Maribor 6-0

Independent:

Chelsea 6 - 0 Maribor

Blues dominate at Stamford Bridge but minds wander to Sunday's clash with Manchester United

Sam Wallace

This was a night that Chelsea could afford to coast at times, with the proverbial cigar alight, and even after 15 minutes minds were already turning to the game against Manchester United in four days’ time. That was shortly after Chelsea lost Loic Remy to a thigh strain, himself the replacement for the injured Diego Costa and so it was they called for Didier Drogba, the last man standing among Mourinho’s senior forwards.

Beyond Drogba, who scored his first goal of his second spell at Chelsea, there is the promising Dominic Solanke who made his debut little more than a month after his 17th birthday. This presents a problem to the Chelsea manager, who famously picked a team without a single recognised striker in it when his team played United at Old Trafford in August last year.

He might well consider that option again, unless he is prepared to place his trust in Drogba to reprise some of those old glories against the creaking door that is United’s back four. At least the victory over Maribor gave him a chance to take Cesc Fabregas off early to give him a breather. Friday will be the tenth anniversary of the day Fabregas was alleged to have thrown the pizza at Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford. He will be looking forward to Sunday’s game.

The Maribor striker Agim Ibraimi missed a second half penalty, rattling the ball against the post of Petr Cech, given a rare first team outing to rest Thibaut Courtois. There was also an evening off for Gary Cahill. As for the game itself, it was over within 22 minutes when Drogba dispatched the second.

In Moscow, Manchester City might have played without a crowd, it was Chelsea’s good fortune that they played at times without a competent Maribor defence for long periods of the first half which ended with the home  team three goals to the good.

The Slovenian team battled through the qualifying rounds and drew their first two group games against Schalke and Sporting Lisbon, but this time they were up against a different class of opposition and it showed from the start. Remy gave Chelsea the lead within 13 minutes and was taken off two minutes later with a thigh strain sustained in driving his left-footed shot past the goalkeeper Jasmin Handanovic.

It was a well-worked goal with a ball from John Terry into the right channel that Remy took back onto his left foot, going past the full-back Marko Suler with a change of direction, before dispatching his shot. There was a familiar ease for Chelsea with Fabregas pulling the strings and Maribor’s frantic counter-attacks a little too easy for the home team to read.

The injury to Remy meant that Drogba was summoned from the bench, always a popular figure in this stadium. The old lion does not quite dish it out to defenders as he once did but he still has that presence when he trots out onto a football pitch. His previous goal, No 157 for Chelsea, that Champions League winning penalty aside, had been in the final against Bayern Munich. There was always a chance that No 158, two years and five months later, might come against Maribor.

It arrived earlier than expected, from the Shed End penalty spot. The midfielder Ales Mertelj stooped low to handle the ball and, alas for him, the Dutch referee Danny Makkelie pointed to the penalty spot. Drogba put it to his favoured side, to the goalkeeper’s right and a little bit of history was made.

Having had an early chance, a header over by Damjan Bohar, Maribor were now in a panic and Chelsea unwilling to let them have the ball for any longer than was necessary. The third came from a corner that Chelsea defended and then broke from. It was eventually Fabregas who provided the cross from the right and Terry, having chanced his arm on a break connected with the ball in the area. He was fractionally offside.

Eden Hazard was careless in front of goal, never more so than in the build-up to the fourth goal when he missed Filipe Luis’ cross. He retrieved the ball and it was turned in by Mitja Viler at the near post. Nothing was going Maribor’s way. Ibraimi missed a penalty and then Branislav Ivanovic looked to have dived to win a second penalty for Chelsea on 75 minutes, which Hazard converted.

Hazard scored a fine second in the last minute all of which leaves Chelsea on seven points and realistically one win in Slovenia away from qualification. The Champions League is proving a stroll, Sunday promises to be much more of a challenge.


Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanivic, Zouma, Terry, Luis; Fabregas, Matic, Willian, Oscar, Hazard; Remy.

Subs: Drogba/Remy 15, Ake/Fabregas 59, Solanke/Oscar 72

Maribor (4-2-2-2): Handanovic; Stojanovic, Rajcevic, Suler, Viler; Mertelj, Filipovic; Mejac, Bohar; Tavares, Ibraimi.

Subs: Vrsic/Viler 57, Zahovic/Ibraimi 67, Mendy/Tavares 72


Referee: D Makkelie (Netherlands)

Man of the match: Matic

Rating: 6


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Guardian:



Chelsea crush Maribor with Didier Drogba and John Terry on scoresheet

Chelsea 6 - 0 Maribor

Amy Lawrence at Stamford Bridge


Such is the swagger and confidence coursing through Chelsea’s squad that José Mourinho swatted aside any concerns over an injury picked up by Loïc Rémy during this Stamford Bridge breeze. It leaves Chelsea potentially short of firepower when they travel to Old Trafford on Sunday, with doubts over Diego Costa as well as Didier Drogba’s capacity to play for 90 minutes at full pelt.

On Rémy’s situation Mourinho appeared audaciously unconcerned. “It’s a muscular injury. I don’t know the dimension and I am not worried. When a player is injured, I play another one.”

He was fairly steadfast on the options. Did he expect Rémy to be fit? “No.” Costa? “No.” As for Drogba, player and manager had a conversation on the eve of this Champions League game and 30 minutes was what was on the cards. In the event, once Rémy left the pitch with a grimace as he felt his groin immediately after opening the floodgates by crowning John Terry’s Fàbregas-esque pass with a stylish finish, Drogba came on and played 75.

“He managed the intensity, range of movement and in the end was very, very important for the team,” noted Mourinho. “The best thing for a player to improve his condition is to play.”

He also scored, which sent waves of warmth and nostalgia around the venue he commanded for so many years. “He was not for a long time on the pitch in previous matches,” added Mourinho. “The last goal was the most important goal in the history of the club so to be back and score again at Stamford Bridge was nice for him.”

Drogba asked to take the penalty when Maribor were punished for a low handball by Ales Mertelj. Eden Hazard, the club’s designated penalty-taker, ceded responsibility given the credentials and emotional punch carried by the man who had just come on.

Chelsea’s third-choice striker duly took the ball, looked up at the luminous orange “Drogba Legend” sign, calmly set the ball and finished with the alacrity they had seen so consistently in these parts.

Mourinho was in mischievous mood when asked how he felt about the players taking it into their own hands regarding who took the spot-kick. “You want a fair answer? I don’t like it. They have the freedom to do it. But he has to score,” he said. That old-times feeling was extended when Terry galavanted 100 yards upfield to poach the third.

Credit where it is due to a 33-year-old centre-half to burst the length of the pitch – the move originated from a Maribor corner and within seconds Hazard was buzzing forward, Cesc Fàbregas appeared on the right to deliver with customary accuracy and Terry slid the ball in.

Unfortunately for Maribor he was offside but the Dutch referee awarded the goal anyway. Three goals up in half an hour exemplified how easy this was against the limited Slovenians.

Mourinho was delighted with the way his team did not relax. Once Maribor spurned the chance for a consolation via a penalty that Agim Ibraimi struck against a post, Hazard began to run the show. He was delightful to watch.

The Belgian had already had a hand in the fourth, turned in by Mitja Viler, and scored the final two goals. When Branislav Ivanovic ended up on the floor and it was time for another penalty, Hazard took it this time and was unerring. The last demonstrated the purest skill, as he twisted into position to drill in after Nathan Aké’s beautiful assist.

Mourinho had the added satisfaction of being able to bring on a couple of teenaged prospects to give them the flavour of a Champions League debut.

Aké, aged 19, slotted into midfield, while 17-year-old Dominic Solanke took up position on the right side of attack. Kurt Zouma is already considered ready to play in defence at any time.

Chelsea in cruise-control look so commanding and cohesive; they have a strength whatever the personnel. Mourinho is purring about the team’s progress. “We are playing well, confident, solid, have found a good balance. We have now the players adapted to play the game we were preparing last year that we couldn’t manage to do in a perfect way. Good results and confidence bring people to their best. We are in a good moment.”

Looking ahead, of course there is the possibility that one of Costa or Rémy will be better by the weekend. There is also the option of André Schürrle, having been part of the Chelsea plan in various successful away missions last season.

“We don’t cry on injuries, that is our philosophy,” Mourinho said. “We think an injury means an opportunity for someone else. We cannot hide that in this moment we have some problems with players unavailable to play. We will prepare for the Manchester United game and try to be at our best possible level.”

Whoever plays, and whoever they play against, that seems to be the template for Chelsea this season.


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Telegraph:

Chelsea 6 Maribor 0

Jose Mourinho's old boys stroll to emphatic victory

By Henry Winter, Football Correspondent Stamford Bridge


Jose Mourinho faces striker injury crisis despite Champions League thumping of Slovenian champions at Stamford Bridge

On a night when 40 goals were scored in the Champions League, including seven each for Bayern Munich and Shakhtar Donetsk, Chelsea played their prolific part. Their biggest victory in Europe’s elite competition was shaped and graced by the sublime Eden Hazard, an irresistible combination of work ethic and technique.

Other significant story-lines were on offer at the Bridge, not least another injury to a Chelsea striker with Loïc Rémy damaging his left adductor in the act of scoring the first, leaving him on the sidelines alongside Diego Costa at Old Trafford this Sunday.

Up stepped Didier Drogba, also spicing the narrative of the night, scoring his first goal for Chelsea since the Champions League final of 2012. Another of the Golden Oldie generation, John Terry, then struck the third, prompting the Shed and Matthew Harding Stand to inform the watching Roy Hodgson that “there’s only one England captain”. Stories everywhere.

Hodgson will have seen few Slovenian players who could trouble England at Wembley on Nov 15.

For all the sight of Drogba, 36, and Terry, 33, rolling back the years, the eye kept being drawn back to Hazard, who forced an own goal from Matja Viler and then added the final two goals. Hazard was involved in the goals of Drogba and Terry. He had five attempts on target. He almost completed a hat-trick following a wonderful dribble. Chelsea’s No 10 was everywhere.

Hazard’s ubiquity was reflected in the passes he played to his full-backs, picking out the left-sided Filipe Luís 10 times and finding Branislav Ivanovic five times over on the other flank. Hazard roamed all over. He kept linking with Willian, exchanging passes with the Brazilian 17 times.

Jose Mourinho has built a side full of high-class players working at high tempo for the team. Hazard embodies the gifted individual sweating overtime for the collective. The sublimely-balanced Belgian was superb, twisting Petar Stojanovic, Maribor’s right-back, this way and that.

Hazard was full of changes of direction, including one that sent Marko Suler almost out of the ground. He fully aware of the team shape and his responsibilities, even tracking back to cover in defence when the excellent Ivanovic embarked on another of his barnstorming runs.

The 23-year-old Hazard cost £32 million from Lille but there was another pertinent line that required chronicling, and that was home-grown players coming off the bench, first Nathan Ake and then Dominic Solanke for his debut. There are many hurdles before they become regulars but the sight of Ake and Solanke striding confidently towards the Matthew Harding Stand, showing touch and ambition, reflected that Jose Mourinho was prepared to follow words about the importance of youth with deeds.

For all the promise of the academy products, the expensive Belgian was key to Chelsea’s record Champions League win, eclipsing the 6-1 bittersweet triumph over Nordsjaelland in December 2012 which still led to their demotion into the Europa League, a particular indignity as they were European champions at the time following Drogba’s winning penalty in Munich.

Their new record will be remembered fondly. Due allowance must be made for the modest nature of the visitors, although it needs recording that Maribor drew with Sporting Lisbon and Schalke. The Slovenians are well into the season, having begun their Champions League journey two days after the World Cup final, but they looked rusty here. Hazard never gave them a chance.

It was the variety as well as the quality of Chelsea’s attacks that bemused the visitors. Chelsea passed and moved, zig-zagging deep into Slovenian territory. They counter-attacked at speed, flying past yellow-shirted players made to resemble statues.

Willian and Oscar buzzed about in the final third, also tracking back, also putting in the tackles, always working to Mourinho’s command.

Cesc Fabregas was full of clever passes, occasionally disguised to add to the Slovenians’ distress. Nemanja Matic was head and shoulders above the visitors’ midfielders, striding past them powerfully with the ball.

At the back, Terry was Terry, reading danger well in advance, dominating the airwaves, intercepting on the ground, stopped only by a sneaky forearm from the Macedonian, Agim Ibraimi, whose eyes were clearly focused on the Chelsea captain rather than the dropping ball. Somehow, Ibraimi escaped sanction, although the look in Terry’s eyes must have chilled his blood.

Terry created Chelsea’s opener after 13 minutes, sliding a pass through the middle for Remy. The Frenchman turned Marko Suler and laced a strong left-footed shot past Jasmin Handanovic. Instead of a smile spreading across his face, Remy grimaced, signaling his injury.

As sad as they were to see Rémy eventually limp off, Chelsea fans were delighted in the sight of Drogba charging on. The noise grew when Drogba defied Mourinho’s orders to take a 23rd-minute penalty ahead of the designated taker, Hazard. The Belgian at least helped to orchestrate the chance, passing to Fabregas, before Willian’s ball in was handled by Ales Mejac. Drogba drove the penalty in.

Eight minutes later, the goalscorer turned goalmaker. Drogba met a Maribor corner with a thumping clearance that flew 30 yards to Hazard, who glided upfield before laying the ball off to Fabregas. The Spaniard’s cross was delivered with Terry offside but the Dutch referee, Danny Makkelie, did not see it, nor did his two assistants close by. Having run 80 yards, Terry was not waiting for any flag and slid in to score.

Terry’s side maintained the pressure after the break, scoring a fourth albeit in fortuitous circumstances. Willian sent Filipe Luis down the left and he dummied his way into the box before driving the ball across. Hazard fired the ball back in. Poor Viler. The ball clipped the centre-half’s right heel and went in for an improbable own goal. Maribor’s coach, Ante Simundza, showed no mercy. Viler was immediately taken off. Simundza then removed Ibraimi after he missed a penalty following Matic’s foul on the Maribor No  10.

Chelsea continued to delight. Willian almost broke the bar with a 20-yarder. When Solanke and Ivanovic combined with 13 minutes left, the Serbian fell under a mild challenge from Suler. Hazard coolly sent Handanovic the wrong way.

His second came on the cusp of full-time. Running on to Ake’s pass, Hazard scared the life out of Maribor’s defence with his first touch and change of direction before he put them out of their misery with a right-footed shot home. Some player, some team.


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Times:

Breeze for Chelsea clouded by freakish injury to Loïc Rémy

Rory Smith

Chelsea 6 Maribor 0


The striker who started for Chelsea scored. The striker summoned from the substitutes’ bench by Chelsea scored. Chelsea’s captain scored a poacher’s goal, and Chelsea’s twinkling star scored twice, the second had echoes of Dennis Bergkamp. And yet the story of this game somehow centred on a striker who was not even here, whom José Mourinho is sick to the back teeth of talking about. The Portuguese may not like it, but the conversation about Diego Costa is only just beginning.

There was much here to draw a smile from Mourinho. His side swatted aside the Slovenian champions with almost consummate ease to record their biggest win in this competition.

At times, they played with a rare elegance, too, fused with a spirit of invention and adventure not always credited to Mourinho’s sides. They can now add complete control of group G to absolute authority over the Barclays Premier League. Win in Slovenia in a fortnight and they are through with two games to spare.

All would be rosy in Mourinho’s garden were it not for the vexed issue of his strikers. He was without Costa here, his hamstring problem having been upgraded to an actual hamstring injury while he was on duty with Spain. Mourinho is so tired of discussing the issue that he declared, on the eve of this game, that he would no longer answer questions on the Spaniard.

He might have got away with it, too, had he not lost his first reserve, Loïc Rémy, to a groin problem within 16 minutes here, seemingly sustained in the act of cutting inside and curling a shot home to open the scoring. Both strikers are expected to miss Sunday’s trip to Manchester United.

“It is a muscular injury,” Mourinho said of the Frenchman. “I do not know the dimension and I am not worried. When a player is injured, I play another one. I don’t expect him [or Costa] to be fit [for United]. I do not like to speak about injured players.”

This, he said, is the club’s “philosophy,” seemingly drawn straight from Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. “We don’t cry about injuries,” he said. “We just think it means an opportunity for somebody else.”

In this case — presuming, of course, that Mourinho is not being slightly, uncharacteristically economical with the truth — that somebody else is Didier Drogba, the last forward standing at Stamford Bridge. The Ivorian scored seven minutes after replacing Rémy, converting a penalty after Ales Mertelj had handled Willian’s cross.

It provided a fitting bit of symmetry: his previous goal for Chelsea, back in 2012, was from the penalty spot, the kick that won the Champions League. His first since returning was eerily similar, rolled into the same corner, with the same confidence. A good thing, too: Eden Hazard, not Drogba, was the designated taker. “I don’t like it,” Mourinho said. “They have freedom to choose who takes the kick. But he has to score.”

In the usual narrative, that goal should have removed the emotional burden from Drogba’s shoulders, freeing him from the anxieties that seem to have beset his brief appearances since his return. It did not quite work out like that. The 36-year-old was a peripheral figure for much of the game.

Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United may be some distance from the finished article, and they may possess a plethora of defensive frailties, but they will be a substantially tougher challenge than Maribor, and there was little here — beyond that goal — to encourage Mourinho into thinking Drogba could step in convincingly for Costa.

“I was not expecting him to play 75 minutes,” he said. “I spoke with him yesterday and we spoke about 30. But the circumstances meant he had to go on. It was very important for Didier.”

That was not the only reason for optimism. Even without a fully functioning striker, this Chelsea team pack a punch. Cesc Fàbregas teed up John Terry for their third just before half-time, a wonderful counterattacking goal tapped home by the most unlikely counterattacker on the pitch; Hazard forced Mitja Viler into an own goal after the break, and then converted a penalty when Marko Suler bundled over Branislav Ivanovic. Maribor’s one chance came from the spot, too, only for Agim Ibraimi to strike a post.

The Belgian’s second was the best of the half-dozen, his silken touch drew Nathan Ake’s ball out of the sky, two feints sent two visiting defenders sprawling, before he finished unerringly. It was not quite Bergkamp against Argentina in 1998, but it was a decent impression.

Chelsea are not short of attacking potency but Mourinho must ponder whether they can do so — without Costa and Rémy — when presented with a rather stiffer challenge.


Chelsea (4-2-3-1): P Cech — B Ivanovic, K Zouma, J Terry, F Luis — F Fàbregas (sub: N Aké, 60min), N Matic — Willian, Oscar (sub: D Solanke, 73), E Hazard — L Rémy (sub: D Drogba, 16). Substitutes not used: T Courtois, M Salah, G Cahill, C Azpilicueta.

Maribor (4-4-2): J Handanovic — P Stojanovic, A Rajcevic, M Suler, M Viler (sub: D Vrsic, 57) — A Mejac, A Mertelj, Z Filipovic, D Bohar — Tavares (sub: J-P Mendy, 72), A Ibraimi (sub: L Zahovic, 68). Substitutes not used: A Cotman, W Ndiaye, S Sallalich, Arghus.

Referee: D Makkelie (Netherlands).

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Mail:

Chelsea 6-0 Maribor: Didier Drogba scores for the first time since his return to Stamford Bridge as Jose Mourinho's team ease to confident win over Slovenian champions

By Matt Barlow


Didier Drogba stirred Chelsea emotions and rekindled misty-eyed memories of Munich as he scored a Champions League penalty to celebrate his first goal since returning to Stamford Bridge.

His first since the winning spot-kick against Bayern Munich in the Allianz Arena in May 2012 was the second in this six-goal Euro-romp against Maribor.

Jose Mourinho’s team are in control at the top of Group G, smoothly on course for a place in the last 16 of the Champions League.

They are unbeaten in 12 games this season, have scored 33 goals and Eden Hazard is in electrifying form.

Yet, as supporters wallowed in the nostalgia and goose-pimpled with excitement at the prospect of the season ahead, they and Mourinho must have been wondering quietly about the collateral damage.

Drogba was only on the pitch because Loic Remy had hurt his groin scoring the first of the night and Remy was only starting because Diego Costa was absent with his hamstring problems.

These inconveniences did nothing to stop them outclassing the champions of Slovenia.

John Terry scored a remarkable third, there was an own-goal, Maribor missed a penalty and Eden Hazard grabbed two late on, his first from another spot-kick.

There was no shortage of incident and with the points safe, thoughts turned to Manchester United on Sunday, and Mourinho’s mounting problems. He also has Cesar Azpilicueta suspended, after his red card at Crystal Palace.

Cesc Fabregas came off with 30 minutes remaining to preserve his energy and Chelsea ended with three teenagers on the pitch, including striker Dominic Solanke, making his debut. Mourinho had also rested Thibaut Courtois and Gary Cahill.

Ahead of the game, Mourinho had been at pains to avoid complacency and Maribor, who took points from Schalke and Sporting Lisbon, produced an early warning when Damjan Bohar found space between Terry and Kurt Zouma and headed over.

From here, Chelsea took a grip and had killed the game by half-time. First came Remy’s goal, followed by his injury. Terry split the Maribor defence and Remy fired low into the corner. As he moved away to celebrate the goal, he winced and pulled up.

He must have warned Mourinho about the problem because Drogba was already warming up. After hobbling on for two minutes, Remy came off and went straight down the tunnel. He must have been devastated.

After moving from Queen’s Park Rangers and waiting patiently for his chance, here it came and went and on came Drogba, to seize the script with a goal and a performance which was a considerable improvement on his only start of the season, against Schalke.

Willian won the spot-kick when he jinked into the box and jabbed a pass which clearly struck Ales Mertelj on the hand. Mertelj seemed justified to complain that the ball had been struck from only a yard away and he had no chance to adjust, but the argument was lost.

Dutch referee Danny Makkelie pointed to the spot, and Hazard gave Drogba the honour. “I was surprised and I wasn’t particularly pleased,” said Mourinho. “I have my choices and Hazard is number one.”

Drogba made it easier for the manager to accept by stepping up and with a sense of history scored his 158th Chelsea goal, sweeping the ball into the same corner as the penalty he scored to win the Champions League shoot-out, with his last kick before leaving for China.

Remy's injury could pose a serious problem for Chelsea, who go to Manchester United next week with Diego Costa already a doubt

It was far from an electric atmosphere at the Bridge for what always seemed likely to be a routine group game but this was a popular moment, greeted with an enormous cheer. Drogba is the club’s top European goalscorer and this was his 35th.

Terry’s first of the season was nearly as popular. Chelsea had been defending a corner when a Drogba clearance sparked a counter-attack and the captain put his head down and ran.

Hazard carried the ball to the edge of the Maribor penalty area, rolled in Fabregas on the overlap and his low cross was met at the back-post by Terry, who had made a 100-yard dash to convert, sliding in on the seat of his pants. He was a fraction offside, but there was no flag.

The second half belonged to Hazard, although the Belgian winger began it with a couple of fluffed chances. He linked up neatly with Drogba only to stumble over the ball as he manoeuvred it out of his feet to shoot, with only the goalkeeper to beat.

He squandered another chance at the back-post as he reached a low cross zipped in from the left by Filipe Luis but, as he turned the ball back across goal, it was deflected into the net by Maribor left-back Mitja Viler.

The Slovenians had the chance to pull one back from the spot when Nemanja Matic bundled into Agim Ibrami and sent him sprawling in the penalty area.

Ibrami picked himself to take the kick himself and it seemed for a split-second as if Cech was about to continue the Munich theme. The Czech ‘keeper, demoted this season to No.2 behind Courtois, had saved three in that Champions League final, but this one flashed past his dive, smacked into the post and flew out.

Willian rattled the woodwork before Hazard finally found the target, which the goals his dazzling skills deserved. This time he took responsibility from the spot, stepping up to score after Branislav Ivanovic had tumbled theatrically,

Hazard added his second and his team’s sixth as the clock ticked past 90 minutes. A win in Maribor in a fortnight and Chelsea will be within touching distance of the knock-out rounds with two games to spare.

First, that trip to Manchester United, where Mourinho’s mentor Louis van Gaal will attempt to throw a spanner in the works of this blue machine

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Zouma, Terry, Luis; Fabregas, Matic; Hazard, Oscar, Willian; Remy (Drogba 16).

Subs: Courtois, Ake, Drogba, Salah, Cahill, Azpilicueta, Solanke.

Goals: Remy, Drogba (pen), Terry, Viler (og), Hazard (pen)

Maribor (4-4-2): Handanovic, Stojanovic, Rajcevic, Suler, Viler; Mejac, Mertelj, Filipovic, Bohar; Ibraimi, Tavares.

Subs: Cotman, N'Diaye, Sallalich, Zahovic, Mendy, Vrsic, Arghus.

Referee: Danny Makkelie (Holland)

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Mirror:


Chelsea 6-0 Maribor

Blues march on as Eden Hazard stars in win over Slovenian minnows

Martin Lipton


It was all too easy for Jose Mourinho's men at Stamford Bridge as they secured top spot in Group G of the Champions League

The legends of the Bridge proved they are not relics, yet.

Didier Drogba, John Terry and Petr Cech all played their parts to send a message of intent with will reverberate around Old Trafford over the next few days.

But as Chelsea's remorseless bulldozer ground the hapless Slovenians into the dust, the reality of what Jose Mourinho is building with his next generation of Chelsea heroes became even clearer.

Ten wins out of 12 in all competitions, 33 goals scored. Power, pace, penetration and precision in abundance.

A team that is still coming together. But knows where it intends to finish, as the masters of both England and Europe.

While there will be tougher, bigger, greater tests to come, presumably starting at Old Trafford on Sunday, the feeling that this Mourinho side might end up surpassing the achievements of his first, great, Chelsea side was hard to discard.

And if Eden Hazard continues to play like this, with a mesmerising, bewildering, phosphoric brilliance, there really may be no summits Chelsea cannot conquer.

Mourinho has opted for ''tough love'' to get the best out of the Belgian, just as he played hard-ball to make Joe Cole deliver in a Chelsea shirt.

Like the former England star, Hazard has bulked up physically, adding strength to the bewitching, beguiling natural talents already at his disposal, and the pace that Cole never really had.

And just as it seemed that this was going to be a night all about the Old Guard, as Drogba, on for the crocked Loic Remy, scored his first Chelsea goal since THAT night in Munich and Terry ran the length of the field to find the net as well, it ended with Hazard being the centre of attention.

Not just for the two goals that finished off Maribor. They were just the punctuation.

The narrative, the story, was of a player at the peak of his powers. Untouchable. Glorious.

Not that Drogba needs to remember his duty. He has carried them out in a Chelsea shirt so many times before, especially on Champions League duty.

It had been 885 days since Drogba's last Blues goal, the late header in Munich that took Roberto Di Matteo's team to extra-time, a period which ended with a penalty, low to Manuel Neuer's right, to win the greatest club prize.

Fittingly, too, it was from 12 yards, from the spot in front of the Shed End under which Peter Osgood's ashes are buried, that Drogba claimed his 35th Champions League goal for the club, his 158th in all competitions, after Ales Mertelj needlessly handled.

The roar which met that was repeated soon afterwards, Terry's 100-yard dash from his own box completing a classic Chelsea counter from a Maribor corner, Hazard feeding Cesc Fabregas for the skipper to slide home the low cross.

The second half, which allowed Mourinho to rest Fabregas and Oscar, was the Hazard show.

It was the Belgian's low cross that diverted in off defender Mitja Viler's heel and after Agim Ibraimi struck his spot-kick against Cech's upright after a foul by Nemanja Matic, Hazard came again.

The fifth, soon after Willian smashed onto the bar, came from the night's third penalty, rolled home by Hazard when Branislav Ivanovic was downed.

And with Dominic Solanke on for his debut, Hazard completed the scoring late-on, released by Nathan Ake and finding the net once more.

Contemptuously easy.

They're coming, United. On Sunday.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.


Fixtures (Wednesday, 5 November): Maribor vs Chelsea, Sporting Lisbon vs Schalke.

Teams

Chelsea: Cech 7, Ivanovic 7, Zouma 7, Terry 8, Luis 7, Willian 7, Fabregas 8, Matic 7, Hazard 9, Oscar 7, Remy 6. Subs: Ake 6, Drogba 7, Solanke.

Maribor: Handanovic 4, Stojanovic 4, Rajcevic 4, Suler 4, Viler 4, Mejac 5, Mertelj 5, Filipovic 4, Bohar 4, Ibraimi 5, Tavares 4. Subs: Zahovic 4, Mendy, Vrsic 4.

Referee: Danny Makkelie (Holland)


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Express:

Chelsea 6 - Maribor 0: Drogba shines as Blues secure biggest ever Champions League win

IT WAS a real stroll down memory lane at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea rolled back the years to register their biggest Champions League victory.

By: Tony Banks


At times it seemed as if we were watching snapshots from their history in the competition – as Didier Drogba, at 36, rolled in his first penalty since the spot–kick that won Chelsea the trophy in Munich in 2012.

Then skipper John Terry, a mere sprite at three years younger, scored one himself and also made another.

It had been a slow start for Jose Mourinho's side in Group G, held at home in their first game by Schalke, but this comprehensive victory made it two wins on the trot, seven points – and it means Chelsea have planted one foot firmly in the knockout stages at the halfway stage of the group.

Chelsea have already shown their power in the Premier League, with seven wins from their first eight games. But now in Europe they also seem to have found their rhythm and Slovenians Maribor, who ousted Celtic in the preliminary round and have taken points off both Schalke and Sporting Lisbon, were simply swept aside.

The only black spot on an almost perfect evening was Loic Remy injuring his groin in the process of scoring the first goal.

With Diego Costa also out of Sunday's clash at Manchester United, that leaves the old reliable Drogba as the only fit forward for Old Trafford. Mourinho said: "We could play Didier – or someone else.

I said before this game that he could not complete 90 minutes – I was not even expecting 75. We expected 30, but in the circumstances he had to go on. "This was important for Didier – the best thing for a player to improve his condition is to play."

Drogba had asked the allotted penalty–taker, Eden Hazard, if he could take the kick and Mourinho said: "I don't like that. They have the freedom to change takers, but if they do it, they have to score.

"Didier had not been on the pitch for a long time in previous matches. His last goal for Chelsea was the most important in the history of the club.

"I am happy. We are playing well, we are confident and solid and we have a good balance."

Drogba said: "I have to be honest, I wanted to score that goal. I asked Eden and he said yeah. This is the spirit we have in this team. We share goals we are happy when everybody is scoring. It is good for my confidence."

Remy's goal came after just 13 minutes, as he picked up a lovely through ball from Terry, cut in past two defenders and fi red a low shot inside the far post.

But as the ball hit the net, the Frenchman pulled up ominously, and on went Drogba.

If that was bad luck, Chelsea's second goal had a major touch of good fortune. Willian burst into the box and defender Petar Stojanovic unwittingly handled.

Referee Danny Makkelie amazingly gave the spot–kick, to Maribor's fury. Who else would take it but Drogba? He even put it in the same corner as he had in Munich.

But one old stager was not going to be outshone by another. Drogba cleared a corner on the half hour, Hazard picked the ball up and fed Cesc Fabregas, and his low cross incredibly found Terry – who had made a lung–bursting run from the back – at the far post. He stabbed it in and Maribor were in pieces.

The fourth goal arrived after half–time, as the Maribor defence collapsed again. Filipe Luis overlapped and crossed. Hazard fluffed his first effort, but shot again from an angle for the hapless Mitja Viler to deflect the ball into his own net.Even when Nemanja Matic foolishly bundled Agim Ibraimi over in the penalty area, Maribor could not profit. Ibraimi took the spot–kick himself – but hit the foot of a post.Hazard, in unstoppable form all night, showed them how to do it as he rolled in the fifth from the spot after Branislav Ivanovic had been brought down. The Belgian then notched the sixth from youngster Nathan Ake's pass.


CHELSEA (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Zouma, Terry, Luis; Matic, Fabregas (Ake 60); Willian, Oscar (Solanke 73), Hazard; Remy (Drogba 15). Goals: Remy 13, Drogba 23 pen, Terry 31, Viler 54 og, Hazard 77 pen, 90.

MARIBOR (4-4-2): Hnadanovic; Stojanovic, Rajcevic, Suler, Viler (Vrsic 57); Mejac, Mertelj, Filipovic, Bohar; Tavares (Mendy 72), Ibraimi (Zahovic 68).

Referee: D Makkelie (Netherlands).


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Star:

Chelsea 6 - Maribor 0: Blues run riot at the Bridge ahead of trip to Man Utd

DIDIER DROGBA rolled back the years last night to score for Chelsea – and looks set to try to do the same at Old Trafford on Sunday.

By David Woods


The 36-year-old, in his second spell at Stamford Bridge, brought back happy memories of his winning spot-kick in the 2012 Champions League Final penalty shoot-out against Bayern Munich.

He repeated the feat last night to put the Blues 2-0 up against a naive Maribor side who came to have a go – and paid for it.

The Ivorian was only on the pitch because Loic Remy – starting due to hamstring trouble for leading scorer Diego Costa – injured his groin fi ring the opener.

And the double blow looks set to give Drogba the chance to lead the line at Manchester United in four days, with hislast goal there coming in 2011 in a 2-1 last-eight Champions League defeat.

This Group G stroll was just what Jose Mourinho would have wanted before the trip up north.

United had a far tougher encounter 24 hours earlier at West Bromwich and no way can Mourinho complain about the timing of the fixture.

The Slovenians actually began brightly, Daniel Bohar glancing an early header over after an incisive break.

Remy had a first-time shot kept out after being set up by Willian, but in the 13th minute the France striker ran on to a fine pass from John Terry, cut back inside to his left foot and drilled low into the far corner, only to pull up in pain.

Maribor nearly hit back instantly, with Petr Cech having to dive to his left to push away a long-range drive from Agim Ibraimi, before Remy came off to be replaced by Blues legend Drogba.

And it did not take long for him to make his mark.

After Ales Mertelj was harshly penalised for handball as Willian passed sideways, Drogba netted the spot-kick.

Drogba has always shown he can defend too and his clearance in the 31st minute led to Chelsea’s third.

It went to Eden Hazard, who drove forward and then laid off to Cesc Fabregas on the overlap.

His driven ball across goal found Terry, who had made a lung-bursting run out from the back, to prod home with his left foot ahead of Marko Suler.

Terry was not so happy a few minutes later when he took an elbow in the face from Ibraimi which the offi cials missed.

It was 4-0 when a cross from Felipe Luis saw Hazard pressure Mitja Viler into turning into his own goal off his right heel with another pullback.

Maribor had a chance to close the gap in the 64th minute when Nemanja Matic bundled over Ibraimi in the box.

The Macedonian picked himself up to take the kick but could only hit Cech’s left post.

Hazard made it 5-0 with a penalty after Branislav Ivanovic was tripped by Suler and completed the rout with a superb individual goal in the last minute, twice turning defenders before blasting home after a pass from Nathan Ake.