Schalke 3-0

Independent:

Chelsea 3 Schalke 0
Samuel Eto'o takes his chance to shoot down German side
Cameroon striker scores twice after coming in to starting line-up to replace the injured Fernando Torres

By SAM WALLACE

One centre-forward's misfortune at Chelsea is another's opportunity and for Samuel Eto'o, his first Champions League goals for the club tonight will once again change the way that Jose Mourinho thinks about his squad of players.
Fernando Torres' training ground injury on Monday left the Chelsea manager with no choice but to make a change in attack and so his team moved on from that scrappy defeat to Newcastle on Saturday with a classically ruthless European performance. Mourinho's side were not at their best, and they will have to play much better sides than Schalke, but it was the home team who took their opportunities.
That was Eto'o who scored his second and third goals for the club, the first of which was a perceptive poacher's goal that severely embarrassed the Schalke goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand. He scored a second on 54 minutes to kill the game and left to a standing ovation. His replacement Demba Ba scored the third, his first goal of the season.
For this night at least, the erratic goalscoring contribution of Torres was not missed. He has an adductor injury and will require the international break to recover. It leaves Chelsea on top of Group E with nine points and in a strong position as they go to Switzerland to face Basel away in the penultimate group game. Basel, who beat them in the first game of the group at Stamford Bridge, only drew with Steaua Bucharest.
Six changes were wrought on the Chelsea team that made Mourinho feel so angry and mystified at Newcastle on Saturday. The notable one was the decision to drop Eden Hazard for returning late on Monday and missing training. But he also left out Ashley Cole and moved Cesar Azpilicueta over to left-back again. There was a return to the bench for Juan Mata and David Luiz.
The benefits were not immediately noticeable, not with Chelsea overrun in the early stages and looking more like the away side than one of the big boys of European football. The Hungarian striker Adam Szalai had two good chances in the first six minutes, made by Atsuto Uchida and Julian Draxler, both of which he snatched at and dragged wide.
In those moments, Chelsea had singularly failed to impose themselves on the game and a better side than Schalke might have punished them. But Schalke did not have much of a cutting edge up front and although they fought hard in those early stages they did not test Petr Cech. Draxler flitted in and out of the game and picked up a silly booking for dragging Azpilicueta back by the shirt.
From that free-kick in the 20th minute, Andre Schurrle struck a very nice right-footed shot that faded and dropped towards Hildebrand's right post. The goalkeeper got both hands on it and then embarked on a round of gratuitous high-fives and self-congratulatory shouting and clapping before the corner came in.
Oh, what a fall from grace he had awaiting him. Chelsea had only really tested him the once before the goalkeeper, who has seven caps for Germany, inexplicably lingered over a clearance in his own area in 31 minutes. At first, Eto'o angled his run to take him into the periphery of Hildebrand's vision but by the time he got close there was no doubting that the goalkeeper knew he was there.
Yet, for some reason Hildebrand had taken two big steps back to get a run-up at the ball and by the time he struck it, Eto'o had eaten up the ground and was in front of him. His block was skilfully done. It was no accident that the ball cannoned off his foot and into the empty goal. For Hildebrand, the fist-bumps and look-at-me celebrations after the Schurrle free-kick must have felt a very long way off indeed.
Later Mourinho would claim that he spotted the weakness in Hildebrand's game and encouraged Eto'o to chase him down. Certainly they both looked very pleased with themselves when Eto'o headed over to the touchline for a conspiratorial goal celebration.
Before then, John Terry, excellent all night, had caught an elbow from Szalai in the face which he was particularly unhappy about. Then after half-time, Schalke prised Chelsea open at last and might have scored when Draxler cut inside on his left foot and forced a great save out of Cech, diving to his right.
Mourinho can still rely upon his trusty old goalkeeper in moments such as these and so Cech came through for him yet again. Within two minutes of that save Eto'o scored Chelsea's second goal and the game began to look very comfortable for Mourinho's team.
The second was a fast-breaking beauty. It started with an Oscar ball across the middle of the pitch nicked away from Christian Fuchs by Willian who surged forward in possession. Eto'o broke to his right and had the ball delivered to his feet perfectly. He picked his spot beyond Hildebrand with some confidence.
Chelsea were in control. Had he still been under contract, Paulo Ferreira, the half-time guest at Stamford Bridge, might even have been given 15 minutes at the end of the game. Mourinho gave Kevin De Bruyne his first taste of Champions League football for the club, as a late replacement for Schurrle.
Ba scored with seven minutes left, a nicely taken volley from a player whose confidence will have suffered in recent months. It was Ba who chested down Gary Cahill's free kick forward from there it went from Willian to another substitute, Frank Lampard. He struck a nicely weighted ball over the Schalke backline which Ba volleyed past Hildebrand.
It was a bad night for the German goalkeeper. As for Eto'o he showed some signs of the kind of form that Mourinho requires from his strikers. He needs a goalscorer to lead this team and one suspects that while he is still not entirely satisfied with any of his options, Eto'o gave him something to think about.



Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Ramires, Mikel; Willian, Oscar (Lampard 81), Schurrle (De Bruyne 78); Eto'o (Ba 76).

Schalke (4-4-1-1): Hildebrand; Uchida, Howedes, Matip, Aogo; Draxler (Clemens 62), Jones, Neustadter, Fuchs (Meyer 66); Boateng (Kolasinac 76), Szalai.

Man of the match Terry.
Rating 6/10.
Referee S O Moen (Nor).
Attendance 40,000.

Results so far
Chelsea 1-2 Basel, Schalke 3-0 Steaua Bucharest; Basel 0-1 Schalke, Steaua 0-4 Chelsea; Schalke 0-3 Chelsea, Steaua 1-1 Basel; Basel 1-1 Steaua, Chelsea 3-0 Schalke.

Remaining fixtures
26 Nov Basel v Chelsea, Steaua v Schalke.11 Dec Chelsea v Steaua, Schalke v Basel.


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Guardian:

Chelsea's Samuel Eto'o punishes dozy keeper to set up win over Schalke

Dominic Fifield at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea will hope this constituted normal service being resumed. A team that had been shaken by its own complacency up at Newcastle United over the weekend recovered its momentum in emphatic fashion, their aggression and industry overcoming Schalke to gain breathing space at the top of the group.
Roman Abramovich visited the home dressing room after the match and discovered the throng in celebratory mood. One more win will secure the section.
This was a reaffirmation of the José Mourinho effect. The manager had been so disgusted by his team's display on Tyneside – and dismayed by Eden Hazard's timekeeping – that he carried through his threat to reshuffle the pack in search of a response, albeit not with 11 changes but six, one of which was enforced, surely stinging the pride of the discarded.
There was validation, too, of the club's lavish summer pursuit of Samuel Eto'o and Willian from Anzhi Makhachkala, with that pair, so rusty upon arrival, enjoying their most productive evening yet in English football.
The veteran Eto'o scored twice and has now registered for four different clubs in a competition he has already won three times, numbers that will make appealing reading. His first goal was pure opportunism, Eto'o charging in to block Timo Hildebrand's clearance and Chelsea's anxiety melted away as the loose ball dribbled into the empty net. By the end they had brought the Germans, so impressive in the opening exchanges, to their knees.
"We recovered the ball and played in an aggressive way, attacking the spaces with two or three players," Mourinho said. "In the end, we won quite comfortably. After the Basel defeat [in the first game] we'd put ourselves in a difficult situation, so it's fantastic that we have qualified after four matches. Oh, we haven't? Well, almost."
A point will be enough to progress and the strength in depth displayed bodes well for the latter stages. Chelsea had been waiting for Eto'o to make a proper mark for them, with the Cameroonian duly exploiting Fernando Torres' absence with an adductor muscle problem to ensure the Spaniard was not missed.
The cheekiness of his first goal conjured up memories of theembarrassment he had heaped, illegally as it should have transpired, on Cardiff City's David Marshall last month. Then the visiting goalkeeper had been bouncing the ball in front of the Shed End. Here, Hildebrand dawdled over a clearance with the ball static just outside the area, the Germany goalkeeper retreating belatedly to muster a runup only for Eto'o to pounce.
Hildebrand duly panicked and his kick thumped against the striker's right leg and trundled into the empty net. Mourinho suggested Chelsea had been well aware of Schalke's propensity to take their time before kickstarting moves from the back, with his manic celebrations with the player on the touchline a reflection of a plan executed perfectly.
"Timo made a mistake, it won't bring him down," said the visitors' crestfallen manager, Jens Keller. "He's 34 and is experienced. He'll be fine."
His team were not. The shambolic concession knocked the stuffing from them, all their early ascendancy undermined in an instant. The Germans might actually have scored three times in the opening eight minutes, so nervy were the home side with memories of the debacle at St James' Park still fresh. Julian Draxler's sidefoot just wide from Atsuto Uchida's pass set the tone, the young Germany international midfielder then marauding from just inside his own half to set up Adam Szalai at his side, only for that shot to drift beyond a post.
Christian Fuchs's wild drive completed a hat-trick of missed opportunities. Mourinho, scowling disapprovingly from his technical area, took most of his frustration out on André Schürrle, his nearest player. This was no way for the winger to celebrate his 23rd birthday.
Yet the mood would improve. Once Schalke were chasing the game, Chelsea eased themselves further ahead on the counter. Petr Cech did wonderfully well to deny Draxler but the home side's response was brutal. Willian, recently called up to the Brazil squad, darted through the centre away from Fuchs and, with Ramires acting as a decoy, his slipped pass for Eto'o left the Schalke back line in disarray. The forward's collection was calm and his finish crisply dispatched across Hildebrand and in off the far post.
There was even time for Demba Ba, a late replacement for Eto'o, to turn and shin in a first goal of the season, with Schalke forlorn and desperate.
"It was a shaky opening but we settled down and started to play from the first goal," John Terry said. "We wanted to respond. We did that. The result puts us back in the driving seat in the group but it was the way we responded that was pleasing – the manager made some changes and the ones left out will be disappointed but those who came in took their chances."

http://www.theguardian.com/football/gallery/2013/nov/06/championsleague-Chelsea

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Telegraph:

Chelsea 3 Schalke 0

By  Henry Winter, at Stamford Bridge

When it came to a player showing sharpness, hunger and work-rate, Jose Mourinho knew he could rely on Samuel Eto’o, whose qualities he first admired at Inter Milan. Chelsea’s coach ordered his players to display more “ambition” after the limp defeat by Newcastle United. All of them responded, particularly John Terry, Willian, André Schürrle, Oscar, John Obi Mikel and, most significantly, Eto’o, as Chelsea moved closer to the last 16 of the Champions League.
This was an important result, and strong performance, an antidote to the supine effort at St James’ Park. It reminded the squad what Mourinho required: tactical selflessness, total commitment and being alive to every eventuality. Eden Hazard failed to show that by missing training on Monday and was left to languish in the stands. Eto’o delivered on Mourinho’s demands, scoring twice.
His first was what Mourinho described as a “fox” goal, a piece of real cunning, running in and blocking a clearance from Timo Hildebrand. The second was an unstoppable shot across Hildebrand, the clinical culmination of what Mourinho hailed as “a very good collective’’ goal. “My favourite players are the players who win matches for me, not the ones who lose matches for me and Samuel worked with me in the best season of my career,’’ said Mourinho. “We won everything (Serie A, Coppa Italia and the Champions League at Inter in 2009-2010). So he’s in a good position.” That position varies. Eto’o played up top here but some of his most influential performances for Mourinho came out on the right for Inter (to accommodate Diego Millito), most notably against Barcelona as the Italians progressed to the 2010 Champions League final and then against Bayern Munich.
In taking his Champions League scoring tally to 29, Eto’o seems to have shaken off the slight rust acquired while playing in Russia. “He was, for two years, playing without big motivations,’’ continued Mourinho. “When you play without big motivations, you train without big motivations, and you lose condition, sharpness and even appetite. It was not a surprise for me that he arrived here not in the best condition after two years in Anzhi. Now, step by step, he’s growing. He’s 32, but fit and slim. Not a heavy boy. He’s intelligent, of course.’’
That asset was highlighted after 32 minutes. Schalke had actually started well, going close through Julian Draxler, Adam Szalai and Christian Fuchs but gradually Chelsea settled. Schürrle’s free-kick was athletically pushed away by Hildebrand, who then suffered a moment that will appear in his nightmares and Christmas blooper compilations.
For the third home game in succession in front of the Shed end, Chelsea benefited from a goalkeeping gift. Eto’o had also been involved in the controversial goal against Cardiff City when stealing the ball off David Marshall. Then came Joe Hart’s howler when Manchester City visited, presenting the winner to Fernando Torres. Now it was the turn of Hildebrand, who briefly had a trial at City in 2011 when Roberto Mancini was looking for experienced cover for Hart.
The former German international thought he was making a routine kick downfield. Eto’o was watching like a hawk, waiting for the moment that Hildebrand dropped the ball to the floor. The Schalke keeper stepped back and then moved forward, bringing his right foot down towards the ball. Too late. Eto’o was already racing in from an angle, timing his run perfectly to block the kick which rebounded at speed into the empty net. Hildebrand looked to the heavens. He should have been looking around for Eto’o.
Having also scored for Mallorca, Barcelona and Inter, Eto’o joined Fernando Morientes, Nicolas Anelka and Arjen Robben to have found the mark for four different teams in the Champions League. Hernan Crespo has scored for five while Zlatan Ibrahimovic leads the prolific nomad’s way with six. Eto’o laughed as he ran towards the jubilant home bench, embracing Mourinho.
Poor Hildebrand was given the full “woooooh” treatment by the Chelsea fans whenever he ran in to kick the ball. Down the other end, Petr Cech needed to be at his best when saving a shot from Draxler. But Chelsea were largely in control and added a second after 54 minutes.
After Oscar advanced, Willian accelerated through the middle and slipped the ball right to Eto’o. His first touch nudged the ball into optimum shooting position and his second drilled it right-footed past Hildebrand. “Willian’s choice was fantastic, Ramires’ run to give him an extra option was fantastic, and Samuel’s movement was excellent,’’ said Mourinho.
As Chelsea fans taunted Hildebrand with “two-nil and it’s all your fault”, the Schalke hordes chorused “you only sing when you’re winning’’. Eto’o was taken off for Demba Ba, departing to the inevitable and deserved standing ovation. Ba almost scored shortly after coming on but his low shot was held by Hildebrand. Schalke’s fans kept singing but the life had gone from their team.
Mourinho removed his hard workers. Schürrle came off for Kevin de Bruyne and Oscar was replaced by Frank Lampard. Within 120 seconds, the England midfielder was involved in the third. After Gary Cahill launched the ball long down the pitch, Ba chested it to Willian. The Brazilian found Lampard, who lifted the ball over Schalke’s defence to Ba, and he hooked the ball past Hildebrand. At the final whistle, Cech went over to console Hildebrand, who then headed across to acknowledge the Schalke fans. Even then they refused to fall quiet but their team had fallen silent long before. Eto’o and Chelsea are now the big noises in Group E, reacting to their opening loss to Basel by scoring 10 and conceding none.

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Mail:
Chelsea 3 Schalke 0: Eto'o robs Hildebrand and grabs a second to leave Mourinho's men on brink of knockout stages

By Matt Barlow


Perhaps someone stirred the spirit of Peter Osgood, the legendary striker who died seven years ago and is interred beneath the penalty spot at the Shed End. Is Ossie back to help in a time of need? Certainly something is spooking out the goalkeepers in that penalty area.
First there was Cardiff's David Marshall, who was robbed of the ball by Samuel Eto'o as the goalkeeper bounced it and prepared to kick from his hands.
Then there was Joe Hart's rush of blood and communication breakdown, which presented Chelsea with a late win and cost the England goalkeeper his place in the Manchester City team.
We can add to that list Timo Hildebrand, Schalke keeper and German international, who was also out-witted by Eto'o.
Chelsea had been misfiring for half an hour when Hildebrand rolled the ball out before him and casually surveyed the 21 other players on the pitch. Or at least he surveyed some of them.
He failed to notice to Eto'o, lurking to his right, crouching, sprung and ready to explode in a sprint for the ball if Hildebrand continued to dither. And dither he did.
By the time the keeper had finally got around to swinging his boot at the ball, his kick merely slammed into Eto'o and rebounded as if remote controlled into the net.
With this turn of fortune, Chelsea were on their way to total control of Group E.
A point in their next game in Basle will take them into the last 16 and any win from the final two games and they will top the group, thus cleansing the ignominy of this time last year, when they became the first champions to go out at the group stage.
Even Roman Abramovich seemed satisfied as he strolled across the pitch and towards the dressing room after the game.
Eto'o's strange goal had soothed the anxiety generated by defeat at Newcastle. A little of the pressure lifted from what had threatened to be an awkward fixture and poor Hildebrand became a figure of fun for the crowd to toy with for the rest of the evening.
‘Whooooooaaaaaaaaah,’ they would roar whenever the ball came into his orbit and at one point, full-back Atsuto Uchida actually ushered Eto'o out of range as he threatened to ambush the goalkeeper again.
Eto'o pounced for the second, nine minutes after the break, this time a somewhat more orthodox and lethal finish - the type associated with this veteran centre forward - after neat footwork and an astute pass by Willian.
Demba Ba added a third, seven minutes from time, and there were strong performances at the back from John Terry and Gary Cahill and a fine display in goal by Petr Cech, who made one crucial save low to his right from Julian Draxler with the score at 1-0.
‘My favourite players are the players who win matches for me, not the ones who lose matches for me,’ said Jose Mourinho.
Having made six changes to avenge his fury after Newcastle, the manager needed a win. Frank Lampard, David Luiz, Ashley Cole and Juan Mata were all stuck on the bench, Fernando Torres was out injured - scans yesterday suggest he will be out for at least three weeks - and Eden Hazard sat behind the bench in his leather jacket.
Hazard, who was in France on Sunday to watch his former club Lille beat Monaco, was late back and missed an important training session, according to Mourinho. This was his punishment.
With Cole still struggling with the rib injury he first suffered in September, Cesar Azpilicueta deputised again at left back, as he did in Gelsenkirchen when Chelsea also won 3-0. Both teams had something to prove last night but the Londoners started sloppily and Schalke opened with greater intensity than they delivered in the first game.
Draxler swept a shot narrowly wide from the edge of the penalty area and then Adam Szalai, who engaged in a physical duel with Terry, was equally close to the same corner soon after.
Chelsea seemed unable to match to the tempo set by the visitors and unable to get playmaker Oscar onto the ball. Christian Fuchs darted in from the left and lashed a low drive across goal and wide on the other side.
Schalke manager Jens Keller spun on the spot in frustration. He had seen three good opportunities missed and must have realised Mourinho's team would solve their problems. Perhaps he had a feeling mistakes were lurking in his own side.
Azpilicueta caught Draxler in possession deep in his own territory and drew the foul. Draxler was booked and Andre Schurrle whipped the free-kick towards the top corner, only to see it pawed away by Hildebrand, who was then caught out by Eto'o.
The striker looks much sharper than when he first arrived from Anzhi Makhachkala in August and he ran straight to his manager to celebrate and Mourinho seemed keen to take some of the credit as they shared a joke.
‘It was not a surprise for me that he arrived here not in the best condition after two years in Anzhi,’ said Mourinho.
'Now, step by step, he's growing. He's 32, but fit and slim. Not a heavy boy. He's intelligent of course. Goals give confidence. The first one was a “fox” goal. The second goal was a very good collective goal: Willian's choice was fantastic, Ramires' run to give him an extra option was fantastic, and Samuel's movement was excellent.’
Two substitutes combined for the third with a pass from Lampard to Ba who converted it with a smart volley. It was his first goal since the FA Cup semi-final in April.

If the strikers are going to start scoring goals, Ossie can rest again.

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Mirror:
 
Chelsea 3-0 Schalke: Samuel Eto'o double seizes control of Champions League group

By Martin Lipton

It wasn't pretty. In fact, it was pretty ordinary.
But as Jose Mourinho showed there will be no room for sentiment in his second spell at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea did what they needed to.
Three goals, three points - even Fernando Torres' two understudies both finding the net.
It means a draw in Basel in a fortnight will ensure  the Londoners do what was beyond them under Roberto Di Matteo 12 months ago and reach the knock-out phase.
Mourinho will not be misled into believing his side are, at this stage, realistic challengers to the likes of Bayern Munich, Barcelona or Real Madrid.
Not yet.
The Chelsea boss insisted the post-Newcastle blood-letting was not a "punishment" for those who had let him down on Tyneside.
Though it was, apparently, a penalty for Eden Hazard's poor time-keeping.
Those who cross Mourinho in haste learn to repent of their folly at leisure.
Yet omitting Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole, two of his Blues "untouchables" first time round, seemed far more significant than mere rotation.
The next few months will determine the reality and what was important in SW6 was that there was a response to the St James' Park bawling-out.
For 20 minutes or more, before the mother of all blunders by veteran keeper Timo Hildebrand gifted Samuel Eto'o the opening goal that took all the air out of the German balloon, the changes had left Chelsea even more disjointed.
With Cesar Azpilicueta exposed at left-back, Petr Cech was grateful that neither the impressive Julian Draxler nor Hungarian Adam Szalai were able to hit the target from the edge of the box.
Even so, it needed a fluke to get Chelsea going.
Veteran former Germany keeper Hildebrandhad produced a fine stop to claw away Andre Schuerrle's free-kick but his shocker on the half-hour was a horror-show moment.
Hildebrand dropped the ball at his feet, dawdling as he weighed up his clearance options, failing to notice as Eto'o first tip-toed towards him, then started to sprint.
Suddenly, panic stations - Eto'o outstretched leg blocking the ball back into the vacant net.
Hildebrand was in bits, Mourinho clenching his fist, pointing at the Cameroonian and then himself in a gesture that seemed to say "You're my man."
The truth is that the Portuguese has staked plenty of his credibility with Roman Abramovich by persuading him to meet the £150,000-a-week wage demands of a 32-year-old striker.
It was only Eto'o's second Blues goal, although making Chelsea the fourth club he has scored for in the competition.
But the third, nine minutes after the break, demonstrated why the man is a two-time Champions League winner.
Admittedly, without Cech's save to deny Draxler - where was Azpilicueta? - just before it might have been different.
Two minutes later, though, Willian galloped through the middle before passing to his right, where Eto'o picked his spot inside the bottom corner.
A quality finish, Mourinho pointing both index fingers to the heaven
The doubts were now banished, Chelsea finally finding their cohesion, conviction, penetration and the "ambition" the Portuguese had demanded.
There could have been more.
Oscar's sand-wedge chip was erased by a flag but, eight minutes from time Demba Ba, on for Eto'o, put the seal on the evening.
Lampard, with his first touch after replacing Oscar, looped forward and the Senegalese striker's mis-hit volley dribbled in.
It was his first European goal for Chelsea and first of the season too.
Enough. More than enough.
Winning well without playing well? A useful attribute.

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Express:

Chelsea 3 - Schalke 0: Lucky Sam plays it again as Eto'o does job for Jose Mourinho
JOSE MOURINHO has come to regard Samuel Eto’o as something of a talisman.
By: Tony Banks

It was the veteran Cameroon striker who helped him win the Champions League with Inter Milan in 2010.
So the Chelsea manager went out on a limb to bring the £250,000-a-week legend to Stamford Bridge just before deadline day this summer, when many thought the 32-year-old was winding down his career at Anzhi Makhachkala.
A slow start to his Chelsea life had many doubting the wisdom of the move but last night, thanks partly to a huge slice of luck, Eto’o came alive as a Chelsea player with the two goals that put the Blues on the cusp of the knockout stages.
After Demba Ba scored the third goal to give the result a gloss it never looked like having at one nervy stage of the evening, Chelsea this morning find themselves needing just a point from their final two games to qualify from Group E.
And it was an evening and a performance that in the end totally justified Mourinho’s ruthless decision to axe five players for this game after the listless Premier League defeat by Newcastle on Saturday.
Dropped were Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard, David Luiz, Juan Mata and Eden Hazard – who had missed training after celebrating with his former Lille team-mates after their win over Monaco on Sunday.
It was typical Mourinho. Bold, uncompromising and utterly ruthless. And it worked, as his reshaped side, with Eto’o leading from the front in place of the injured Fernando Torres, did the business.
Eto’o has form in sneaking up on keepers after infamously robbing David Marshall of possession
Into the team came Gary Cahill, John Obi Mikel, Andre Schurrle, Cesar Azpilicueta and Willian. The reshaped team took an age to settle and could have been 3-0 down before they even got going. Adam Szalai narrowly missed with two efforts and Christian Fuchs also came close to breaking the deadlock.
Gradually Mourinho’s team began to establish some rhythm. When Azpilicueta was felled, Schurrle curled in a great free-kick that was heading for the top corner before Timo Hildebrand brilliantly tipped it wide. Then Schalke simply handed Chelsea the break they needed.
Hildebrand had plenty of time to clear with the ball at his feet but hesitated as Eto’o closed him down. In a panic, he booted the ball against the Cameroon striker and it ricocheted past him into the empty net.
Schalke coach Jens Keller held his head in his hands. Mind you, Eto’o is making a habit of surprising goalkeepers this season. He had pounced on David Marshall to produce a crucial equaliser in the victory against Cardiff in October.
If you need a slice of luck to win the Champions League, that was probably Chelsea’s portion this year.
Schalke were far from finished and when Julian Draxler found himself free on the right, he cut inside and forced Petr Cech to turn his shot around the post.
Suddenly, though, Chelsea could relax. Willian, who had been quiet for most of the night, suddenly burst onto Oscar’s pass, surged through the middle and released Eto’o.
This one was more straightforward – a deadly low shot into the far corner from the former Barcelona and Mallorca striker, who has now scored for four different teams in the Champions League.
There was breathing space at last. Chelsea had in fact been doing most of their attacking on the break, with Schurrle, Ramires and the hard-working Oscar ever willing to do the running from deep.
samuel eto'oEto'o seems to have found his form after scoring a brace against Schalke [STUART ROBINSON]
Mourinho could be said to be turning this Chelsea into a counter-attacking side.
Schalke had plenty of the ball but, after that worrying opening spell, they had rarely tested Cech. And the Germans were made to pay for that wastefulness seven minutes from the end as Lampard set up fellow substitute Ba for his first goal of the season, an angled volley into the corner.
Mourinho said afterwards his favourite players are the ones who win matches for him – not the ones who lose them. And he grinned: “Samuel worked with me in the best season of my career at Inter. We won everything. So he is in a good position.”
And so are Chelsea right now, and so is the ‘Ruthless One’.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Ramires, Mikel; Willian, Oscar (Lampard 81), Schurrle (De Bruyne 78); Eto’o (Ba 76).  Goals: Eto’o 31, 54, Ba 83.
Schalke (4-2-3-1): Hildebrand; Uchida, Howedes, Matip, Aogo; Jones, Neustadter; Boateng (Kolasinac 76), Fuchs (Meyer 66), Draxler (Clemens 61); Szalai. Booked: Draxler, Uchida.
Referee: S Oddvar Moen (Norway).

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Star:

Chelsea 3 - Schalke 0: Doh! Samuel Eto'o cashes in on gaffe

STAND-IN striker Samuel Eto’o picked the perfect time to prove that his scoring touch has not deserted him.
By Adrian Kajumba

“It wasn’t all plain sailing for Chelsea, who had to survive an early assault from Schalke before Eto’o put them in control”
Eto’o got the nod to replace the injured Fernando Torres against Schalke last night.
And he showed he can do anything the Spaniard can by repeating Torres’s two-goal heroics against the Germans two weeks ago.
Eto’o, who was once one of Europe’s most feared marksmen, had scored just once in 10 games before last night.
But he rolled back the years to put Chelsea in charge against Schalke as he hit the net for his fourth different club in the Champions League.
Chelsea were hugely helped by a goalkeeping cock-up for the third home game running for Eto’o’s first-half opener, before he doubled his tally with a clinical finish after the break.
It wasn’t all plain sailing for Chelsea, who had to survive an early assault from Schalke before Eto’o put them in control.
But it was certainly a little more like it from the Group E leaders.
Boss Jose Mourinho admitted he made 11 mistakes and should have named an entirely different side in his fury following the defeat at Newcastle at the weekend.
In the end he settled for six last night as he brutally wielded the axe – but it was more than enough to make his point.
Eto’o’s selection was the only enforced change, while Ashley Cole, David Luiz, Frank Lampard and Juan Mata all paid the price for their part in the Newcastle nightmare and were dumped on the bench, while Eden Hazard didn’t even get that far.
Cesar Azpilicueta, Gary Cahill, John Obi Mikel, Andre Schurrle and Willian also came in to a side Mourinho hoped would be good enough to preserve Chelsea’s excellent home record against German sides.
The Blues were unbeaten in six games against sides from the Bundesliga.
They also had the chance to nip talk of a new November curse in the bud.
Saturday’s defeat at St James’ Park raised fears that the dreaded season-wrecking hoodoo that has plagued Chelsea in recent years was about to strike again.
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Schalke would have arrived hopeful of adding to Chelsea’s misery – despite losing their home game 3-0 a fortnight earlier – after a brilliant 2-0 win at Arsenal on their last trip to London just over a year ago.
At first Mourinho’s changes failed to produce the reaction he wanted as his side’s defending early on was already desperate and last ditch, as Schalke tore into them like their boss did after the Newcastle loss.
And as the sloppiness from St James’ continued at Stamford Bridge they were lucky not to concede the opener.
Julian Draxler, Adam Szalai and Christian Fuchs all gave Chelsea huge scares inside the first eight minutes.
But the slackness soon spread to Schalke goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand, who went from hero to villain to gift the Londoners the lead.
Hildebrand produced a brilliant flying stop to keep out Andre Schurrle’s free-kick after 20 minutes.
But he had a shocker 11 minutes later when his clearance flew back past him off Eto’o, who bagged his first Champions League goal for the Blues.
Hildebrand joined Manchester City’s Joe Hart and Cardiff’s David Marshall on the list of keepers to cock-up in front of the Shed End and gift Chelsea a goal this season.
Petr Cech denied Draxler an equaliser at the start of the second half.
And the importance of that save was there to see when Willian released Eto’o, who fired past Hildebrand.
Eto’o was replaced by Demba Ba in the 77th minute and the Senegal striker took just six minutes to make his mark, volleying acrobatically into the corner of Hildebrand’s goal after fellow sub Lampard lifted the ball over the Schalke defence.