Independent:
Touch of Klaas from Huntelaar cancels out first Cesc Fabregas strike
Chelsea 1 Schalke 1
By Sam Wallace
There have been many occasions when Jose Mourinho has driven his team on in the closing stages of a European tie in search of the goal that will change the match, but nothing typified his desperation tonight like the scurry down the touchline to retrieve one long Schalke clearance into touch.
The Chelsea juggernaut that has cleared a path through the Premier League this season had been stopped embarrassingly in its tracks by a German team in domestic disarray, 16 in the Bundesliga and without a win yet this season.
It was hard to understand just how Chelsea failed to win this game, other than that even the most depleted opponent will try to find a way back into a game when one conspires to miss as many opportunities as Mourinho’s team did. Given the chance to put the Germans away after Cesc Fabregas’ goal in the tenth minute they failed time and again and in the end they paid the price.
There was a marvellous symmetry to the two goals: a foul by Fabregas had been crucial in him scoring for Chelsea. A foul on Fabregas was crucial in the course of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar’s equaliser. Making the first start of his second spell at the club, Didier Drogba failed at least three times to find the net when presented with good opportunities to do so. It could be worse. This time last year, Chelsea lost at home to Basel in their first group game and still made the semi-finals.
Drogba’s history is the standard that every new striker at Chelsea must match but currently the old boy is no replacement for Diego Costa who was on the bench tonight, and came on as a late substitute. Mourinho revealed after the game that Costa is still nursing his recent hamstring injury through its recovery and cannot yet play every game in Chelsea’s busy schedule. Without him they looked much less dangerous.
It should have been over by half-time as far as Chelsea were concerned, playing against a Schalke side that looked every inch the club that has one point from three games in the Bundesliga, a serious deficit of confidence and a surfeit of injuries.
In those opening passages of play, Chelsea dominated their opponent. Never more so than down the left wing where Eden Hazard demonstrated to the German right-back Marco Hoger that a football pitch can be desperately lonely when you are forever finding yourself in the wrong place. Like a man arriving seconds late for a departing bus, Hoger time and again found himself watching as Hazard left without him.
The dominance that Hazard exerted in that area of the pitch alone should have ensured more goals for Chelsea yet the one they went in with at half-time should never have stood.
It began when the Schalke centre-back Roman Neustadter passed short to Max Meyer, Schalke’s playmaker, in midfield. Fabregas tried to get a toe in to get the ball away but Meyer got their first and all that Fabregas caught was the Schalke man. It was badly late and in many circumstances it would have been a booking but the Croatian referee Ivan Bebek, a late appointment, waved play on.
Hazard had picked the ball up on the left and slipped Fabregas in for his first Chelsea goal. The Schalke captain on the night Huntelaar was booked for his protests by Bebek who must have known by then that he had got it badly wrong.
The road was clear for Chelsea to pin Schalke back and inflict the damage that everyone, the visiting opposition included, expected to come. But the next decent chance they created was almost half an hour after Fabregas’ goal. This time Ramires’ ball with the outside of his foot freed Branislav Ivanovic down the right, he crossed for Fabregas and, unmarked and with a clear sight of goal, he side-footed over the bar.
In the latter stages of the first half, Schalke finally got their bearings and had a good period. They worked the ball well in midfield to create an opening for Kevin-Prince Boateng whose right-footed shot was saved by Thibaut Courtois. Then, just before half-time, the 20-year-old Julian Draxler, the latest generation of Wunderkind, tricked his way into the Chelsea area, bamboozled Gary Cahill with a change of direction and shot wide.
Half-time came to arrest that mild Schalke surge but then Mourinho’s players did not take advantage of the opportunities that came their way at the start of second half, or rather Drogba did not. The old lion of Africa still has his moments but at 36 when the fatigue sets in so the touch tends to go a little wonky.
It was the case on the hour when Hazard’s excellent long ball from the left channel set him free on goal but Drogba’s first touch did not position him well for the required right-foot shot. He managed to get his boot around it but placed the ball wide of goalkeeper Ralf Fahrmann’s far post.
Earlier, Drogba had failed to get a connection on a low Willian cross from the right. Hazard had himself shot over after an exchange from Drogba. The half chances that would have settled the game, not to mention more presentable ones, were going begging. There was always a danger that the top-quality elements in Schalke’s team would combine to cause Chelsea damage
So it proved on 62 minutes when, in a moment of supreme equalisation of the outrageous fortunes in a football match, Fabregas was fouled in his own half and lost possession. From there Schalke had a great deal more to do than Chelsea for their first half goal, but executed it perfectly.
Huntelaar, who committed the foul, fed Draxler whose brilliant run forward left Ramires swaying in his slipstream. Huntelaar had made up ground in the left channel, got the return ball, stepped inside John Terry and with a right-footed shot beat Courtois low to his near post. The Croatian referee saw his chance to make a second mistake of equal proportion and allowed the goal to stand.
It prompted an immediate rethink on the Chelsea bench where Oscar was sent on to occupy Fabregas’ playmaker position and push the Spaniard further back. Drogba’s last act was to sky a Ramires cut-back over the bar. Diego Costa and Loic Remy were summoned to replace Drogba and Willian. Then the fun really began.
Draxler had already had a good shot saved. Remy’s shot that looked destined to go in was headed off the line by Neustadter.
Hazard had another volley saved. Terry had a header cleared off the line. At the end the Schalke players celebrated as if they had won it and, remarkably, Fabregas appeared to be complaining to the referee Bebek about the foul on him by Huntelaar.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Filipe Luis; Fabregas, Matic; Ramires, Willian, Hazard; Drogba.
Subs: Oscar/Ramires 67, Costa/Drogba 74, Remy/Willian 74
Schalke (4-2-3-1): Fahrmann; Hoger, Ayhan, Neustadter, Fuchs; Boateng, Aogo; Sam, Meyer, Draxler; Huntelaar.
Subs: Choupo-Moting/Meyer 73, Barnetta/Sam 78, Obasi/Draxler 86
Booked: Chelsea Terry, Willian Schalke Boateng, Hoger
Referee: I Bebek (Croatia)
Man of the match: Hazard
Rating: 7
==================
Guardian:
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar earns Schalke a Champions League draw at Chelsea
Chelsea 1 - 1 Schalke
Dominic Fifield at Stamford Bridge
The Champions League has checked Chelsea’s early season momentum. An opportunity to ease themselves into their European campaign was passed up here, a lead surrendered against patched-up opponents who had apparently been there for the taking. The sight of Schalke players celebrating wildly on the turf at the final whistle, all hugs and punches of the air, while the hosts skulked off down the tunnel told its own story.
This had been a strangely fitful performance from the Premier League leaders. They had summoned up brilliance at times, usually through Eden Hazard’s twisting dribbles which drove them up-field, and threatened to batter in a winner in their frantic swathe of late attacks when Ralf Fährman’s excellence retained the visitors their point. Yet Chelsea had also been overpowered in midfield too often, with their defence unable to stamp out the threat posed by the slippery Julian Draxler once the youngster, bed-ridden with flu last week, found his rhythm. The German club benefited from their hosts’ vulnerability. Manchester City will hope to do likewise at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
The frustration for José Mourinho was that this all felt so wasteful. Chelsea should have run riot against a team stripped of nine injured senior players and forced to field a makeshift defence with three others, Draxler included, having been under the weather over the past fortnight. His team had secured an early lead, albeit controversially, as Cesc Fàbregas’s clear foul on Max Meyer was waved away by Ivan Bebek. The Croatian referee, called up late when the original squad of Serbian officials had been denied entry after a visa oversight, offered what was, at best, an unpredictable display throughout. Hazard had slipped a pass inside Kaan Ayhan for Fàbregas to convert his first goal for the club, with Schalkeplayers already peeling away to make their livid protests.
That advantage should have been the prelude to a thrashing, yet initial dominance steadily eroded. The visitors closed down feverishly in central midfield, as Swansea had initially done so successfully last Saturday. Their mere refusal to wilt prompted anxiety among the locals with this team denied the bite and presence of Diego Costa in its forward line. Didier Drogba was making the first start of his second coming in these parts, but was understandably rusty and, long before the end, rather wheezing. Some of the old runs and instincts remain, his presence unnerving Roman Neustädter and Ayhan at times, though the telepathic supply line from Frank Lampard is no more.
His best chances came after the interval, with an air-kick from Willian’s fizzed centre, and then a one-on-one from Hazard’s fine pass. Yet the veteran’s touch betrayed weary limbs, forcing him wide, with his shot dribbling beyond the far post and behind. “I’m happy with what he did,” Mourinho said. “If that had gone in we’d be talking about him scoring a goal with fantastic movement and a great shot. I’m not disappointed with a striker because, by one inch, he doesn’t score or not.” Costa and Loïc Rémy were flung on for late cameos, the latter almost scoring with his first touch, only for Neustädter to head from the line. Indeed, Schalke strained to retain parity through those desperate late exchanges, with Hazard twice close to restoring the home side’s lead and Fährmann forced to perform heroics.
It should not really have come to that. Mourinho will wonder how his midfield, with Ramires relatively becalmed, could be overrun from the moment Draxler charged forward on the stroke of half-time, eking space from Gary Cahill before dragging a shot marginally wide of the far post. This was a display to justify all the hype about the young forward, with Meyer bright at his side and Sidney Sam all eager running on the opposite flank. Chelsea have not been defensively tight this term, their frailties masked by attacking prowess at the other end, but the sight of Draxler gliding through them at will was disturbing.
Bebek might have choked the visitors’ reward had he deemed Klaas-Jan Huntelaar’s challenge on Fàbregas to be a foul – there was a whiff of retribution about that oversight – with Draxler sweeping down-field and away from Ramires. Branislav Ivanovic’s tackle actually speared the ball back to the Dutch international, who had ghosted unnoticed down the left. Huntelaar duly cut inside and finished crisply and precisely beyond Thibaut Courtois to the delight of a raucous visiting support. “We made one mistake not to make a foul immediately when they recovered the ball,” Mourinho said, “and another given I’d told my players 20 times that Draxler wants to come inside off his right foot and Sam inside on his left, so we have to close and press his right foot. So there was also a mistake in the box.
“But, after that situation, only one team tried to win and had so many chances to win the game in a short period of time. In the last 15 minutes, Rémy, Terry, Hazard could all score, but that’s football. Defending like they did is also football. A good point for them. Not a fantastic point for us, but still a point.” Chelsea had started last season’s campaign with a home defeat by Basel, so this represented improvement of sorts. Even so, theirs was a lingering sense of frustration
===============
Telegraph:
Chelsea 1 Schalke 1
By Matt Law, Stamford Bridge
Jose Mourinho has revealed that Chelsea’s top goalscorer Diego Costa cannot play three games in a week because of his hamstring problems.
Mourinho, the Chelsea manager, tried to rest Costa for the Champions LeagueGroup G opener against Schalke by handing Didier Drogba a first start since his return to the club. The move backfired, as Drogba missed two good chances and Chelsea squandered a one-goal lead to draw with their German opponents.
Costa, along with Loïc Rémy, was thrown on for the final 16 minutes, as Chelsea chased a winner but it was too late. Mourinho defended his decision by insisting that Costa, who injured his left hamstring on international duty with Spain, cannot play three games in a week. He has ruled the 25-year-old out of the Capital One Cup tie against Bolton Wanderers next week, which follows the key Premier League match at Manchester City on Sunday.
Costa battled hamstring problems at the end of last season with Atlético Madrid and also sustained a hamstring scare ahead of Chelsea’s victory against Everton, before picking up a new injury with Spain.
“Costa has a problem and he can’t play in this moment three matches in a week,” Mourinho said. “If he has one week to let the muscle recover, he can start again like he has been since he had that problem with the national team. But three days, after Saturday, is not enough. It was not to protect him for the game for Sunday, but because today he was not in the condition after Saturday.
“He came to us and was completely fine. He had a problem again in the national team, not with us. And now we have a problem and now we have to resolve it as best we can. Today he was not in condition to play. Sunday we believe he is. Next week, against Bolton, for sure he isn’t. We have to manage the situation until the moment he’s completely fine.
“I don’t know [how long that will be]. If today he had started the game, for sure he could not play on Sunday. We have to go step by step.”
Mourinho refused to criticise the Spanish national team over their handling of Costa by saying: “He went to the national team in perfect conditions and came back injured. But what happened to Diego happens to many other players in other national teams. I have nothing to say about it. It’s just what happens. He played one match and was perfect, then went to the national team, played against France and came back injured.”
Drogba was handed his first start since returning to Chelsea in the competition in which his last touch was to win the trophy. He scored the winning penalty for Chelsea in the 2012 Champions League final against Bayern Munich before moving to Shanghai Shenhua.
Even with Costa’s hamstring problems, the decision to bring Drogba straight into the starting line-up was a surprise, given the 36-year-old missed the Premier League victory over Swansea City with a swollen right ankle. It was hard to judge whether it was the troublesome ankle or just age, but Drogba struggled to find the pace of the game and missed two good chances.
Chelsea were a goal up through Cesc Fàbregas, when Drogba first missed his kick in front of goal after being teed up by Willian and then shot wide with just Schalke goalkeeper Ralf Fährmann to beat.
Scoring either of those chances would have wrapped the game up for Chelsea and ensured a winning start to their Group G campaign, and Drogba’s failings were compounded further as his miss around the hour mark was followed by Klaas-Jan Huntelaar’s equaliser.
“Didier had a positive game,” Mourinho said. “I’m happy with what he did. If he scores that goal we’d be speaking about 2-0, not 1-1, and him scoring a goal with fantastic movement and a great shot. I’m not disappointed with a striker because, one inch, he doesn’t score or not. He had a positive performance. I’m happy with that.”
Referee Ivan Bebek played a big role in both goals, as he ignored claims for fouls in the build-ups to the 11th-minute Chelsea opener from Fàbregas and Huntelaar’s leveller.
Fàbregas produced a late challenge on Max Meyer that left the Schalke midfielder rolling in agony on the floor. But Bebek allowed play to continue, Eden Hazard picked up the loose ball and set up Fàbregas to score his first Chelsea goal.
Schalke were furious and captain Huntelaar was booked for leading their protests. It should really have been Fàbregas who was yellow carded for his challenge on Meyer.
Schalke will claim justice was done in the 62nd minute, however, as Huntelaar appeared to foul Fàbregas in the middle of the pitch, but Bebek did not stop play. One-time Arsenal target Julian Draxler picked the ball up and ran at the Chelsea defence, before feeding Huntelaar and the Dutchman produced a great finish to beat Thibaut Courtois and equalise.
Substitute Rémy saw a shot headed off the line by Roman Neustädter and Hazard went close to winning the game for Chelsea on two occasions in the final stages, shooting over the bar and forcing Fährmann into a good save.
“In the last 15 minutes, Rémy, Terry, Hazard could all score,” Mourinho said. “We had so many great situations, but that’s football. Defending like they did is also football. Good point for them.
"Not a fantastic point for us, but still a point. In a short competition of six matches, one point is one you get and two you don’t.”
===============
Times:
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar provides Chelsea with harsh lesson in finishing
Chelsea 1 Schalke 1
Matt Hughes
Chelsea’s recent Champions League history has been so tortuous that they will not immediately dismiss this disappointing draw as a mere blip. The unwanted experience of dropping into the Europa League remains a largely unhappy memory that embarrassed the club even after winning the trophy last year, a triumphant end to a journey that they have no wish to repeat.
José Mourinho’s hostility to the Europa League has verged on the phobic since he won it in its former guise as the Uefa Cup with Porto 11 years ago, so Chelsea’s slight setback last night may serve as a useful reminder that serene progress to the later stages of the Champions League cannot be taken entirely for granted.
Of greater concern to the manager will be Chelsea’s loss of momentum before their trip to Manchester City on Sunday, their first big test of a Barclays Premier League season in which they have so far been utterly dominant.
Chelsea should still finish at the top of a weak qualifying group G completed by Sporting Lisbon and Maribor, who also drew 1-1 last night, but they should have won at Stamford Bridge with ease.
Eden Hazard, Cesc Fàbregas, the goalscorer, and most crucially Didier Drogba all missed straightforward chances as Chelsea’s biggest weakness in last season’s competition returned to haunt them — profligacy in front of goal.
Much of this can be attributed to the absence of Diego Costa, who Mourinho revealed afterwards is incapable of playing three games in a week because of his hamstring problem, and a fitful performance from Drogba on his first start since returning to the club in the summer. His Second Coming at Stamford Bridge could still turn out to be a wonderful fairytale, but this was an inauspicious start as his performance reflected the reality rather than the legend, that of a 36-year-old starting his first match since June.
As a result, Mourinho is likely to be issuing medical bulletins about Costa over the coming months to match the frequency of Kensington Palace statements regarding the wellbeing of the Duchess of Cambridge.
The Spain striker’s impact at Chelsea has been such that he has become almost irreplaceable after just four matches. Loïc Rémy has also started positively and could have scored with his first touch after coming off the bench last night, but the France forward is a very different kind of striker from Costa, for whom Drogba is the most obvious stand-in.
Mourinho declared himself pleased with Drogba’s overall performance — saying that he should not be judged too harshly for one narrow miss, even though it provided the game’s pivotal moment — but it is plain that he is no longer the player who won this competition for Chelsea in such dramatic fashion two years ago. Even accounting for his inevitable loss of pace, he no longer appears to bully opponents as he once did, and Chelsea’s best moments were provided by the more cerebral qualities of Hazard and Fàbregas from deeper positions.
The pair combined to give Chelsea an 11th-minute advantage that was slightly fortunate, as Fàbregas should have been booked for a two-footed challenge on Max Meyer moments before scoring. If the Spain midfielder had arrived any later, he would have found himself playing in the Europa League this evening, but Ivan Bebek, the referee , was unmoved and Hazard pounced. On collecting the ball the Belgium playmaker made a trademark dart inside towards the penalty spot before flicking the ball back to Fàbregas, who scored his first Chelsea goal at the near post.
Fàbregas has stepped into Frank Lampard’s shoes as Chelsea’s midfield talisman with commendable ease, and if he can begin scoring on a more regular basis he will quickly prove himself to be a worthy successor.
The 27-year-old has never been prolific, however, and missed a great chance to double his tally in the 37th minute, when he blasted the ball over the crossbar from close range after good work from Ramires and Branislav Ivanovic.
Hazard and Drogba also went close to doubling Chelsea’s lead, with a shot that was deflected wide and header straight at Roman Neustadter, the goalkeeper, respectively, but just before half-time there were signs that such sloppiness in front of goal could cost them dear.
Thibaut Courtois made a good save low to his left from Kevin-Prince Boateng, before Julian Draxler shot across goal after a mazy run.
Chelsea’s profligacy continued at the start of the second half, with Willian and Hazard shooting wide, a failing exacerbated by Drogba’s lack of sharpness generally. The Ivory Coast striker has long possessed that uncanny ability to shape the outcome of matches, but on this occasion it was not in the way he wanted.
Hazard had released him through on goal with a brilliant crossfield ball from his own half, but after initially being let down by a poor touch, he could only shoot across the face of goal in the 60th minute.
Two minutes later, Schalke were level as a result of a lightning counterattack. Draxler dispossessed Fàbregas and broke quickly up field, carrying the ball 50 yards before releasing Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, the forward, who beat Courtois at his near post.
Mourinho responded with the double introduction of Costa and Rémy, who encapsulated Chelsea’s frustration by seeing his first touch cleared off the line.
Nemanja Matic suffered the same misfortune, and Hazard went close with two near-post volleys in a late flurry of Chelsea pressure, but the breakthrough never came.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): T Courtois — B Ivanovic, G Cahill, J Terry, Filipe Luis — F Fàbregas, N Matic — Ramires (sub: Oscar, 67min), Willian (sub: L Rémy, 74), E Hazard — D Drogba (sub: D Costa, 74). Substitutes not used: P Cech, K Zouma, J Obi Mikel, C Azpilicueta. Booked: Terry, Willian
Schalke (4-2-3-1): R Fährmann — M Höger, K Ayhan, R Neustadter, C Fuchs — K-P Boateng, D Aogo — S Sam (sub: T Barnetta, 78), M Meyer (sub: E M Choupo-Moting, 73) J Draxler (sub: C Obasi, 86)— K-J Huntelaar. Booked: Huntelaar, Boateng, Höger.Substitutes not used: C Wetklo, M Friedrich, C Clemens, D Avdijaj.
===============
Mail:
Chelsea 1-1 Schalke: Klass-Jan Huntelaar cancels out Cesc Fabregas first goal for the Blues in Champions League opener
By Matt Barlow
Diego Costa took a well-earned rest and so it seemed did Chelsea’s early-season air of invincibility - which made for a rather more nervous opening to the European season than Jose Mourinho had planned.
It really should not have been such a stressful night at Stamford Bridge after the home team dominated the first-half and took the lead through Cesc Fabregas, his first goal for the club, albeit one fiercely disputed by Schalke, who had a point.
Fabregas committed a foul as he won the ball but the offence was missed by the Croatian officials, who then missed a mirror image of the offence when the Germans equalised through Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who fouled Fabregas before finding the net as referee Ivan Bebek waved play on.
Mourinho shelved sentiment as he hauled off Didier Drogba and sent on Costa to risk his suspect hamstrings for the last 17 minutes.
On too came Loic Remy but all they could do was add to the chaos of the game’s closing sequence. Remy was denied by a fine clearance by makeshift centre-half Roman Neustadter and goalkeeper Ralf Fahrmann produced a brilliant reflex save to thwart Eden Hazard.
Christian Fuchs headed another off his line, this time from John Terry, and Oscar wanted a penalty when he went tumbling in the box, but there would be no revenge for the blue Brazilians, 10 weeks after the World Cup quarter-final when they were crushed 7-1 by Germany.
The draw does not seem a great result for Chelsea, at home against a team with only one point from three games in the Bundesliga and ravaged by injuries which have wiped out Jens Keller’s entire first-choice back four and more.
Little wonder Keller let out a euphoric roar and Schalke’s players hugged when the final whistle went. Last year, they were twice beaten 3-0 by Mourinho’s team.
This time they resisted, rode their luck and focused on the counter-attack until it paid off. In doing so, they offered hope to those chasing Chelsea in the Barclays Premier League.
For Mourinho there are consolations. His team are a point better off than at this stage last year when they lost at home to Basle and they still won the group. Also on the two occasions he won the trophy, his campaign started with a draw.
The search for such omens really did not seem necessary when Fabregas struck inside 11 minutes. Schalke were deep in their own half when Fabregas hustled Max Meyer and crunched into a tackle. He clipped the ball, as much by accident as design, before sinking his studs into Meyer’s ankle.
There was no whistle and Hazard collected the loose ball. Fabregas overlapped and Hazard’s reverse pass was cut perfectly into his run.
Here was a prime exhibit of Chelsea’s clinical power on the turnover. Mourinho’ s team got lucky and made it count. Fabregas beat Fahrmann from close range and the home crowd celebrated with a chorus of: 'Are you watching Arsenal?'
Chelsea benefited from a poor refereeing decision in the build-up to their 11th-minute goal.
Cesc Fabregas slid into Max Meyer completely mistiming the challenge and clearly fouling the Schalke player.
Somehow Croat referee Ivan Bebek waved play on, much to the visitors’ dismay, and Chelsea went on to score through Fabregas himself.
To exacerbate his error Bebek then cautioned Klaas-Jan Huntelaar for his protest at the missed foul.
They know all about the two sides of Fabregas at the Emirates Stadium. Yes, he is a supremely gifted footballer with passing range to match his vision and awareness, but his game contains plenty of opportunist devilment, too.
He will, for example, think nothing of kicking a teenager and sticking the ball in the net while the protests were being lodged which will also appeal to Mourinho’s sense of mischief and desire to win at all costs.
It was controversial Chelsea deserved their lead having opened with the same irresistible energy which has taken them clear at the top of the Premier League. Hazard was alive, at the centre of everything but could not find the net.
Three good chances fell to Drogba, but he will have to wait for the epilogue to his Champions League story. Fabregas ought to have put the game beyond doubt before half-time when he skied the ball wildly over from somewhere near the penalty spot, after good work by Branislav Ivanovic.
As the opportunities came and went, Schalke slowly emerged as an attacking force. Thibaut Courtois pushed wide a sweet drive by Kevin Prince Boateng and Julian Draxler went close after weaving forward from half-way without encountering a tackle, just before the interval.
Nemanja Matic chased Draxler all the way without getting close enough to pinch the ball and Gary Cahill backed off, until the talented young German went for goal and screwed his left-footer wide across goal.
Draxler became more influential as Chelsea risked more in attack and Schalke became more dangerous on the break until the levelled in the 62nd minute. This time, Huntelaar stole the ball from Fabregas in a midfield challenge which mirrored the key moment in the Chelsea goal.
It looked like a foul and Stamford Bridge appealed collectively, but referee Bebek played on. Huntelaar traded passed with Draxler, cut inside from the left and beat Courtois with a low drive from the edge of the penalty box.
Two wrongs made for an equaliser and a very entertaining score draw, regardless of whether they made a right.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Courtois 7; Ivanovic 7, Cahill 6, Terry 6, Luis 6; Fabregas 7.5, Matic 7; Ramires 6 (Oscar 67 min, 5), Willian 6 (Remy 73, 6), Hazard 8; Drogba 5.5 (Costa 73 5).
Subs not used: Cech, Zouma, Azpilicueta, Mikel.
Bookings: Terry, Willian,
Manager: Jose Mourinho 7.
Schalke (4-2-3-1): Fahrmann 7.5; Hoger 6, Ayhan 7, Neustadter 7.5, Fuchs 6; Boateng 6, Aogo 6; Sam 6, Meyer 6 (Choupo-Moting 73, 6), Draxler 7.5 (Obasi 86); Huntelaar 7.
Subs not used: Weklo, Friedrich, Clemens, Barnetta, Avdijaj.
Bookings: Huntelaar, Boateng, Hoger
Manager: Jens Keller 7.
Man of the match: Eden Hazard
Referee: Ivan Bebek (Croatia) 5.
Attendance: 40,648.
=======================
Mirror:
Chelsea 1-1 Schalke: Mourinho's men fail to build on early goal and leave door open for comeback
By Martin Lipton
The Blues will feel this Champions League opener was two points dropped rather than a point gained after they fail to make most of Fabregas' 11th minute opener
Lesson One, for the ''Special One'': there's no place for sentiment in football.
As Mourinho knows, more than anyone, making a false start in the quest for the ultimate European glory is not necessarily fatal.
Both in 2003, when he was at Porto, and six years later with Inter, opening group phase draws were followed by sheer delight eight months later.
But if Chelsea are to be running round Berlin's Olympic Stadium in triumph in May, if their fans will be congregating in front of the Brandenburg Gate, they will need to be watching Diego Costa, not Didier Drogba.
Last night, as Mourinho handed a first Chelsea start since Munich to Drogba, leaving both Costa and Loic Remy on the bench until it became desperation time, the price was paid.
Frustrating night: Drogba failed to take his chances after starting ahead of Costa
That this was a game Chelsea should have won, especially after Cesc Fabregas took advantage of the brilliance of Eden Hazard and a terrible decision to put them in front.
But where once Drogba would have taken at least one, if not all, of the chances that came his way, he suddenly looked like a 36-year-old.
The ankle injury that had hampered the Ivorian may have been a factor but not an excuse.
Drogba knew he should have done better than head Felipe Luis' cross straight at Schalke keeper Ralf Fahrmann.
His body language showed that he recognised that the two misses after the break, failing to make any contact with Willian's driven cross – he tried to score with a Zola-style flick – and then taking a heavy touch before firing Hazard's glorious pass wide of the far post, were more disappointing, and far more costly.
Not that Drogba was the only one at fault, as Chelsea's bright start evaporated before the late storm came to nothing as the injury-strapped Germans clung on to Klaas-Jan Huntelaar's leveller.
Fabregas had done superbly to put his side in front, even if he clearly fouled Max Meyer in the build-up.
When Hazard's brilliant dribble ended with a reverse pass, the Spaniard was on hand to sweep home his first since returning to English football.
But it was Fabregas who spooned over the top from Branislav Ivanovic, as the Germans were on the ropes, ready for the knock-out blow.
Instead, still in it, Schalke found a second wind.
Kevin-Prince Boateng and Julian Draxler could have equalised before the interval and following that brace of Drogba misses, they were on terms.
Huntelaar probably fouled Fabregas yet it was still 70 yards from the Chelsea goal and the Spaniard could hardly complain.
And it was Chelsea's failure to get back properly that was punished as the Dutch striker got on the end of the counter and found the bottom corner.
Mourinho, forced to face up to his error, sent on both Costa and Remy.
The French striker's first touch, after keeper Ralf Fahrmann flapped, was kept out by a goalline clearance.
Twice Hazard thought he'd stolen it, volleying too high before Fahrmann saved bravely and right at the death, skipper John Terry was kept out by the man on the post. Too little, too late.
=======================
Express:
Chelsea 1 - Schalke 1: Jose Mourinho’s given a Schalke shaker
JOSE MOURINHO gambled as he gave Didier Drogba the chance of a glorious Champions League return. But the ploy blew up in his face.
By: Tony Banks
Drogba, 36, battled hard but looked his age as sloppy Chelsea produced their poorest performance of the campaign yet and dropped potentially crucial points in Group G.
Cesc Fabregas gave Mourinho’s team the lead, but only after getting away with a foul on Max Meyer, but Schalke deservedly capitalised on Chelsea’s lacklustre display as Klaas-Jan Huntelaar levelled the scores.
Drogba, the hero of the greatest evening in Chelsea’s history, returned last night to the battleground he once made his own.
It was Drogba’s ice-cool penalty in the dramatic shoot-out in Munich in May 2012 that won the Champions League for Chelsea under Roberto Di Matteo.
And it was his extraordinary performances on the way, against the likes of Barcelona in the semi-finals that played a huge part in that triumph, and earned him truly legendary status at Stamford Bridge.
So there he was again last night, given his first start since that return and that famous last kick.
Mourinho was aiming to become the first manager to win the trophy with three different clubs. He says he is “not obsessed” with the competition, but few are fooled.
New full-back Filipe Luis also got a first start.
Last year Chelsea beat Schalke home and away, 3-0 each time. This time Jens Keller’s team arrived riddled with injuries.
His job was in the balance after a winless first four games of the season and a league cup defeat by Dinamo Dresden, and a host of key defenders were out, including skipper Benedikt Howedes.
Chelsea were ahead after 11 minutes. It is said you need luck at some stage to win any competition and the Blues certainly got some last night.
Fabregas crunched into a tackle with Meyer that left the teenager in a heap and was a clear foul, but Croatian referee Ivan Bebek waved play on. Eden Hazard picked the loose ball up, released Fabregas, and the Spaniard shot home off keeper Ralf Fahrmann.
Schalke’s furious, baffled players surrounded Bebek, but only succeeded in getting Huntelaar booked for dissent. Drogba had been quiet, but then a lovely cross from Luis found Chelsea’s top scorer in this competition – 34 goals – but his trademark thumping header was straight at Fahrmann.
Chelsea should have been 2-0 up when Branislav Ivanovic got to the bye-line and pulled the ball back, only to see Fabregas blaze over from 10 yards.
And they almost paid for that wastefulness when Kevin-Prince Boateng let fly from 30 yards, forcing keeper Thibaut Courtois to produce a fine save.
Chelsea were even luckier still when Julian Draxler dribbled right through three non-existent tackles, only to drag his shot wide.
Drogba was looking every minute of his years as the game increasingly passed him by and he completely fluffed a Willian cross from six yards out.
But then the old maestro was put clear by Fabregas’s superb pass and got clear of his man, but agonisingly dragged his shot an inch wide. How the place would have erupted.
Hazard curled a shot over, but Chelsea were laboured and lacklustre in their poorest performance yet this season, after four straight impressive wins in the league.
It was in fact no surprise when Schalke levelled, but it was hugely ironic given what had happened earlier.
Fabregas was bundled off the ball by Huntelaar and no foul again given. Draxler raced away with the ball and fed Huntelaar, who stepped inside and drilled his shot home.
As Courtois pulled off another great save to keep out Draxler’s shot, the warning bells were ringing loud. Off went the Drog and Willian, on came the new hero Diego Costa and Loic Remy. Mourinho was going for broke.
It looked like the switch had worked when Remy shot, but defender Roman Neustadter produced a great header off the line.
CHELSEA (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Luis; Matic, Ramires (Oscar 67); Willian (Remy 74), Fabregas, Hazard; Drogba (Costa 74). Booked: Terry, Willian. Goal: Fabregas 11.
NEXT UP: Man City (a) Sunday PL.
SCHALKE (4-2-3-1): Fahrmann; Hoger, Ayhan, Neustadter, Fuchs; Boateng, Aogo; Sam (Barnetta 77), Meyer (Choupo-Moting 70), Draxler (Obasi 86); Huntelaar. Booked: Huntelaar, Boateng, Hoger. Goal: Huntelaar 62.
Referee: I Bebek (Croatia).
=========================
Star:
Chelsea 1 - Schalke 1: Jose Mourinho gets opening night blues at Stamford Bridge
CESC FABREGAS may have grabbed his first Chelsea goal, but it was not exactly a fab night for the Spaniard.
By David Woods
For the £30m signing from Barcelona missed a sitter and lost possession in the move which enabled Schalke to grab a point in this opening Champions League Group G game.
Fabregas was also lucky to claim that strike in the 11th minute. Replays proved he committed a foul - and a bad one at that - in the build-up.
With the German side struggling domestically, with just a draw to show from their first four games, and the Blues taking the Premier League by storm, many predicted a Fulham Road stroll for Chelsea.
Just like a year ago today, when they lost 2-1 at home to Basel in their first game in Europe, this was not Chelsea at their best.
They had their chances, with Fabregas, Didier Drobga and Eden Hazard guilty of failing to take advantage.
But so too did Schalke, whose No.10 - young Germany international Julian Draxler - showed why the likes of Arsenal reportedly would love to sign him.
Fabregas has just one major honour missing on his CV. He was a beaten Champions League finalist with Arsenal in 2006, then joined the club who beat the Gunners, Barcelona, just after they had won the trophy in 2011.
It all looked good for him as he pounced for the Blues. As Max Meyer turned in a dangerous position, Fabregas slid in. Replays showed he caught Meyer first.
Ref Ivan Bebek waved play-on as the ball broke to Hazard, who darted into the box and played a lovely reverse pass to Fabregas, who sidefooted home.
Schalke players, unsurprisingly, surrounded the Croatian ref, with their skipper Klass-Jan Huntelaar booked for his protests.
Didier Drogba, the hero of Chelsea's 2012 Champions League success, was given his first start of his second spell at Stamford Bridge, with boss Jose Mourinho resting goal sensation Diego Costa.
He got his first chance in the 32nd minute when Felipe Luis - making his full Blues debut - delivered an inviting cross. But Drogba's header was straight at the keeper.
Drogba did better in the 37th minute, lifting a ball over the German rearguard to Branislav Ivanovic. He pulled back perfectly for Fabregas, but he blazed over.
Mourinho could not believe it, slapping a hand to his forehead.
Soon after his opposite number, Jens Keller, was jumping in frustration after Kevin-Prince Boateng's drilled shot was brilliantly saved by Thibaut Courtois.
He was even more distraught just before the break when Draxler dribbled through four blue shirts in the box, but then dragged his left-foot shot wide.
On the hour, Drogba slid a shot just past the far post after a superb pass from Hazard. Then Schalke equalised in the 62nd minute. Knocking Fabregas off the ball, Huntelaar sped forward as Draxler took possession.
Taking the ball back from Draxler, the Dutch centre-forward evaded Willian and Gary Cahill and cut a clever shot into the corner of the near post.
Mourinho threw on Costa and Loic Remy late on and the latter had a goal-bound effort cleared off the line by Roman Neustadter.
Hazard volleyed over from close range and Fabregas showed his class with a great chipped pass for the Belgian, whose toe-poked effort was saved superbly by Ralf Fahrmann.
Schalke celebrated like they had won the competition. Fabregas and Chelsea know they will have to do a whole lot better if they really are going to.
CHELSEA (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Luis; Fabregas, Matic; Ramires (Oscar 67), Willian (Remy 74), Hazard; Drogba (Costa 74).
Subs: Cech, Zouma, Mikel, Azpiicueta.
SCHALKE (4-2-3-1): Fahmann; Hoger, Ayhan, Neustadter, Fuchs; Boateng, Aogo; Sam (Barnetta 78), Mayer (Choupo-Moting 74), Draxler (Obasi 86); Huntelaar. Subs: Wetklo, Friedrich, Clemens, Avdijaj.
REFEREE: Ivan Bebek (Croatia).
