Maccabi Tel Aviv vs. Chelsea: Score, Reaction from 2015 Champions League Match

Chelsea moved one step closer to the Champions League round of 16 on Tuesday with a 4-0 victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv inside the Sammy Ofer Stadium in Haifa, Israel.

The Blues could've booked a place in the next round with a win and a Dynamo Kyiv defeat. However, the reigning Ukrainian champions beat Porto 2-0, thus ensuring they'd remain two points back of Chelsea in Group G.

Gary Cahill, Willian, Oscar and Kurt Zouma provided the goals, and Chelsea would've had more were it not for Maccabi goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic. The Maccabi defense did the 20-year-old few favors, leaving Predrag to make a handful of impressive saves.

Maccabi nearly went ahead 1-0 on two separate occasions in the first five minutes. Midfielder Dor Peretz saw his header hit the crossbar in the second minute, and three minutes later, right back Eli Dasa got into dangerous position before sending his shot well wide of the mark.

Chelsea seemed to quickly learn their lesson as they regained control of the match. Diego Costa and Cesar Azpilicueta both saw their shots fail to hit the target. Then Cahill found himself in the right place at the right time to put the Blues in front in the 20th minute.

Rajkovic did well to save the center back's header from Willian's corner, but Cahill quickly poked home the rebound, per Fox Soccer:

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho remained unmoved following the goal, per Dominic Fifield of the Guardian:

Taking the lead allowed Chelsea to settle into a nice comfort and exert more influence on the match. Maccabi center back Tal Ben Haim offered his former club a helping hand in the 41st minute, as well, after getting sent off. ESPN FC's John Brewin will make sure the moment is added to Ben Haim's Chelsea highlights package:

The Israeli defender earned a straight red for his foul on Costa, which came after Costa had run beyond him. Ben Haim kicked out his left foot at the Spanish international. He immediately put his head in his hands after the foul, a sign he knew exactly what kind of consequences he might soon face.

The sending-off only strengthened Chelsea's advantage. While they failed to score again before halftime, the Blues closed the first half looking very strong.

Aside from the odd counter, Maccabi were unable to mount much of an offensive in the second half. Rajkovic made two marvelous saves that kept the score at 1-0, the first on Eden Hazard in the 61st minute and the second on Azpilicueta two minutes later.

Unfortunately for Maccabi, Rajkovic was powerless to stop Willian's free kick in the 73rd minute. The Brazilian placed his effort perfectly in the bottom-left corner:

ESPN Stats & Info noted Willian's incredible set-piece record so far in the Champions League:

Paul Hayward of the Telegraph has admired Willian's ability to remain above the fray during tumultuous times at Stamford Bridge:

A two-goal lead was already more than enough to see Chelsea through to the win, and Oscar provided a little more insurance in the 77th minute. Abdul Baba Rahman deserves the lion's share of credit for the goal as his inch-perfect cross allowed Oscar a straightforward finish.

Chelsea supporters should take some positives from their win but remain guarded in their optimism. As football writer Miguel Delaney noted, the Blues have been down this road before:

The Associated Press' Rob Harris added how Maccabi weren't exactly the stiffest of competition:

In order to advance to the round of 16, Chelsea will need at least a draw in their final match of the group stage against Porto. The Portuguese club beat Chelsea 2-1 in the Estadio do Dragao in September, so securing one point from the match won't be easy. The Blues would also be safe no matter the result if Dynamo fall to Maccabi.

Since Mourinho is still managing Chelsea despite everything that has happened, failing to progress to the round of 16 likely wouldn't result in his outright sacking. With that said, falling down to the Europa League would only heap more pressure upon his shoulders.

Post-Match Reaction

Mourinho wasn't entirely happy with his team's performance, per Chelsea's Twitter account:

He provided a brief update on Terry's health, confirming the center back has an ankle injury but that the extent of the injury is unknown, per the Champions League.

The match wasn't completely full of positives for Chelsea after John Terry was stretchered off in the 72nd minute. Mourinho had choice words for the playing surface in Haifa.

"[We had] one injury yesterday with Ramires, one for John Terry today and I'm happy with just two," he said in his post-match press conference, per ESPN FC. "John is a doubt for the weekend but I don't want to speak without tests. The pitch [was] really bad. [It] doesn't help, it was really difficult for us."

Terry hasn't quite been the pillar in defense he was last year. WhoScored.com gives him a rating 6.42 for his 10 Premier League appearances. Still, the Blues will want to have him healthy for the match with Tottenham on Sunday and then the all-important group-stage clash with Porto on Dec. 9.