Match Report: Chelsea's European Form Sees Them Progress
For all the criticism Chelsea have come under the season, their Champions League campaign has by and large gone unnoticed. Those performances have easily been the London club's best. And while they haven't set the bar particularly high - they have a made the step up for Jose Mourinho in Europe. Ahead of gameweek 6 it was Chelsea who managed more touches (178) in the opposition box than any other team in the competition.
While Chelsea were in a decent position to progress to the knockout stages, it was by no means guaranteed. As Chelsea were set to face Porto, Dynamo Kyiv were practically guaranteed a win against Maccabi Tel Aviv who had failed to win any of their matches. As it stood, presuming Dynamo Kyiv would win, Chelsea simply needed to not lose while Porto found the unenviable task of needing a win to avoid the Europa League.
Knowing the best way to ensure their position in the next round would be to not concede, Jose Mourinho opted for a conservative and defensively minded lineup. The out of favour Diego Costa returned to lead the line for Chelsea’s attack, while Ramires was introduced in favour of Cesc Fàbregas who has struggled to find his feet in the league this season. Cesar Azpilicueta was also reinstated after Baba Rahman struggled in Chelsea’s 1-0 to newly promoted Bournemouth.
The pre-match statistics fell dramatically in the home side’s favour. Chelsea had lost just a single game in their last 37 Champions League group stage matches at Stamford Bridge. While Porto had failed to win any of their 16 matches in England in European competition. However with the way Chelsea’s season has gone so far, at least domestically, there was some concern whether they would continue their European form in order to progress.
With virtually the first kick of the ball, tensions around the ground were put at ease. Chelsea were not going to sit back and try to not lose - they were not going to be content with anything other than a win. In recent seasons Chelsea have seen the predicament finishing second in a Champions League group can create. Arsenal being the most notable example - all the hard work of getting out of the group only to be undone almost immediately when they get dumped out by Barcelona or Bayern Munich. A win in the Champions League may also be Chelsea's best chance at being in the competition next season.
It took just 12 minutes for one of Chelsea’s most consistent performers this season to get on the score sheet - Own Goal. Chelsea have now benefitted from 5 own goals in the Champions League and Premier League this season. Only Willian has been more prolific for the London club. While the final ball did come off Marcano, credit has to be given to a more invigorated looking Diego Costa. Time on the bench seems to have had the desired effect.
While Costa did not manage to score, he did look significantly sharper than he has done - although not quite to the levels he reached last season. After the match, Mourinho said “But what is also clear was [Costa’s] effort, his commitment, his great movement, which was something he didn’t have for the last couple of matches. With the first chance, of course, last season he would have scored immediately. On the second chance his instinct was to look to the linesman, which wasted a second. And then his touch wasn’t the best. So, yes, clearly there’s a lack of confidence but his attitude was very good and his movement was much better. The goals are coming.”
Rather than sit back on the early goal, Chelsea continued to press for a second goal. And while there was a lot of lovely play between the three in behind Costa, Chelsea were not able to get past Iker Casillas until the 52nd minute when Willian scored his 7th of the season. It was the first time this season that he did not score from a direct free-kick. His incredible work rate and skill on the ball has been the one consistent positive in Chelsea’s season in both domestic and European competition. It was fitting that both of Chelsea’s top goalscorers found the net to secure their position at the top of Group G.
Despite directly contributing to 4 goals in his 5 Champions League starts, Vincent Aboubakar was not brought on until the second half. He, along with Ruben Neves, were brought in response to Willian’s strike in the 56th minute - after Porto found themselves now in need of 3 goals. But the change was too late to have any real meaningful impact on the game was Chelsea were more than able to absorb any other pressure.
Chelsea find themselves in the unusual position of being the favourite team for those that finished second in their group. When asked about it, Mourinho replied “Everybody will want to play us. None of the teams who finished second wants to play Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético, Bayern … I think every team finishing second will want to get us or Zenit St Petersburg.” But once the celebrations have died down and February rolls around, the ‘lucky’ team could very well be facing a very different Chelsea than the side the lost to Bournemouth this week.
How far will Chelsea progress in the Champions League this season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below
