Nordsjaelland 6-1

Independent:

Torres fires but Chelsea complete humiliating comedown
Chelsea 6 Nordsjaelland  1

Sam Wallace

Somewhere much warmer than west London in December, they will be recalibrating the satellite on Roman Abramovich's favourite yacht to make sure that they can get a decent signal for the broadcasting backwater that is ITV4. Relax, Mr Abramovich, your Thursday-night viewing is all taken care of.

From the glory of May to the Europa League in less than seven months, it has been one hell of a comedown for a club where the celebration murals from the Champions League final in Munich still adorn the outside of the stadium. As it turned out, Chelsea finally hit their stride last night with six goals and a first win under Rafael Benitez while their fate was being sealed in Donetsk with Juventus' 1-0 win over Shakhtar.

The Europa League is not what Abramovich planned for, but then this has been a chaotic calendar year: two managers sacked, two trophies won, Champions League group stage elimination for the first time in the club's history and they may yet reach Christmas as the official champions of the world. Welcome to Chelsea, where despair comes hot on the heels of triumph.

The roots of Chelsea's demise in the Champions League stretch back to the home draw in the first group game against Juventus when they threw away a two-goal lead, a significant moment that Petr Cech acknowledged after the game. This European campaign has become Benitez's problem, but it began under the regime of Roberto Di Matteo when crucial points were dropped against both Shakhtar and Juventus.

Two of the goals tonight came from Fernando Torres, the first time he has scored more than one in a game since his hat-trick against Queen's Park Rangers in April. Yet there were two first-half penalties awarded to Chelsea, both for handball, and the Spanish striker declined to take either. History has it that Torres just does not do penalties. With his current strike-rate he can hardly afford not to.

It was a good performance from Chelsea but given that their opponents took around £1m in transfer fees to assemble it really should have been. Asked what his experience of the Champions League had been, the Nordsjaelland coach, Kasper Hjulmand, replied: "A lot of beatings".

Benitez was understandably relieved to get his first win in spite of the bad news from Ukraine. It all starts again on Saturday away at Sunderland where he needs his first league victory to smooth the way for the trip to Japan where Chelsea could be playing the Fifa Club World Cup final a week on Sunday. It was a rocky start tonight.

Much of it was down to the Dutch referee Bas Nijhuis, who, with his winter tan, and slicked-back hair, got himself in rather a pickle in the first half. He awarded three penalties for handball, all of them dubious, the first of them to Nordsjaelland which Petr Cech saved. Had that one gone in then the pressure would have been on Chelsea.

Victor Moses was a threat on the right wing in the first half in particular, and Nordsjaelland lost their Croatian defender Ivan Runje to injury in the first 10 minutes. They held out nonetheless, for almost 40 minutes, sometimes with a little fortune. Their captain Nicolai Stokholm deflected a cross from Moses against his own bar.

With Chelsea in control, but jittery in front of goal, the home side conceded the first of Mr Nijhuis's dodgy penalties when Gary Cahill was judged to have handled Anders Christiansen's shot. His feet were outside the area when the shot struck him and his arm almost certainly was. It was Stokholm who took the penalty and Cech, as he has done so often, dug Chelsea out of a hole with a great save to his right

Three minutes later, Chelsea had a penalty of their own when Cahill's downward header was judged to have struck the arm of the substitute Mikkel Beckmann. Again, it was a questionable decision. Eden Hazard, in place of the regular penalty-taker Frank Lampard, struck a poor shot, Jesper Hansen saved and 35 minutes in there was still no goal.

When the third penalty for handball arrived it seemed like Nijhuis might have some kind of obsessive disorder. This time it was Patrick Mtiliga who was judged to have handled Juan Mata's shot. Again it was questionable. Enter David Luiz, who put the ball on the spot and proceeded to embark on the kind of run-up that a medium-fast bowler might favour, before drilling a shot past Hansen.

Chelsea deserved their lead and they had another in injury-time at the end of the half. Moses slipped in Torres and although his first shot hit Hansen he nimbly skipped over the goalkeeper, kept his feet, and tidied up with a neat finish.

There was a major embarrassment within 20 seconds of the start of the second half when Kasper Lorentzen picked up the ball in midfield from the kick-off and cut Chelsea's defence in two with a ball into the space behind Branislav Ivanovic. Running on to it was the Dutch 24-year-old Joshua John who did a nice job of beating Cech.

It was five minutes after Chelsea scored their third – a header by Cahill from Mata's free-kick from the right – that news came in of Oleksandr Kucher's own-goal in Donetsk that eventually gave Juventus their win over Shakhtar. Benitez's side scored a fourth around that time, a sequence of passes between Hazard and Torres opening up a run down the left for the Belgian. His cross was finished at the near post by Torres.

Hazard combined with Mata who scored the fifth after his first shot was saved by Hansen. Oscar, on for Ramires, scored a sixth; a goal made by Mata. Torres had a couple of chances to score his hat-trick and Nijhuis should have given him a penalty when he was pushed in the box. By the end of the game, Chelsea had made 20 attempts on goal and Nordsjaelland were willing the final whistle, but the atmosphere was muted.

They are out of a competition that the Chelsea support have taken great pleasure in declaring their supremacy over the three months or so of the season so far. The song goes, "We know what we are, champions of Europe, we know what we are." Chelsea in the Europa League? That sounds like an identity crisis in the making.

Man of the match Mata.

Match rating 6/10.

Referee B Nijhuis (Neth).

Attendance 40,084.


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Observer:

Fernando Torres scores two but Chelsea thrash Nordsjaelland in vain
Daniel Taylor

The death knell sounded shortly before 9pm. Gary Cahill had just made it 3-1 when the news filtered through that Juventus had taken the lead against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Donbass Arena. It was the news Chelsea had been dreading and though Rafael Benítez can reflect on his first victory, the goal-fest felt almost incongruous considering the significance of what it ultimately meant.
The celebrations had to be subdued when the club currently in ownership of the most prized trophy in European football had been plonked into the Europa League, with its ongoing identity crisis and Thursday-night-Sunday-afternoon rota. Fernando Torres at least reminded himself of what it is like to find the goal, scoring in each half and visibly growing in confidence. Yet the joys of old were drastically diminished. It was a clutching-at-straws kind of night, even if bagging half a dozen goals did spare Benítez the prospect of another mauling from the crowd.
David Luiz's penalty started the rout during an eccentric seven-minute spell featuring three spot-kicks, two misses and one whistle-happy referee. After that, the scoring continued at a rate of a goal every five-and-a-half minutes until Oscar, a second-half substitute, completed the rout in the 71st minute. What a pity for Chelsea that they could not have been this prolific when they played Shakhtar. In the end, they have gone out on the basis of their head-to-head record against the Ukraine team. Both sides won on their own ground but Shakhtar scored twice at Stamford Bridge whereas Chelsea managed only one in Donetsk.
Everyone knew the ramifications of that Juventus goal, with the Italians also qualifying from Group E, and that made it a strange second-half, with plenty of enjoyable football mixing with a sense of wider failure. Chelsea seemed capable of scoring every time they broke forward but the celebrations became more subdued with each goal and the backdrop was another reminder for Benítez about his unpopularity in these parts.
The Spaniard was booed as soon as he walked out of the tunnel before kick-off. Within four minutes the crowd were singing in support of Roberto Di Matteo. Banners were thrust to the skies proclaiming their backing for the sacked Italian. A José Mourinho fan with a spare bedsheet and tin of blue paint had created the message "Bring back the Special One", flapping in the wind from the Shed End.
Yet Nordsjaelland were obliging opponents for a manager looking for his first win. The team currently nine points adrift from the top of Denmark's Superliga arrived with the worst defensive record in the competition and no win in Europe since beating Queen of the South in a qualifying round of the 2008 Uefa Cup. Chelsea had thumped them 4-0 in October. Nordsjaelland were, in short, about as easy as it gets at this level. "Just to put it in perspective," their manager, Kasper Hjulmand, said afterwards, "we were formed 10 years ago and we have spent £1m on this squad."
Torres certainly relished the kind of space that better opponents would not afford him. "We helped to get him back on track," as Hjulmand put it. At one point Torres was emboldened enough to try to cross the ball with a kick from behind his standing leg. The old Torres might have taken Nordsjaelland to the cleaners but, at the risk of ushering in another false dawn, these goals might still have therapeutic effects.
The first was setup by Victor Moses, driving forward on the right and then spotting Torres's run inside the defender. The striker's first effort came back off the goalkeeper, Jesper Hansen, but the ricochet was kind and his follow-up attempt exhibited none of the awkwardness that has made it feel recently as though he were playing in a straightjacket. Torres took his chance with something bordering on coolness and, after that, played with much greater penetration and effect. His second, created by Eden Hazard's fine run and cross, was a splendid piece of six-yard area poaching.
By the end Chelsea had accumulated 32 efforts at goal, including 18 on target. Cahill scored with a header from Juan Mata's free-kick and the Spaniard also set up Oscar to stroke in the sixth as well as scoring the one that came before it, following up his own rebound after Hansen's initial save.
Benítez, full of praise for his team, could also reflect on Hazard's miss during that freakish spell when the Dutch referee, Bas Nijhuis, awarded three penalties for handballs by, in order, Cahill, Mikkel Beckmann and Patrick Mtiliga. Of those, only Beckmann's seemed legitimate. Cahill had been outside the area and Mtiliga was simply in the way of Mata's shot. Petr Cech, diving to his right, saved the first of them, denying Nicolai Stokholm and sparing Benítez the possibility of another mutinous reaction. Hazard's was struck with a strange lack of confidence, not seen in his general play.
Chelsea did wobble, briefly, at the start of the second-half when Kasper Lorentzen's pass behind the home defence was weighted beautifully and Joshua John had the pace to elude Branislav Ivanovic and prod the ball past Cech. The decisive blow, however, arrived in Donetsk and Chelsea are the first team to win the competition then go out at the first stage the following year. The delirium in Munich on 19 May feels a long time ago.

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Telegraph:

Chelsea and Fernando Torres finally hit their stride but lose Champions League crown despite 6-1 thrashing of Nordsjaelland
This was a wake of a win. Chelsea fought hard against the dying of their Champions League light, recording their biggest-ever success in the competition but this was the most mournful, hollow and Pyrrhic of victories. Chelsea’s fate was decided 1,700 miles away in Donetsk.

By Henry Winter, at Stamford Bridge

The first holders to fall at the group stage of club football’s leading drama, Chelsea were condemned to the Thursday night sideshow of the Europa League because of events at the Donbass Arena. Juventus beat Shakhtar Donetsk, who finished with 10 points like Chelsea but progressed in second place because of their superior away-goals head-to-head record against Chelsea.
The Stamford Bridge crowd reacted with only a whimper, with barely a whiff of protest or rancour. Fans had briefly voiced their dissent towards Rafael Benítez, repeating their support for the dismissed Roberto Di Matteo, but there seemed a resigned acceptance of their re-routing along Continental B-roads even before news filtered through of Olexandr Kucher’s own-goal in Ukraine.
Even when Fernando Torres’ goals came along like local buses, two in quick succession after a long wait, the fans remained subdued. They seem trapped in a bad dream, managed by somebody they do not respect, unwilling to express too much criticism of their benefactor owner, and now heading into a competition that some view as an embarrassment.
While Manchester United, Arsenal and Celtic will enjoy the glamour of continued involvement in the Champions League, the team that lifted the trophy only seven months ago are off to modest pastures new. Munich seems an age away, as does all that unity and resilience that accounted for Bayern Munich in the final.
These are the strangest of times at Chelsea: the defensive obduracy that helped them become champions of Europe has ebbed, and they went out as group-stage top scorers with 16 goals but having conceded an expensive 10 goals. Accentuating the sense of the bizarre is the reality that within 10 days Chelsea could be crowned world champions. After this weekend’s Premier League game at Sunderland, Chelsea fly out to Yokohama for the Fifa World Club Cup.
When European football resumes after its winter hibernation, Benítez must decide how he approaches the Europa League, whether he really goes for it and drives down the road to Amsterdam or rests his key players and focuses on the Premier League.
Some of the stars impressed here, albeit against modest opponents whose £1million investment on players this year is roughly what John Terry earns in six weeks.
Juan Mata again graced the field of play, gliding forward, creating and scoring. In troubled times, the No10 has been a joy to watch and a source of comfort. Another Spaniard, Torres, transferred his training-ground expertise to the real testing ground, finding the net for the first time since Nov 7. David Luiz showed the errant Eden Hazard how to convert a penalty. Petr Cech showed again how to save them. Victor Moses and Hazard were lively at times.
The players at least went down with a fight. Echoing Benítez’s call for Chelsea to show more hunger, Terry wrote in the programme that the players needed “to stand up and be counted”, although he himself was sitting down, still recovering from his knee problem. “Let’s show some fight and desire for our club and for the shirt,” he urged his team-mates, who began as if on a mission, a contrast to the largely hushed audience.
The fans did remind the players that they were still “champions of Europe” while also sending a message to owner Roman Abramovich and Benítez that “there’s only one Di Matteo”. Having been billed as “interim first-team coach” in Premier League team-sheets, Benítez was at least promoted to “coach” by Uefa.
Benítez set Chelsea up in familiar 4-2-3-1 formation. Oriol Romeu came in for John Obi Mikel, who does not seem to have fully convinced Benítez. Abramovich clearly rates Mikel, awarding him a five-year contract.
Chelsea survived a scare just after the half-hour. When Gary Cahill handled, the referee Bas Nijhuis took advice from his additional assistant referee and pointed to the spot. The offence seemed fractionally outside the area and justice was soon done. Cech anticipated Nicolai Stokholm’s intentions, diving to his right to save.
The penalties kept coming. Mikkel Beckmann handled Cahill’s header after 35 minutes, Hazard had his chance from the spot but Jesper Hansen saved well. The third arrived four minutes later when Mata’s shot was ruled to have been handled by Joshua John. Luiz took responsibility and almost took the net off with his powerful kick.
Then came that moment of nirvana for Torres on the cusp of half-time. Racing on to Moses’ pass, Torres held off Michael Parkhurst and tried to dink the ball over Hansen. The ball clipped the keeper, Torres pounced and swept a shot past Parkhurst and in.
The goals continued to flow after the break. Nordsjaelland recorded their consolation when John ran through and beat Cech. Chelsea responded vigorously. Mata lifted in a free-kick from the right and Cahill climbed highest, sending a powerful header past Hansen for Chelsea’s 200th goal in all European competitions. Their 201st swiftly arrived, following brilliant work by Hazard, who glided along the goal-line before touching the ball on to Torres, who applied the coup de grace.
The update from the Donbass turned the mood funereal. Some cheers ensued when Mata made it 5-1, deserved reward as he followed up when Hansen saved his initial shot. Mata then released the substitute Oscar, who made it a tennis score.
Chelsea were so in control that Benítez could remove Mata, who departed to a standing ovation, and allow Luiz to roam around midfield. But then came the final whistle, sounding the Last Post on Chelsea’s Champions League season.

Team details:

Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Luiz, Cahill, Cole (Bertrand 60), Romeu, Ramires (Oscar 65), Hazard, Mata (Ferreira 74), Moses, Torres.
Subs: Turnbull, Mikel, Marin, Azpilicueta.
Booked: Luiz.
Goals: Luiz 39 pen, Torres 45, 56, Cahill 51, Torres 56, Mata 63, Oscar 71.

Nordsjaelland: Hansen, Ticinovic (Issah 64), Parkhurst, Runje (Beckmann 10), Mtiliga, Gundelach, Stokholm, Adu, Christiansen (Kildentoft 61), John, Lorentzen.
Subs: Jensen, Laudrup, Lindberg, Maxso.
Booked: Christiansen, Parkhurst, Mtiliga.
Goal: John 46.

Att: 40,084
Referee: B Nijhuis (Holland).


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Mail:

Chelsea 6 Nordsjaelland 1: Rafa's first win tarnished as Blues crash out of Europe
By Martin Samuel

The new curse for Fernando Torres is to be the scorer of goals that don't matter.
He can add two from Wednesday night, as Chelsea slipped into the Europa League and out of the Champions League, to his one against Barcelona in the Nou Camp in last season's semi-final: also irrelevant, once the dust had settled.
Yet, if the worst defence of the title in tournament history - out at the group stage - can have a positive gloss, it is that Torres at last found his touch in the penalty area again.
Goals either side of half-time gave the first inkling that Rafael Benitez may be the man to get the best from the striker, as hoped.
Then again, the opposition was Nordsjaelland, group whipping boys and significantly inferior to the European champions.

If there was any match that Chelsea could win in style under Benitez, and any in which Torres could make hay, it was here.

So it proved. This was Chelsea's biggest Champions League victory, eclipsing 5-0 wins over Galatasaray and Genk.

A pity it was rendered meaningless by events in Ukraine. Just a point would have suited Juventus against Shakhtar Donetsk and they got all three.
Updates from the east suggested a largely one-sided affair and the frisson of tension - as Nordsjaelland were awarded a first-half penalty and later pulled a goal back at the start of the second hal f - was short-lived.
Chelsea were in control here once David Luiz had broken the deadlock and the second half was a mismatch of the kind that does the competition little credit. Imagine the jeers if Chelsea had messed up.

Just breaking even with a big win and two goals was enough for Benitez and Torres. Events in Donetsk were beyond the manager's control, the damage already done with two defeats and a draw in the matches against the qualified teams.
The last time Torres got on the scoresheet this season was in Europe, courtesy of a handy deflection against Shakhtar Donetsk, and he rode his luck a little for the first here, too.
Victor Moses put the ball just where he likes it and Torres strode on, getting a neat rebound from floored goalkeeper Jesper Hansen before finishing with a flourish into an unguarded goal.

The deployment of Moses is arguably the second tactical triumph of the Benitez reign - a more disciplined David Luiz at the back is the first - and brought in to take some of the heat off the striker, he did just that.
It is unlikely we will see Eden Hazard, Juan Mata and Oscar operating together again. Oscar made way at the start last night and Benitez could be preparing to rotate his supporting forwards while keeping Moses as Torres's hard-working foil - a blue-shirted Dirk Kuyt.
It certainly worked last night, but will the Premier League clubs find the combination similarly irresistible? Torres's second - Chelsea's fourth - came after a superb run by Hazard along the left, his cutback cross met by Torres at the near post to end any wild fantasies of a Danish revival.

Yet it could easily have been first blood to the Danes - a bizarre exchange of penalties in the firsthalf the prelude to an otherwise uncomplicated evening.

It was left to Dutch referee Bas Nijhuis, perhaps as bored with Champions League matchday six as the rest of us - Glasgow aside - to enliven proceedings with three penalties, split in Chelsea's favour, in the space of seven minutes.
That the score after this little exchange was only 1-0 to Chelsea is to the credit of goalkeepers Petr Cech and Hansen.

There were two saves before Luiz scored and why they didn't give it to the Brazilian from the off, who knows?
A samba option was unavailable to Nordsjaelland, who were first to feel the benefit of Nijhuis's largesse after 31 minutes when a shot from Anders Christiansen struck the outstretched arm of Gary Cahill.

It looked harsh on the defender, whose feet were certainly planted outside the area and whose arm only travelled to its borders from the force of the ball.
Captain Nicolai Stokholm stepped up but his effort was too near Cech, who parried it confidently. Justice was done. From the next attack, Torres forced a corner, taken by Hazard and met by Cahill in the air.
Nordsjaelland substitute Mikkel Beckmann appeared to get the ball trapped between an arm and his body, to huge Chelsea appeals.
Nijhuis was unsighted but his linesman was not and a second penalty was awarded. Hazard assumed the position and while his shot was an upgrade on that of Stokholm, it was not hit with sufficient venom and goalkeeper Hansen kept it out.

And so it was left to the much maligned Luiz to do the job after a Juan Mata shot was handled by Patrick Mtiliga and Nijhuis passed sentence again. This time there was no mistake.
Luiz began his run just outside Fulham Broadway station, hit Mach 1 by the time he arrived at the ball and planted it in the top right corner with the confidence of a man applying for the job permanently in the knowledge he had all the qualifications, three top class references and was going out with the boss's daughter.
He doesn't do things by halves, that boy. From there, Chelsea should have been coasting. Yet this is still a damaged club and strange, random things happen to it.
From the second- half kick off, an angled ball into Joshua John caught Branislav Ivanovic napping. Cech dashed from his area, suddenly vulnerable, John teased the ball past him and Ivanovic lost his footing trying to recover on the goal-line, the final indignity.
With scores still tied in Donetsk, some feared the worst: the Ukrainians would do their job, but Chelsea would not. Instead, it unfolded all too predictably.
Chelsea won, but so did Juventus and Nordsjaelland collapsed in a sorry heap. The two-goal advantage taken into half time was quickly restored by a looping Cahill header from a Hazard free-kick, Nordsjaelland's spirit waning with each fresh wave of attack.

Torres added the fourth, then Mata played a one-two with Hazard before hitting a shot which Hansen saved, only for the Spaniard to snaffle the rebound.
The sixth came after Oscar had been introduced, running onto a perfect ball from Mata. It was impressive stuff, even if it had a little of the flat-track bully about it.
Given a sterner test by Sam Allardyce's West Ham United last Saturday, Chelsea's courage failed them. It is Sunderland next; even in crisis, they will provide grittier opposition than Chelsea faced here.

On Saturday, a Torres goal could be vital.


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Mirror:

Chelsea 6-1 Nordsjaelland

The Only Way is Europa: Chelsea crash out of Champions League despite thrashing Nordsjaelland
by Martin Lipton

Juventus beat Shakhtar Donetsk to send holders out


Poor old Rafa Benitez. Even when he wins, he loses.
Even when he sees his side smash a Champions League club record, it counts for absolutely nothing, only makes the size of the failure more obvious.
And no matter what happens, it is crystal clear the Chelsea fans are just not having him, will not accept the sight of the Spaniard in THEIR dug-out.
Last night, as Stamford Bridge emptied within seconds of the final whistle, long aware that events in Donetsk made it all redundant, the response said everything.
Five months ago, on an unforgettable Munich evening, Chelsea were masters of the footballing universe.
Now they are also-rans, out of the European elite when the business end of kicks off in February, the first winners not to reach the knock-out phase of their defence.
That is a humiliation for Roman Abramovich. It can be nothing less.
Abramovich will pin the blame on the manager whose name was chanted last night, Roberto Di Matteo, rather than the one whose appearance was greeted by a few, muted, boos.
But even though Benitez got off the mark at the fourth time of asking, while Fernando Torres for once looked like he might be a striker worth taking note of, it was all to no avail.
Beating the hapless Danish minnows may have put a sticking plaster over the gaping wound of the worst campaign by any Champions League holder.
That, though, was all it was. A balm, no more, the fatal blows already sustained in Donetsk and Turin, only confirmed by the dreaded news spreading from the Donbass Arena, salt poured on the open wound as it became clear Juventus' winner came from Olexandr Kucher's own goal.
Then again, Chelsea have been scoring own goals since September, squandering a two-goal lead against Juve, woeful in Donetsk, humbled by the Italian champions two weeks ago.
When a side scores six - and could have scored as many again - even against opponents as hapless as Nordsjaelland, they normally might expect some acclaim.
Not last night, a brief round of applause soon stilled, the reality seeping home, sullen faces all round.
The positives were in the scoreline and the attacking, vibrant football Chelsea produced.
David Luiz' spot-kick - after each side had squandered a chance from 12 yards in an astonishing seven minute spell - was followed by Torres' first of the night.
Despite a shoddy start to the second half, when Joshua John scored for the Danish minnows, strikes from Gary Cahill, Torres again, Juan Mata and Oscar, put Nordsjaelland to the sword.
But as Di Matteo's name remained the one on the lips of the home supporters and flag called for the return of Jose Mourinho, it all added up to a big fat zero, no "miracle" to rescue the Blues.
The diligent Victor Moses, Torres and Eden Hazard could all have scored in the opening spell as Chelsea laid siege to Jesper Hansen's goal.
Despite carving out a host of chances, though, they should have been behind on 31 minutes as the penalty spree began.
Cahill, arm out but outside the line, was penalised after blocking a shot by Anders Christiansen.
Luckily for Chelsea - and Benitez - Petr Cech was more than equal to Stokholm's weak effort.
Had it gone in, the mood, already querulous, might have turned mutinous.
Then Cahill's header, clearly handled by early substitute Michael Beckham, was spotted by the extra assistant behind the goal, only for Hansen to foil Hazard.
But when Mata's shot was stopped by John - who seemed decidedly unfortunate - Luiz finally buried the ball in the back of the net.
In added time, the second as Moses played forward and Torres got the rub of the green to convert after two ricochets left him an empty net.
Just 20 seconds after the interval, Nordsjaelland pulled one back, John taking advantage as Branislav Ivanovic switched off.
But soon Chelsea were in complete command, Cahill netting with a soaring header, Torres prodding in a second, Mata converting when the keeper saved his initial effort.
Oscar, on for Ramires, danced through to score his fifth Champions League goal, completing Chelsea's biggest win in the competition.
There will be no more, though, not until next season - if Benitez can keep his side in the top four.
That is the reality, harsh and bitter. Chelsea, from Champions of Europe to also-rans, failures, flops. You can't spin it any bother way.
Not your fault, Rafa. But that is a "fact


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Sun:

Chelsea 6 Nordsjaelland 1

By SHAUN CUSTIS

HOW typical of this season at Chelsea.

Fernando Torres gets back on the scoresheet at last — not once but twice — and it does not matter a jot.

Victory for the European champions was not enough to get them into the last 16 as Juventus, who only needed a point at Shakhtar Donetsk to go through at the Blues’ expense, earned a 1-0 win in Ukraine.

Rarely can a 6-1 success have ever felt so flat. It was the first time the Champions League holders had ever failed to reach the knockout phase.

But that was not new manager Rafa Benitez’s fault as even disgruntled Chelsea fans would have to accept.

Now they have to make do with the Europa League which starts on February 14. Don’t expect a romance between the fans and Rafa to have been forged by then, though.

They made it clear again that they do not want Benitez as boss. There were more boos and songs of praise for the sacked Roberto Di Matteo, who guided the club to the European crown just seven months ago.

There was also a large banner proclaiming ‘Bring back the Special One’ and how they would all welcome the return of Jose Mourinho to The Bridge.

After all, it is not as if he is making it a secret that he might be available at the end of the season.

At least this first win for Benitez in four attempts should restore some confidence with a vital Premier League game at Sunderland coming up on Saturday before the trip to Japan for the World Club Championship.

That said, Nordsjaelland, with one point from their entire campaign, were pretty awful.

Skipper John Terry, still out injured, had argued in his programme notes that it was time for Chelsea’s players to stand up and take responsibility.

It was an acknowledgement they should not be hiding behind the turmoil of Di Matteo being sacked and replaced with such an unpopular boss.

The Danish visitors were there for the taking and Torres had one disallowed for offside as well as being denied by keeper Jesper Hansen.

There then followed a crazy seven minutes in which three penalties were given.

Having been battered for half an hour, the visitors were awarded the first spot-kick when Gary Cahill blocked a shot with his arm.

It was a definite handball but it was also outside the box.

However, Petr Cech kept his concentration and saved Nicolai Stokholm’s kick.

Cahill must have felt justice was done as his header from a corner was handled by sub Mikkel Beckmann and Dutch ref Bas Nijhuis pointed for a penalty at the other end.

Up stepped Eden Hazard but his low kick was horrible and Hansen pushed it way.

Unbelievably, another penalty came when Juan Mata’s shot hit Patrick Mtiliga’s arm as the defender turned away.

It was a harsh one and this time the task fell to David Luiz who coolly slammed his kick into the right side of the goal.

Right on half-time Torres got the second when he ran on to a Victor Moses through-ball.

His first shot was blocked by the keeper but the ball bounced back off his body and he was able to finish it off.

It was Torres’ first goal for 562 minutes since he had netted against Shakhtar almost a month ago.

Nordsjaelland pulled one back within 20 seconds of the second half starting as Joshua John collected a gorgeous pass from Kasper Lorentzen and dinked it past Cech.

But Cahill restored the two-goal advantage with a 51st- minute header from the impressive Mata’s free-kick.

Soon came news Juventus had scored in Donetsk and that was the end of that.

Credit to Chelsea, though, for pushing on for more goals and Hazard set up Torres for No 4 on 56 minutes.

Mata got a fifth, following up after Hansen saved his initial shot, and substitute Oscar made it six from Mata’s pass.

Torres probably should have had a penalty late on when he was shoved over.

It made no difference whether Chelsea had got seven or 17, it was not going to save them from Champions League elimination.

But, as Cech admitted afterwards, it is no use crying about it — they only have themselves to blame.

DREAM TEAM
STAR MAN - JUAN MATA (Chelsea)

CHELSEA: Cech 7, Ivanovic 6, Luiz 7, Cahill 7, Cole 7, Moses 7, Mata 8, Romeu 6, Ramires 6, Hazard 7, Torres 7. Subs: Bertrand (Cole 60) 6, Oscar (Ramires 65) 6, Ferreira (Mata 74) 6. Not used: Turnbull, Mikel, Marin, Azpilicueta. Booked: Luiz.

NORDSJAELLAND: J Hansen 6, Ticinovic 6, Parkhurst 6, Runje 6, Mtiliga 6, Stokholm 5, Adu 6, Christiansen 6, Gundelach 6, Lorentzen 6, John 6. Subs: Beckmann (Runje 10) 6, Kildentoft (Christiansen 61) 5, Issah (Ticinovic 64) 5. Not used: Jensen, Laudrup, Lindberg, Maxso. Booked: Christiansen, Parkhurst, Mtiliga.


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Star:

RAFA BENITEZ FAILS TO PRODUCE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE MIRACLE AS CHELSEA FANS CALL FOR MOURINHO

Chelsea 6 Nordsjaelland 1
By Paul Brown

RAFA BENITEZ does not believe in miracles - and it was not to be for Chelsea last night.

Benitez may have the golden touch in the Champions League after masterminding the Miracle of Istanbul while Liverpool boss in 2005.
 But preventing Chelsea from becoming the first holders to go out in the group stage proved beyond him.
 A flood of goals against Group E whipping boys Nordsjaelland in the end meant nothing after a surprise win by Juventus against Shakhtar in Donetsk sent those two teams through at Chelsea's expense.
 It's the dreaded Europa League instead for the Blues and they will start their campaign on Valentine's Day.
 Will Benitez have won the affections of Chelsea fans by then?
 They booed him before kick-off and held up banners calling for Chelsea to bring back Jose Mourinho.
 It was miracle enough that Fernando Torres scored twice in this crazy win after going a whole month without finding the net.
 But it was not enough, even after David Luiz scored a penalty and Gary Cahill, Juan Mata and Oscar added goals to give Benitez his first win as interim manager.
 At least Chelsea's players responded after being told they lacked character and leadership by Benitez in the wake of Saturday's 3-1 thumping at West Ham.
 But this is the first time in the Roman Abramovich era that they have failed to get out of the group stage - and that is not good enough.
 Benitez made two changes from the side that lost at Upton Park, putting Luiz back in after suspension and moving Branislav Ivanovic to right-back.
 He also dumped John Obi Mikel on the bench despite the midfielder having just signed a new, five-year contract.
 But Chelsea didn't exactly get off to the best of starts on one of the most important nights in their history as the fans once again turned on Benitez.
 They usually wait until the 16th minute to sing for Roberto Di Matteo, in honour of his old shirt number. Last night it took them only four to sing his name.
 Chelsea had a stroke of good luck when their opponents had centre-back Ivan Runje carried off early on. It certainly seemed to unsettle Nordsjaelland.
Victor Moses tested Jesper Hansen on the volley and Torres had a shot saved before starting a move which ended with Eden Hazard firing straight at the keeper.
 They even hit the bar when a cross from Moses deflected off Nicolai Stokholm. But despite the changes at the back they continued to look vulnerable.
 Never more so than when Cahill foolishly gave away a penalty in the 31st minute. He was right on the line when the ball bounced up off Anders Christiansen.
 His arm was raised when it struck him and Dutch referee Bas Nijhuis pointed to the spot. But Petr Cech came to the rescue, guessing the right way to save Stokholm's effort.
 Within three minutes Chelsea had a penalty.
 Cahill was involved again, heading the ball into the danger area. It struck Mikkel Beckmann on the chest at first, but did hit his hand on the way down.
 Hazard stepped up but Hansen followed Cech's lead and got down well to save his effort.
 More drama followed when Nijhuis pointed to the spot for the third time in minutes. Juan Mata twisted and turned before firing in a shot which hit Patrick Mtiliga on the hand.
 This was the harshest one of the lot as his arm was practically by his side.
 Luiz made no mistake from the spot to fire Chelsea in front and just when you thought he was never going to do it, Torres scored!
 Moses played him in and he rode his luck with Hansen saving his initial shot, which rebounded up and may have hit his arm before he slotted it home.
 Chelsea wobbled 20 seconds into the second half when Joshua John raced on to a through ball from Kasper Lorentzen and chipped Cech to pull one back.
 But Cahill's header from a Mata freekick restored the two-goal cushion. Torres then grabbed his second after a cutback from Hazard.
 The Belgian laid on another for Mata and Oscar had only been on the pitch six minutes when he made it 6-1. But by then the crowd knew the Donetsk score and an air of gloom had settled over the Bridge.

CHELSEA: Cech, Ivanovic, Luiz, Cahill, Cole (Bertrand 60), Romeu, Ramires (Oscar 65), Hazard, Mata (Ferreira 74), Moses, Torres. Subs: Turnbull, Mikel, Marin, Azpilicueta.

NORDSJAELLAND: Hansen, Ticinovic (Issah 64), Parkhurst, Runje (Beckmann 10), Mtiliga, Gundelach, Stokholm, Adu, Christiansen (Kildentoft 61), John, Lorentzen. Subs: Jensen, Laudrup, Lindberg, Maxso.
Referee: Bas Nijhuis (Holland).


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