A
win over Maccabi will give no indication of Chelsea’s potential in
Europe, and stronger opponents lie ahead in this competition — probably
this group, too. But it was a poor result against a Champions League
also-ran, Rosenborg of Norway, that proved the tipping point in
Mourinho’s first spell at Chelsea, so at least a historical repeat has
been avoided.
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And
maybe a corner has at last been turned. Maybe, Mourinho will hope, at
last his luck is in. It is his belief that much of the Chelsea crisis is
a simple matter of ill fortune. Every mistake has been punished, every
break goes against them.
And
events just five minutes into the game would have done little to
persuade him that was about to change. Chelsea got a penalty, but not
the full advantage they deserved, and then compounded this rotten luck
by missing it. On the sidelines, Mourinho went crackers. He can smile as
much as he likes for the cameras but this is definitely a man feeling
the pressure of scarcely explicable failures.
Spanish international striker Costa
wraps his right foot round the ball and into the top right-hand corner
at Stamford Bridge for the third
The MATCH ZONE pitch match from Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night shows Costa's impressive goal for Chelsea
Oscar watches on as he looks to score
for Chelsea from the penalty spot in west London during their Champions
League Group clash
Willian
went clear of the Maccabi defence and was upended ferociously by
goalkeeper Rajkovic. Referee Felix Zwayer gave the penalty but showed
only a yellow card. There is much debate about what is termed triple
jeopardy in these instances. It is claimed the offender is punished
three times: by the penalty, the sending-off and the resulting ban. A
booking should suffice, if a penalty is given, it is said. What happened
next showed that for the flawed argument it is.
Eden
Hazard came off his short run and promptly sent the ball into orbit. It
was as poor as any penalty ever seen around these parts and, as Pat
Nevin will recall, there have been a few contenders. So, in effect, this
was Rajkovic and Maccabi’s punishment: nothing. The team did not lose a
goal, a player, or its first-choice goalkeeper for the next match. If
the authorities remove the hefty triple punishment for taking out a
forward in a scoring position, it is undoubtedly a chance that will be
worth taking.
As
for Hazard, that is three of six penalties missed in the Champions
League, and when Chelsea got another chance from the spot later in the
half, it was no surprise he was relieved of his duties. It really was a
dreadful kick, the sign of a player short of confidence in a team
equally reduced going into this game.
As
for Chelsea, justice was done shortly after. Rajkovic should not have
been on the pitch and given his attempt to deal with a Willian free-kick
10 minutes later, he may as well not have been.
The
Brazilian was 35 yards out when he whipped in a low one, looking for a
team-mate to get the vital touch. None did, but they were enough of a
threat and a distraction to catch Rajkovic in two minds. He didn’t come
for the ball but didn’t cover his far post either, and the ball skidded
in unaided. It was Willian’s last meaningful involvement of the game. He
felt a hamstring in his right leg eight minutes later and was replaced
by Diego Costa.
Chelsea and England defender Gary
Cahill joins Oscar in celebration as the Blues romp to victory in west
London on Wednesday night
Brazilian international Willian watches his effort curl past an outstretched Predrag Rajkovic in the Maccabi Tel-Aviv goal
And
so, one of the biggest statements of Mourinho’s managerial career, was
over after just 23 minutes. His decision to revive this Chelsea team by
dropping four of its biggest names was a bold one.
John Terry already had an inkling of Mourinho’s displeasure with his half-time substitution against Manchester City.
This
was a stage further: left out altogether after the 3-1 defeat by
Everton. Branislav Ivanovic went, too — hardly a surprise given his form
— plus Nemanja Matic and Costa. It could be argued that Chelsea have
Arsenal on Saturday, except this did not feel like a resting, more an
attempt to breathe life into the Chelsea monster.
Abdul
Rahman Baba came in at left-back, allowing Cesar Azpilicueta to play on
his natural right side, Loic Remy replaced Costa, while Ruben
Loftus-Cheek took over in midfield. He was booked inside a minute for a
studs-up challenge on Nikola Mitrovic, but recovered and played a fine
game.
Chelsea attacker Willian celebrates opening the scoring at Stamford Bridge by dancing in front of the faithful home supporters
Dancing Willian is joined in his
celebrations by his fellow Chelsea team-mates as he sends the Blues on
their way to a routine victory
With
Costa’s introduction, however, that was the end of Mourinho’s
star-studded naughty step, although the striker repaid him by winning
the penalty that sealed the game. Two minutes of first-half injury time
had been played when Costa battled his way into the six-yard box, at
which point a gang of Tal Ben Haims bundled him to the ground. In a
commentator’s nightmare, Maccabi have two players with identical names,
listed as Tal Ben Haim I and II, like kings. Nothing regal about their
defending, though, with II pulling Costa back before I tripped him over.
Zwayer
did the right thing again. Oscar stepped and, after a shuffle, slid the
ball in on the left as Hazard looked on. Now why didn’t I think of
that, he must have wondered.
Eden Hazard has the chance to fire
Chelsea into an early lead but his poor start to the season continues as
he blazes it over the bar
Belgian international attacker Hazard
holds his head in his hands after blowing the chance to send his side
into the lead in west London
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