Sporting vs. Chelsea: Lessons Learned from Champions League Game
Chelsea beat Sporting 1-0 on Champions League Matchday 2 thanks to a first-half Nemanja Matic header.
The midfielder headed Jose Mourinho's side in front from a Cesc Fabregas free-kick on the 34th minute. The visiting Blues had dominated the first-half but failed to take their chances up until then.
A much improved post-interval showing from Marco Silva's Lisbon club meant Chelsea might have been punished for their missed opportunities. The Premier League outfit held on, though, and could have added to their lead but for heroics from Sporting goalkeeper Rui Patricio.
Chelsea top Group G after the win, with Schalke and Maribor playing out a 1-1 draw in Germany. Read on for lessons learned from the clash in Portugal.
Others Need to Help Diego Costa Carry the Goalscoring Weight
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It is obvious Chelsea will need players besides Diego Costa to score goals for them this season. Thus far, they have found goals from all over.
Matic scored on Tuesday night, Fabregas netted in their previous Champions League match, a 1-1 draw with Schalke, and both Andre Schurrle and Eden Hazard have been among the others to contribute to the 23 Chelsea have struck in their nine games in all competitions.
The fact Costa was selected for this game, though, demonstrated the burden is heavily on him to lead the way. This, despite Jose Mourinho admitting in his pre-match press conference, via BBC Sport: "[Costa]'s doing almost nothing in training. He's just resting and recovering from the tight muscle he has."
Carrying on where he left off during an extraordinary campaign for last season's La Liga winners, Atletico Madrid, the Spain international has scored eight times so far this season. As long as he stays fit, it already looks as though he will justify the reported £32 million (via BBC Sport) Chelsea spent on him—a relatively small price in today's market for the all-action, defence-dominating forward Jose Mourinho craved.
Yet, as was the case against Sporting, there will be days when things do not go quite as well for Costa.
He was twice denied by Patricio's superb judgement calls to come off of his line. On another occasion, Mauricio sacrificed his role in the game by conceding a foul to stop the striker getting that far (the centre-back was booked and injured in the process of bringing down the Spain international).
Others are going to need to show they can do more than just contribute in this department, they need to lead too. Thus far, it has not been a major issue, but there might be a time when an absent or off-form Costa needs his team-mates to cover for him.
"I don't care about Diego's goals," Mourinho said. "For me it's important that the team score enough goals to win."
That might be his belief. But it appears there is at least a slight hesitancy to trust others besides Costa to lead the front line (at least while Didier Drogba is out injured).
Chelsea Are Coming Along Nicely Creatively but Still Need Fine-Tuning
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Chelsea played some wonderful football in the first-half against Sporting—both on the counter-attack and in more measured passages of play.
Costa and Hazard were played into the space behind the Lisbon outfit's back four on several occasions. Schurrle was a menace in closer confines, constantly buzzing about, and Oscar was useful too with his supporting work.
With Matic and particularly Fabregas pulling the strings in midfield, the Blues attack was not short of service. They were also creating chances themselves.
Chelsea's failure to convert some of these moments in front of goal—Schurrle made the most glaring miss after a cutback from Hazard—became an issue after the interval, though.
Sporting defended better, while Joao Mario and Adrien Silva sought to put the visitors on the back foot. While Fabregas and Matic continued to create and direct a lot of their side's better moments, there was less going on from those ahead of them.
Again, that was just partly how the game turned. But without the attacking quartet looking to get on the ball as much, there was less the main midfield two could do, given they also had a defensive battle on their hands.
It was not too problematic in the end, and indeed, Chelsea still created good chances as Willian and Mohamed Salah providing some late impetus.
Against a good Sporting side, though, a reminder was served that Europe's best teams will not just crumble in the face of one or two midfield conductors. No matter how good they are.
Even so, the aforementioned talent in Chelsea's squad should ensure they become a more well-rounded attacking prospect before too long.
Lack of Premier League Game Time Is Making Settling in Tough for Filipe Luis
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A yellow card, a close penalty call and a missed chance to add to Chelsea's lead—Tuesday was not Filipe Luis' best night.
In fairness, the yellow came after the left-back came across the pitch to stop Nani getting forward. His shot was a little unlucky, going wide after he charged up the left-flank to latch on to Willian's pass out to him.
The close penalty call was actually outside the box, but it was close enough that Luis' clumsy push on Nani might have been more severely punished had referee Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz been worse positioned than he was.
This was only the 29-year-old's fourth appearance since signing from Atletico Madrid this past summer. With Cesar Azpilicueta already ahead of him in the pecking order, he will have known he will have had to bide his time.
Mourinho obviously trusts Luis to do a job; he has started him in Chelsea's two Champions League games so far. For the time being, though, the player is struggling to get into a rhythm with these sporadic opportunities.
Luis might find it soon enough, but it would be unfortunate if the process of getting there was to cost him or his side in the meantime.
Nani's Reputation Will Guarantee Him Unwanted Attention
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Nani scored a good goal in Sporting's first Group G game against Maribor, and he was unfortunate it did not end up being his side's winner.
Mourinho will have needed no telling of his compatriot's talent, given his years with Manchester United in the Premier League. Still, it was a timely reminder for the Blues boss that he would be a player Chelsea would have to pay close attention to.
So it was that Chelsea proceeded to double up on Nani as often as possible in the Portuguese capital.
Branislav Ivanovic led the effort against the winger's predominant left position, teaming up with the nearest midfielder or defender. They combined to block Nani's route to goal on several occasions, forcing him to either pass sideways or shoot from way out (as tallied by Squawka, four of his five shots were off target).
He did find some space on a few occasions.
Once, shortly after the interval, he backheeled it to no one, perhaps thinking the referee in blue was a team-mate out of the corner of his eye. Later on, Joao Mario and Andre Carrillo did fine work to release their team-mate in a similar position, but he could only hit the side-netting.
Nani's reputation in some circles may have been tarnished by a lacklustre last couple of years in England, but he remains a potential game changer. Sporting have more to offer than just his threat, but it is clear they will have to find ways of getting him more freedom if they want him to be as influential as they hope.
Sporting's Young Stars Could Suprise If They Progress
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Nani might be the star of this Sporting side, but there is plenty of talent besides the winger in the squad to suggest they could surprise some people in the Champions League.
Portugal international Rui Patricio is far from an unknown, but his stock will have been raised by a strong night playing the sweeper-keeper role for his team. Cente-back and fellow 26-year-old Mauricio performed solidly up until his injury, though his defensive partner, the five-years younger Mouhamadou-Naby Sarr, is still adapting to this level and struggled with the pace of Costa and Hazard.
Algerian World Cup star Islam Slimani, Adrien and Andre Carrillo were also a handful for Chelsea at times, while the reportedly much admired William Carvalho showed signs of the talent that, according to the Daily Express' Alex Harris, is attracting interest from Arsenal and Manchester United.
Particularly impressive on Tuesday was the energetic midfielder Joao Mario. The 21-year-old popped up all over the pitch, hassling his opponents and orchestrating many of his team's best moves (his pass completion rate was 95 percent according to Squawka).
Despite their loss, Silva and his young side will still fancy their chances of progressing from Group G.
Chelsea will remain favourites to top the group after their win, but Maribor and Schalke could only draw 1-1. Both will have tough nights against Sporting if the Portuguese club can play with the same positivity and work ethic that defined their second-half effort against the Blues.
Second place and progress to the knockout stage is a very real possibility.
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