Chelsea FC would kick off their 2015-16 UEFA Champions League campaign with a home match against Maccabi Tel Aviv. The Blues have had a poor start to the season, and looked to their play in Europe’s top club competition to get them on the right path.
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Jose Mourinho would make a host of changes to his starting XI, seemingly in an effort to give his squad a shot in the arm. Gary Cahill would take the captain’s armband from John Terry, and Loic Remy would feature in place of Diego Costa. Ruben Loftus-Cheek would also get the start, as well as Baba Rahman filling in at left back, and Oscar made his return in midfield.
Chelsea would catch the break they needed in the fifth minute. The Blues won the ball deep in the Tel Aviv third. Willian was put through, and taken down inside the box by goalkeeper Predrag Rajković. The keeper was shown a yellow card, and a penalty kick was awarded.
Eden Hazard stepped up to take the spot kick, and promptly missed the net completely. In typical early season fashion, Chelsea missed a golden opportunity to take some of the nerves out of the game and secure an early lead.
Chelsea would make amends and get the breakthrough they needed in the 15th minute. Willian put in what seemed to be a good delivery from a free kick, but Rajković let the ball run through, and ultimately into the back of his net.
Eran Zahavi had a chance to pull one back for Maccabi with a free header in the box, but put his effort over the crossbar.
Things would go from bad to worse for Maccabi, after they conceded a penalty in first half stoppage time. This time it would be Oscar stepping up to take the kick, and he would make no mistake about the finish making the score 2-0.
Things looked considerably better for Chelsea in the first 45. The squad looked superior in attack and cleared any threat Maccabi threw at them. At least one more goal would round out the performance, a 4th would be icing on the cake.
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Chelsea would make it three in the 59th minute, and it would be Diego Costa bagging his first UEFA Champions League goal in a Chelsea shirt. Cesc Fabregas chipped in a ball which Costa caught on the half volley. He struck it well and will be delighted to break his duck in European play.
A fourth would be tapped in by Fabregas in the 79th minute. The Blues were on a breakaway lead by Remy, who had his shot parried away by Rajković. The rebound fell to the feet of Fabregas, who completed the simple finish.
Chelsea were really able to dictate the tempo of the second half, and the scoreline reflected that. Overall the game should be considered as a solid display, three points plus a good goal differential cushion to work with. The Blues can now look forward to their London derby against Arsenal this weekend.
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