Chelsea Turn Back the Clock in Needlessly Difficult Sporting Victory
The last English team to come away victorious against Sporting Lisbon in the Estadio Jose Alvalade was Manchester United in 2007.
As Chelsea fans know all too well, Sir Alex Ferguson's team went on to win the Champions League that season.
Seven years on, Chelsea repeated United's feat, winning by the same 1-0 scoreline, courtesy of Nemanja Matic's first-half header.
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Is it an omen, a sign of things to come? Manager Jose Mourinho and his players will hope so.
Repeat their performance against Sporting when they face bigger teams in this competition, though, and Chelsea will need much more than fate to get them through.
From the brilliance we have already seen this term, Chelsea regressed to the side we knew from last season, struggling to close out a game that was theirs for the taking.
As the referee blew his final whistle, Mourinho made a point of seeking out Rui Patricio, the Sporting goalkeeper who seemed hell-bent on keeping Chelsea at bay.
Save after save was made by the Portuguese stopper, with only Matic's looping header beating him.
In truth, however, Chelsea's front men made it easy for Patricio, transforming what had all the hallmarks of a guaranteed three points into a needlessly difficult evening's work.
Within the opening minute, the tone for this match was set, with Diego Costa timing his run to perfection to evade Sporting's high back line and run clear on goal.
He had nothing but an open plain ahead of him for the best part of 45 yards, and a goal was the inevitable outcome.
Only it wasn't.
The expectation was Chelsea would atone for their mistakes against Schalke on Matchday 1 when they had proved wasteful, arriving in the Portuguese capital with a business-like attitude that would see them take control of Group G.
Everything was in place, but what Costa served up was uncharacteristic in the extreme. He failed to score when one-on-one, shooting straight at the goalkeeper, who saved with his leg for a corner.
The opposition had changed, but it was Schalke all over again.
Costa wasn't the only player guilty, either. Andre Schurrle was another who wasted scoring opportunities, missing the chance of the match after some excellent build-up play saw him fire Eden Hazard's cross wide when it seemed easier to score.
Even after the inevitable Mourinho hairdryer treatment at half-time, Chelsea couldn't buck their ideas up. Oscar, Filipe Luis and Mohamed Salah all missed gilt-edged chances to double their team's lead, encouraging Sporting onto them in the process.
It's not the start Chelsea would have wanted to their Champions League campaign. Far from it.
They're unconvincing and lack the composure we are seeing in the Premier League.
"We had so many chances to kill [the game] off, but it was one of those nights," John Terry, who made his 100th Champions League appearance, explained to Sky Sports after.
"[The draw with Schalke] was in mind, and we had to come here and win today. Regardless of the other result [between Schalke and Maribor], we needed a win tonight and got it. We're top of the group and in control again."
Indeed, Chelsea are, yet they're fortunate. Sporting could have—and should have—punished them in the same way Klaas-Jan Huntelaar did a fortnight earlier.
Terry spoke of now controlling their group. However, control was not something overly associated with this display, and it should concern Mourinho.
Chelsea couldn't control the game against inferior opposition, a fact confirmed all the more with John Obi Mikel's appearance from the bench on 71 minutes to replace Oscar.
Even then, Mourinho would have been frustrated as the combinations were found lacking, with Chelsea wasting possession to allow Sporting back in.
It happened time and again.
Perhaps more significantly on the night, Diego Costa was forced to play the full 90 minutes when his manager would have preferred he gave Loic Remy an opportunity, resting his leading goalscorer ahead of a massive London derby against Arsenal on Sunday.
Mourinho had commented 24 hours previously that Arsenal wasn't on his mind, that he thought only of the Sporting fixture.
An hour in, with Chelsea frustrating, that wouldn't have been the case. With every minute that passed, the concern about Costa's condition when facing the Gunners would have grown, especially when the Spaniard was clattered by Mauricio and then Patricio.
They were "heart in the mouth" moments.
Just as we thought those days were over, Chelsea ran the gauntlet in Lisbon. It was reminiscent of everything Mourinho loathed about his little horse last year.
It's not an isolated occurrence, either, so it's clear there are areas to be addressed.
Now a stallion at home, Chelsea have some growing up to do in Europe. They best do it quick.
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Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes
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