5 Pivotal Factors to Decide Champions League Group G
Chelsea's 2015-16 UEFA Champions League campaign will begin in Group G, where the Blues have drawn Porto, Dynamo Kiev and Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Jose Mourinho's men have started the Premier League season in disappointing fashion, losing three of their first five games, but they will still be favored to top Group G. Porto, Mourinho's former club, will likely pose the greatest threat, with Dynamo Kiev and Maccabi Tel Aviv rounding out the section.
Here, B/R selects five pivotal factors that could decide the outcome of the group.
Group G Fixtures
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Here is an overview of the fixtures in Group G. The home team is listed first.
Sept. 16
Dynamo Kiev vs. Porto
Chelsea vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv
Sept. 29
Maccabi vs. Dynamo
Porto vs. Chelsea
Oct. 20
Porto vs. Maccabi
Dynamo vs. Chelsea
Nov. 4
Maccabi vs. Porto
Chelsea vs. Dynamo
Nov. 24
Porto vs. Dynamo
Maccabi vs. Chelsea
Dec. 9
Dynamo vs. Maccabi
Chelsea vs. Porto
Mourinho's Return to Porto
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Chelsea's Jose Mourinho is widely admired as one of Europe's top managers. In addition to numerous domestic titles, the Portuguese coach has won the Champions League on two occasions, once with Inter Milan in 2010 and once with Porto in 2004.
The latter helped launch Mourinho into the top tier of continental managers, and he's been there ever since. So when Mourinho's Chelsea landed in a group with Porto, the matches between the two clubs naturally became the focal point of the group.
That's especially true for the first meeting, on Matchday 2. That's when Chelsea travel to Portugal to face Porto. Mourinho's return to his former club probably won't incite any hard feelings on either side. It's been more than a decade since the two parted ways.
But Porto will certainly have extra motivation to get one over on the man who led the club to Champions League glory.
Can Eran Zahavi Continue His Scoring Run?
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Maccabi Tel Aviv will be longshots in Group G. That's no slight on the Israeli side, who did well to qualify for the group stage for the first time in 11 years. It's just that Chelsea and Porto have superior squads and loads of experience in the competition, giving them the edge in the race for the top two spots.
Even so, Maccabi deserve credit for knocking out Basel in the playoff round. Basel had been semi-regulars in the group stage in recent seasons, advancing to the round of 16 in 2011-12 and 2014-15.
One driving factor behind Maccabi's run to the group stage has been the scoring exploits of Eran Zahavi. In five Champions League qualifying matches this season, the attacking midfielder has scored seven goals. That total includes three strikes in the two-legged victory over Basel and both goals in a crucial 2-0 victory at Viktoria Plzen in the third qualifying round.
Zahavi's scoring form will be crucial if Maccabi are to compete for a place in the knockout round.
Can Chelsea Get Back on Track?
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Chelsea's Premier League title defense has not started the way Jose Mourinho would have liked. The Blues began the season with a 2-2 draw at home to Swansea before losing 3-0 to title rivals Manchester City. Following a victory over West Brom, the champions lost again, at home to Crystal Palace.
Over the weekend, Chelsea conceded three more goals in a loss to Everton.
It's early, of course, and the Blues have plenty of time to put themselves back in the title race. But Mourinho must be concerned with the way his team is playing, having conceded an alarming 12 goals through five league matches. All of Mourinho's best sides have been stout defensively, and this year's Chelsea don't appear to be that, at least not yet.
“At the moment, we are losing matches and not getting results,” Mourinho said, per the London Evening Standard. “But step by step we are going to be back on track.”
While there's time to work out the problems in the Premier League, the Champions League opener is fast approaching. The Blues open with Maccabi Tel Aviv on Sept. 16, and that's a match they will expect to win, regardless of form. But a trip to Porto follows that, and Chelsea must be prepared defensively for what should be their toughest test of the group stage.
Did Chelsea Strengthen Enough in the Transfer Market?
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Jose Mourinho undoubtedly strengthened Chelsea by signing Spanish forward Pedro from Barcelona shortly before the summer transfer deadline. But the Blues did not sign any of the big-name defenders they were reportedly chasing, and that has left questions over the team's ability to compete with Europe's best.
Granted, Chelsea should have enough firepower at both ends of the pitch to top Group G rather comfortably. Only Porto should offer a legitimate challenge, and even the Portuguese side will come up alarmingly short on talent compared to Mourinho's men.
But in the latter stages of the competition, Chelsea could struggle. Late in the transfer window, the Blues were linked extensively with a move for Everton center-back John Stones, but a deal never materialized. Instead, Mourinho signed Papy Djilobodji from Nantes on deadline day but left him off the Champions League roster.
Djilobodji's presence could give Chelsea depth in the Premier League, which could in turn help with the Champions League campaign. But it's hard not to think the Blues need a bit more at the back.
It might not matter until the knockout rounds, but the group stage could give us a good preview of what to expect from Chelsea defensively as the competition progresses.
This Is Really All About Chelsea and Porto
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It's no coincidence that Chelsea—and to a lesser extent Porto—have dominated this article. Those two teams have enough quality in their squads to make Dynamo Kiev and Maccabi Tel Aviv outsiders in Group G.
As John Brewin noted at ESPN FC, Ukraine's top players have steadily left Dynamo amid the political unrest in the country in recent years. "Coach Serhiy Rebrov is a name to conjure when considering how talented a team Dynamo had in the late 1990s," Brewin writes, "but the days of shocking Europe have probably passed."
Maccabi stunned Basel to reach this point but have not played in the group stage in more than a decade. That lack of experience could prove costly.
That leaves Chelsea and Porto, and while Chelsea are all but certain to advance, Porto should be able to do so as well, despite a summer of sales. Jackson Martinez, Danilo and Alex Sandro all departed, weakening the squad significantly. But returning loanees and a steady stream of young talent should send the Portuguese into the next round.
