Chelsea vs. Schalke: Score, Grades and Post-Match Reaction

Samuel Eto’o scored twice and Demba Ba notched his first Champions League goal as Chelsea rebounded from a 2-0 defeat to Newcastle with a convincing 3-0 win over Schalke at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

Coming into the match level with the Blues on six points from three matches, Schalke were first to settle and troubled their hosts with a pair of early chances.

Julien Draxler pulled a shot just wide of goal only minutes after kick-off, and not long after Adam Szalai’s hit also failed to test Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech.

The Bundesliga side would end up ruing those misses and Chelsea, having started drowsily, suddenly woke up around the quarter-hour and had a first opportunity in the 20th minute when Andre Schurrle’s free-kick was stopped well by Timo Hildebrand.

But the 34-year-old would go from hero to zero barely 10 minutes later.

Waiting to take his kick from inside the Schalke area, Hildebrand was charged down by an impatient Eto’o who, after reaching the ‘keeper, watched as the ball deflected off his leg and trickled into the back of the net.

Neither side made a change at the break, and once again it was Schalke who came out on the front foot following kick-off.

Seven minutes into the second half, the visitors had their best chance of the evening when Draxler’s low, hard effort required a diving stop from Cech. And once again his side would regret their inability to finish as Chelsea doubled their lead less than two minutes later.

Once again it was Eto’o with the goal, but this time it was superbly well-taken—Willian dishing to the Cameroon international who, upon controlling it with an excellent first touch, finished expertly into the far corner.

Chelsea were coasting now and took the opportunity to make their substitutions, one of whom would end up rounding out the scoring in the 83rd minute.

Having replaced Eto’o, Ba volleyed the hosts into a 3-0 lead after receiving Frank Lampard’s cleverly flicked pass from just inside the area.

With the victory, Chelsea are now alone atop Group E—three points above Schalke and four in front of Basel, who could only draw 1-1 with Steaua Bucharest in Switzerland.

Key Player Grades

Samuel Eto’o: A+

Substitutions
Player	Grade
Cech	A
Ivanovic	A
Cahill	A
Terry	A
Azpilicueta	A-
Mikel	A-
Ramires	A-
Willian	A
Oscar	A-
Schurrle	A
Eto'o	A+
Lampard	A
Ba	A
De Bruyne	B+

The two-time Champions League winner played his best game in a Chelsea shirt to date, scoring twice (one of which was an incredibly industrious, albeit somewhat lucky goal) and operating well with both Willian and Andre Schurrle also getting forward as much as possible.

Willian: A

Substitutions
Player	Grades
Hildebrand	D
Uchida	C
Howedes	B-
Matip	C
Aogo	C
Jones	C+
Neustadter	B-
Draxler	B
Boateng	C
Fuchs	C-
Szalai	C
Meyer	C
Kolasinac	C
Clemens	C

The Brazil international was tremendous on Tuesday. Not only did he set up Eto’o’s second goal, but he also passed the ball to Lampard in the buildup to the Ba volley. At the final whistle, he had touched the ball 63 times, completed 84 per cent of his passes and successfully executed three tackles.

Kevin-Prince Boateng: C

His night ended in the 77th minute—withdrawn in favour of Sead Kolasinac. Operating in the hole behind Szalai, he lost battle after battle with John Obi Mikel and Ramires, and failed to register a single shot on goal.

What’s Next?

Next up for Chelsea is Saturday’s Premier League encounter at home to West Bromwich Albion and they’ll return from the international break with a match away to West Ham. Their next Champions League match will be on November 26 away to Basel.

Schalke, meanwhile, face Werder Bremen at the weekend, then travel to Frankfurt on November 23. Three days later, they’ll be away to Steaua Bucharest.