Chelsea vs. Sporting Lisbon: Lessons Learned from Champions League Game

Chelsea concluded their Champions League Group G fixtures with a comfortable 3-1 win over Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday.

Already qualified in top spot, the Premier League club's win confirmed its unbeaten record in the group. The Portuguese outfit head into the Europa League after Schalke pipped it to second place, thanks to its win over Maribor.

Sporting were a goal down within 10 minutes at Stamford Bridge. Ricardo Esgaio clumsily brought down Filipe Luis in the box, and Cesc Fabregas converted the penalty kick.

Andre Schurrle completed a fine team move to make it 2-0 prior to half-time. Jonathan Silva reduced the gap after the break, but John Obi Mikel soon restored the Blues' two-goal advantage with a tap-in.

Here are a few things learned from this one.

Schurrle Remains a Highly Useful Option for Mourinho

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Andre Schurrle took his goal superbly on what was a big night for the German to impress his manager.

It has been tough going for Andre Schurrle so far this season. Back late after helping Germany win the World Cup, he has been sidelined with illness and had to watch on as the likes of Eden Hazard and Willian have flourished on the flanks for Chelsea.

The lack of match action has understandably not left the attacker too pleased. Commendably, and crucially for his chances of playing more, he showed no signs of sulking during an impressive performance against Sporting.

Schurrle's goal was excellently taken. After good work between Fabregas, Luis and the dominant Nemanja Matic, the ball was worked across the area to the German. He turned and fired past the helpless Rui Patricio into the bottom corner.

Such runs into central areas continued to catch the Sporting defence out.

Mohamed Salah was the recipient of chance-making passes from these positions more than once. Within 12 minutes of his goal, Schurrle had another couple of attempts on target. The first of which might have beaten Patricio again, had he met Cesar Azpilicueta's cross a little cleaner.

Schurrle also linked up well with Diego Costa when Chelsea went a little more direct, as the former's attacking instincts were clicking well with those of his newer team-mate.

It is hard to dispute Mourinho's logic for not calling on Schurrle more this season. Hazard's skill and Willian's energy have served the team well.

Nonetheless, here was a timely reminder of Schurrle's usefulness ahead of a busy period in which the Portuguese will be looking to further push on domestically without burning out his resources.

Salah and Luis Need the Minutes Mourinho Cannot Give Them

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Salah was a constant threat but was not able to deliver his own damaging blows to Sporting.

On the opposite side to Schurrle, Salah had a decent game of his own.

The winger enjoyed good service from midfield and, as noted earlier, linked well with his fellow attackers. He got off several shots at goal and also created a couple of chances himself through crosses. One led to Matic shooting over, while the other was headed clear by Mauricio before it could reach Costa.

Despite these contributions, there was a lack of finesse and quality about some of Salah's work in comparison to that of some of his team-mates. Chances to hurt Sporting came and went as he snatched at the ball rather than approaching it with conviction.

It is not all that surprising given his own lack of match time. The 22-year-old needs minutes to get that sharpness and to improve.

But without more to show for his efforts, it is going to remain difficult for him to move ahead of others in the pecking order. Schurrle offers something a little different, a directness not as evident from Chelsea's other wide-men. Salah is obviously talented, but he is essentially a lesser version of Hazard.

Another in a similar scenario is Luis. He too enjoyed some good moments, notably winning the penalty from which Fabregas gave the team the lead.

The lasting image of the Brazilian's night, however, was of him increasingly being tormented by the speedy Sporting winger Andre Carrillo.

Again, with more football under his belt Luis might have been better prepared for such quick, intense combat. As it was, he looked rusty against the clever Peruvian.

Mourinho is likely to need these players again at some point. Involving them as much as possible would be beneficial for all parties concerned. Yet, you can understand the Blues boss preferring to stick with his first-choice men as much as possible.

Loftus-Cheek Handled the Big Stage Well and Could Be Ready for More

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Ruben Loftus-Cheek replaced Cesc Fabregas to make his Champions League debut.

After Mourinho talked about him in his pre-match press conference, per UEFA.com's Julian Beattie, there was an air of expectancy about how Ruben Loftus-Cheek would do if he featured on Wednesday.

The academy product has been highly touted for some time around Stamford Bridge. Bleacher Report's Chelsea correspondent Garry Hayes wrote about as much pre-match.

The 18-year-old came on in the 83rd minute and wasted little time in making an impression.

Loftus-Cheek's initial attempt to get involved further back did not come off, but he was soon seeing the ball in the Sporting half.

The first notable moment for the midfielder saw him tee up Loic Remy for a chance after he gracefully received a pass from the right. In the minutes that followed he was picking up the ball in deeper positions, bringing it forward and linking up with Ramires and Costa.

For his troubles in the latter moment, he was clattered over by Paulo Oliveira, who was booked for the cynical challenge.

"

Jose says Ruben Loftus-Cheek showed immediately the quality he has when he came on and showed we have a kid with talent. #CFC

— Chelsea FC (@chelseafc) December 10, 2014"

Mourinho was understandably pleased with his young charge. There will not be a rush to throw him into the first team, but on a relatively big stage Loftus-Cheek suggested he could be ready should such an opportunity come.

Carrillo Showed Sporting Signs of Life Without Nani

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Carrillo caused problems for Chelsea throughout.

The experienced Nani took some of the earlier headlines in the Champions League group stage for Sporting Lisbon. The on-loan Manchester United man's absence for Wednesday night meant there was a little more room for someone else to take the limelight at Stamford Bridge.

Up stepped the earlier-mentioned Carrillo with a performance that will ensure clubs from across Europe will be keeping an eye on him (if they are not already).

More than anything, it was the Peru international getting on the ball and running at Chelsea that put the home side on the back foot.

Time and time again, Luis struggled to match his pace and eventually resorted to just barging into him when he tried to go past. From these positions out right, Carrillo's crossing was just about Sporting's most dangerous weapon. Indeed, it was one of his balls that led to Silva's goal.

He also popped up elsewhere and was not shy in dribbling past wherever the prospective move demanded.

Not everything he tried came off, with the Chelsea defence stopping a number of his attempted balls through to Islam Slimani. On the whole, though, it was a bright performance from Carrillo.

With Nani's wages set to prohibit a permanent move back to Sporting, it will be fascinating to see what shape Marco Silva's side takes over the coming year. It will almost certainly be better for Carrillo's presence.