Match Report: Chelsea Send A Message of Intent with Win in Final Group Stage Game
As Chelsea look ahead to a busy holiday schedule having already wrapped up their position at the summit of Group G, José Mourinho shuffled his lineup last night for the first time in 21 league and Champions League matches. John Terry, Willian and Eden Hazard were all given a mini-break by the manager to ensure Chelsea’s injuries do not start building up like some of their Premier League counterparts.
Despite there being 6 changes to the team, it would be difficult to label this Chelsea a weakened side. Rather than using a number of the highly acclaimed youth players, Mourinho’s rejigged side included a La Liga winner, a World Cup winner, and Petr Cech. The appearance of Ruben Loftus-Cheek at Mourinho’s pre-match press conference seemed to indicate that he could get a start without pressure, or at least play a bigger role against Sporting. However, the 18-year-old was limited to a bit-part role late in the game.
Sporting had everything to play for last night, but found themselves two goals down within the opening quarter of an hour. A sloppy challenge on Filipe Luis saw the visitors give away an unnecessary penalty which was converted by Cesc Fàbregas and just minutes later Andre Schürrle scored his first goal for Chelsea since September (vs Manchester City) after a clever turn just outside the box.
Although Sporting managed to pull a goal back early in the second half, they barely looked like they’d be able to break down this shuffled Chelsea side. They did manage to after Chelsea failed to clear their lines, but not long after Jonathan Silva’s strike, Chelsea’s defensive midfield duo, Nemanja Matic and John Obi Mikel, combined for Chelsea’s third goal of the night - seeing Chelsea become top scorers in this season’s Champions League group stages with 17.
After the game, Matic was quick to point out that it’s not really his or Mikel’s jobs to score goals but it was nice that they can contribute. That goal was Mikel’s third since the start of last season, more than he had scored in his previous 7 seasons at Chelsea combined (2). When asked about his “wonder goal” after the match by journalists, Mikel replied “don’t even worry about it” with a wry smile.
As the minutes wore down, it looked like academy youth product, Loftus-Cheek, would finally get his opportunity to make his first appearance for the senior team. Mourinho ensured there was no pressure on Loftus-Cheek as he entered the game with just 8 minutes remaining on the clock and Chelsea comfortably in front.
At 6’4”, Loftus-Cheek posed a sizeable threat to the Portugese side and was able to impose himself in those few minutes. He completed more passes (9) than either Ramires (3) or Carlos Mané (6) who were each on the pitch for a greater amount of time. Only 2 players completed more successful dribbles than Loftus-Cheek (2) in the entirety of the game. And he was unlucky not to pick up an assist with one of his first touches as a shot from Loïc Remy was blocked by Rui Patricio. After the game Mourinho said “[Loftus-Cheek] showed immediately the quality he is”. Although he didn’t have to shoulder responsibility for the outcome of the game, Loftus-Cheek showed he could make the most of his time on the pitch, even if it was for only 8 minutes plus stoppage time. He managed a better WhoScored rating (6.52) than any other player during his time on the field.
Although Chelsea’s consistency in their starting XI has allowed the players to develop a fantastic chemistry on the pitch, last night showed that they could easily bring on any number of players, including an 18-year-old, and completely dominate a match that they didn’t even need to win.
Do you think Loftus-Cheek's performance will mean he is given more of a chance in the first team? Let us know in the comments below
