Schalke vs. Chelsea: Lessons Learned from Champions League Game
Chelsea stormed past Schalke 5-0 on their way to clinching top spot in Group G in the UEFA Champions League Tuesday night.
John Terry, Willian, Didier Drogba and Ramires all found the back of the net for the dominant Blues in the victory at the Veltins-Arena. Schalke's Jan Kirchhoff also scored an own goal.
Not only was Jose Mourinho able to rest some of his key players in the second half, he will be able to do so again on Matchday 6, which falls in the middle of a busy December fixture list.
Here's a look at the six lessons we learned from Chelsea's thumping of Schalke.
Chelsea Executed Their Game Plan to Perfection
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Chelsea entered Tuesday night in need of three points to lock up first place in the group and a spot in the knockout round.
By the time the half-time whistle blew, the Blues had done enough to earn the top spot in Group G thanks to an attacking blitz at the Veltins-Arena.
John Terry scored the game's most important strike in the second minute, his header flying into the back of the net. For the rest of the first half, Chelsea ran rampant in the attacking third on the way to two additional strikes.
The Blues were dominant throughout the match, and the high attacking pace did not stop when the substitutes entered. Within minutes of entering the match, Didier Drogba and Ramires scored late in the second half.
By storming to victory in Gelsenkirchen, Chelsea put the rest of Europe on notice that they are true contenders for the continental title this season.
Jan Kirchhoff Ruined the Small Bit of Positive Momentum Schalke Earned
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In the 44th minute, Jan Kirchhoff committed a brutal defensive error by heading the ball into his own net with no Chelsea players surrounding him.
Instead of his letting one of his teammates head the corner-kick away from a better angle, Kirchhoff decided to take matters into his own hands.
Just a minute before Schalke went down by three, 'keeper Ralf Fahrmann made a terrific save on Oscar to force the corner.
Had the corner been cleared away properly, Schalke may have gone into the locker room with some hope of a comeback down by just two.
To add more misery to his day, Kirchhoff was taken off at half-time in favor of Christian Clemens.
Nemanja Matic Was Dominant in Front of the Chelsea Back 4
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While a ton of praise will be heaped on Cesc Fabregas for his contributions to the Chelsea attack, Nemanja Matic deserves even more credit for his terrific showing in the defensive midfield.
Matic made six tackles and two interceptions on his way to silencing the Schalke attack led by Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.
The Chelsea midfielder was the reason why the hosts tested Thibaut Courtois on just three occasions. It is also a testament to the play of Matic that the shots were sent in from distance, which made life easy for the Belgian 'keeper.
With Matic playing superb football at the moment, Chelsea are close to an unstoppable machine with the attack already firing on all cylinders.
Kevin-Prince Boateng Had a Brutal Night in the Attacking 3rd
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Kevin-Prince Boateng had a night to forget in front of the home crowd at Veltins-Arena Tuesday night.
The Ghanaian playmaker was dominated by Matic for the 63 minutes he spent on the pitch. The worst moment of the night for Boateng came in the 10th minute when he screamed for the ball to be played to him in the middle of the pitch.
Immediately after he received the ball, Boateng was stripped of possession in the final third. That move summed up the frustrating night for the Schalke No. 9, as he failed to be a consistent threat up top.
If Boateng is this ineffective on Matchday 6 against Maribor, we could see the German side qualify for the UEFA Europa League instead of the Champions League knockout round.
Schalke Only Had 1 Good Player on the Pitch
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It was a rough night all around for the host German side, but they did have one bright spot in the form of Atsuto Uchida.
On a few occasions, Uchida was able to storm down the right flank in search of creating a sustainable attack. Unfortunately for the Japanese defender, none of his teammates shared the same motivation.
To complicate matters further, Uchida was not given much help on the defensive end when he scampered forward, as Willian and Oscar exploited the space on the left flank for most of the match.
Although few positives, if any, can be taken away from this match by Roberto Di Matteo, he can look at Uchida's promising runs forward as something to build on heading into Matchday 6.
Schalke Will Have to Rely on Chelsea on Matchday 6
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Chelsea's victory allowed them to earn a spot in the knockout round with one match remaining.
Tuesday's result in Germany did clear a few things up, but there is still a bit to play for in regards to the race for second place.
Schalke must win away at Maribor in their final match to have any chance of advancing to the last 16. But their fate will ultimately lie in the hands of Chelsea. The Blues will host Sporting Lisbon at Stamford Bridge in a match where Mourinho is likely to field a weaker team.
If the Portuguese side take advantage of that and win, they will go through. If Schalke pull out a victory in Slovenia, they will advance to the knockout round if Sporting lose in England. Sporting carries a superior goal difference heading into the final matches in Group G.
With a chance to still qualify for the knockout round, expect Schalke to perform better than they did on Matchday 5.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
