Chelsea vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv: Score and Reaction from 2015 Champions League
Chelsea beat Maccabi Tel Aviv 4-0 at Stamford Bridge in their Champions League group match on Wednesday night, with the Premier League champions steadying their ship after a horrific few weeks.
A goal from Willian, a penalty from Oscar, and smart finishes from Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas gave the west London team the points.
Blues coach Jose Mourinho rang the changes for his erratic looking side who have failed to perform in the opening weeks of the campaign. John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic, Nemanja Matic and Costa were all relegated to the Stamford Bridge bench, with Gary Cahill regaining his starting berth and the captain's arm band.
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Abdul Baba Rahman was handed his debut by Mourinho, with fringe players Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Loic Remy brought into the starting XI.
It was Chelsea who made the expected strong start to the game, with the hosts gaining a penalty in the opening moments of the match. Tel Aviv goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic brought down Willian as he sprinted through, earning the stopper a yellow card.
However, the moment lead to Eden Hazard taking one of the most bizarre spot-kicks of the season so far, with the mercurial Belgian smashing his shot over the crossbar, high into the stands.
ESPN's Paul Carr injected some humour into the wild miss:
NBC Sports' Arlo White commented on Hazard's lack of dexterity and form:
The Blues made amends for spurning the great chance nine minutes later as Willian converted from a free-kick. The Brazilian swung his speculative effort into the box and, with everyone missing ball, a high bounce took the effort past the diving Rajkovic.
Willian had pulled the strings effectively for Chelsea as the home side looked for more goals, but the midfielder was forced from the field of play with a thigh injury, prompting the introduction of Costa.
And the Spain striker immediately had an important influence on the result, earning a second penalty for his team just before the break.
Unsurprisingly, Hazard opted to not take the kick after his early embarrassment, and the spot-kick was taken by Oscar, who sent the goalkeeper the wrong way.
Chelsea continued to lay down pressure on the Tel Aviv goal in the second half, clearly more relaxed after securing the scoreline.
The game was killed off shortly before the hour mark as Costa smashed a right foot volley into the top corner of the net. A perfect cross from Cesc Fabregas gave the attacker the chance, and the substitute finished with a deadly strike, despite not making perfect contact with the ball.
Bleacher Report UK suggested the Special One might now be in a better mood than he has been in recent weeks:
There was clearly a happier atmosphere inside Stamford Bridge than in previous games, with ESPN's Miguel Delaney passing comment:
Oscar had one of his better games in a Chelsea shirt but was replaced shortly after the hour mark as Mourinho rang the changes with the win in the bag. The Blues were able to cruise through proceedings in the second half, playing well within their capabilities against a weak opponent.
The home side grabbed a fourth in the 78th minute courtesy of Fabregas—who appeared to have regained his verve after poor form—slotting the ball away from a tight angle as Chelsea poured forward to punish Tel Aviv.
It was a solid night's work from Chelsea—and just the tonic Mourinho was looking for after such a disastrous start to the season. The Champions League could be a sanctuary for the Blues as they look to sort out their domestic form, and only one result looked likely after the opening exchanges.
Chelsea looked more balanced in attack when Costa made his way on from the bench, and Mourinho will be happy to see his primary striker getting among the goals.
Blues fans finally have something to feel positive about, but now they need to see their side post similar scorelines in the Premier League.
Post-Match Reaction
Jose Mourinho was pleased with his team's clinical approach on Wednesday night, and appeared relieved his side had avoided defeat after a series of bad results. The coach praised his players for their reaction to Hazard's missed penalty, per Delaney:
Chelsea travel to Porto on Tuesday, Sept. 29 for their second match in Group G of the Champions League, hoping to maintain a 100 per cent start to their European adventure.
