Chelsea vs. FC Porto: Winners and Losers from Champions League
Chelsea earned first place in Group G of the UEFA Champions League with a 2-0 win over Porto on Matchday 6 at Stamford Bridge.
Diego Costa created the first goal of the match, but he did not get credit for it. Iker Casillas' save produced a rebound that deflected off Ivan Marcano and into the back of the net.
The Blues secured their advancement to the final 16 in the 52nd minute as Willian put them ahead by two on a wonderful strike that found the bottom right of the net.
Chelsea finished first in Group G with 13 points, while Dynamo Kiev ended up second thanks to a win over Maccabi Tel Aviv on Wednesday. Despite earning 10 points in six matches, Porto finished third and dropped into the UEFA Europa League.
Here's a look at our winners and losers from Chelsea's fourth Champions League win of the season.
Winner: Diego Costa
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Diego Costa may not have scored on Wednesday night, but he was a constant threat in the final third for Chelsea.
Costa's surge into the box from the right side of the pitch opened up the Porto back line in the 12th minute in the buildup to the first tally of the contest.
The Chelsea striker received a bit of luck on that specific attack as the rebound caused by Iker Casillas' save ricocheted off the body of Ivan Marcano and into the net.
The only thing missing from Costa's all-around solid performance was a goal. The Blues will hope the 27-year-old builds on his showing at home on Wednesday and turns into a consistent provider of goals once again.
Loser: Ivan Marcano
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Unfortunately for Ivan Marcano, the 12th-minute defensive debacle was a sign of things to come for the Porto defender on Wednesday.
After he failed to clip the ball off the feet of Costa with a sliding challenge, the ball bounced off the center-back and into the left side of the net.
Throughout the rest of the match, the Chelsea attackers exploited gaps in the Porto defense, and Marcano was one of the players at fault for that.
Due to the less-than-stellar showing by the Porto back four, the Portuguese side will not be in contention for the UEFA Champions League title this season.
Winner: Willian
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Willian sealed three points for the Blues with a thunderbolt of a strike in the 52nd minute.
The Brazilian, who has arguably been Chelsea's best player in Europe this season, received a pass from Eden Hazard on the right side of the pitch and unleashed a rocket past Casillas into the bottom right section of the net.
The 27-year-old made the most touches of any Chelsea attacker with 66, and he dished out four key passes, per WhoScored, as Jose Mourinho's men searched for a third.
If the Brazilian had not scored a few key goals in the early stages of the competition, Chelsea may have dropped out of the top two and joined Manchester United in the Europa League.
Loser: Yacine Brahimi
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The mission on Wednesday night in London was simple for Porto. The Portuguese side had to put pressure on the Chelsea back line and earn at least a draw to have a chance of advancing to the final 16.
Over 90 minutes, Porto failed to accomplish that task as they put just three shots on target and didn't test Thibaut Courtois with a serious chance until the 78th minute.
Starting forward Yacine Brahimi was active in attack with four shots and 89 touches, per WhoScored, but none of his attempts came close to challenging Courtois.
Due to the lack of quality shots from their strikers, Porto never mounted a challenge to Chelsea and fell into the Europa League.
Winner: Eden Hazard
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Eden Hazard earned rave reviews for his performance in the final third for the hosts on Wednesday night.
In 89 minutes of action, the 24-year-old Belgian produced plenty of chances for his teammates and took two shots on goal himself.
Hazard also picked up his first assist since the September 26 draw with Newcastle United on Willian's strike seven minutes into the second half.
If Hazard uses Wednesday's outing as momentum for the rest of the season, Chelsea could make a surge up the Premier League table and make a surprising run at the Champions League title.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
