Steaua Bucharest vs. Chelsea Score, Grades and Post-Match Reaction

A confident performance from Chelsea saw them stroll to a 4-0 victory over a below-par Steaua Bucharest side in Romania, with Ramires grabbing a brace to help the Blues secure an easy win on Tuesday evening.

Jose Mourinho's men dominated from the off, despite an early injury to Fernando Torres, and had early chances through the excellent Andre Schurrle and Samuel Eto'o after he replaced the Spaniard.

But it was Ramires who broke the deadlock in the 20th minute when Eto'o mishit his effort into the ground and the Brazilian carried on his run, meeting the ball before prodding home from close range. It was nothing less than Chelsea deserved after coming out of the blocks quickly.

Steaua tried to get back into the game, with midfielder Cristian Tanase appearing to be a threat in the midfield, attempting a few shots from range. But it was their right-back, Daniel Georgievski, already having a terrible game, who had the misfortune of helping Chelsea score their next goal.

Eto'o broke through on goal, and after cutting inside, he unleashed a powerful effort which Tatarusanu did well to parry, but, unfortunately for Georgievski, it rebounded off him and he followed the ball into the net due to the momentum to make it 2-0 at the break.

It was a killer blow and, from there, Chelsea were home and dry. Steaua manager Laurentiu Reghecampf introduced two new faces at the interval in an attempt to change the game's direction, but Mourinho's men continued to turn on the style.

Schurrle sold Georgievski with a superb turn and cut back to Oscar, who then layed off to Ramires. The 26-year-old had time to control the ball and powered his strike home, albeit with the helping hand of the goalkeeper. Juan Mata then hit the post after a lovely piece of play from Oscar, before substitute Willian set up Frank Lampard to make it 4-0 in the last minute of normal time.

Key Player Grades

Andre Schurrle: A+

Without question, this was the German winger's best game in a Chelsea shirt. Starting on the left after an injury to Eden Hazard earlier this week, the 22-year-old seized his chance brilliantly, causing Georgievski a nightmare before the Macedonian was replaced. His direct running, skill and general work rate was sensational, and Mourinho was the first to recognise it, embracing Schurrle for his hand in the third goal. A masterclass performance from the Germany international, and he may keep his place in the side after that showing.

Juan Mata: A

The little Spaniard has had to cope with tense speculation surrounding his future, but he silenced a lot of critics, including Mourinho, tonight with another superb performance. The 25-year-old looked fit as a fiddle as he occupied the playmaker position, and was constantly finding pockets of space to drift into. His influence was key to the side's creativity, finding Schurrle and Eto'o time and time again. His passing was sublime, and Mourinho will be pleased with the midfielder's response to his criticism in recent weeks.

Ramires: A

Finished with two goals for the night and it was no more than the Blues man deserved. The admirable thing about Ramires is he never stops running, with a seamless abundance of energy waiting to be used if required. He was an attacking force against Steaua, providing two decent finishes, and certainly proved his worth to the side on Tuesday.

Steaua Bucharest Grades
Player	Grades
Ciprian Tatarusanu	D
Lukasz Szukala	D
Florian Gardos	D
Iasmin Latovlevici	C-
Daniel Georgievski	F
Nicolae Stanciu	C
Alexandreu Bourceanu (c)	D
Lucian Filip	C
Adrian Popa	D
Cristian Tanase	B-
Federico Piavaccari	D
Subs
Pantelis Kapetanos	C-
Leandro Tatu	C+
Fernando Varela	C

Chelsea Grades
Player	Grade
Petr Cech	C
Branislav Ivanovic	B
David Luiz	B+
John Terry (c)	B
Ashley Cole	B+
Ramires	A
Frank Lampard	A
Oscar	B+
Juan Mata	A
Andre Schurrle	A+
Fernando Torres	C
Subs
Samuel Eto'o	B
Cesar Azpilicueta	C
Willian	B

What's Next?

In the Champions League, Chelsea host Schalke at Stamford Bridge before travelling to Gelsenkirchen for a tough away tie, while Steaua need to beat Basel in Switzerland to stand any chance of qualifying or even securing a Europa League spot.