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Chelsea fell to Porto 2-1 in a crucial Champions League clash. Here is the match report.
Chelsea FC travelled to Portugal on Tuesday to face Jose Mourinho’s former club, FC Porto. The Blues fought back to a 2-2 draw at Newcastle last weekend, and would be looking to carry their form in the second half of that game into today’s UEFA Champions League fixture. A victory would make them odds-on favorites to win their group.
Diego Costa was available to start as the lone forward, as his suspension only applies to Premier League matches. John Obi Mikel and Ramires would also get the chance to impress in the starting XI. Eden Hazard, most notably, would not be in the lineup.
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Cesc Fabregas started the match in earnest for Chelsea, with a thunderous shot that forced a save from Iker Casillas. The Blues began the game positively, significant given that they were in a tough road environment.
Chelsea almost went ahead in the 14th minute after Pedro had a clear-cut chance on goal, but his effort was repelled by Casillas. The winger cut inside to split the central defenders, but couldn’t find the back of the net.
It took Porto the better part of 30 minutes to find their groove, but indeed they began to put together some good moves that pleased the home crowd. Andre Andre and Vincent Aboubakar were the main catalysts, proving to be a consistent threat to the Chelsea defense.
Porto would draw first blood in the 39th minute through Andre. Yacine Brahimi got off a shot, drawing a decent save from Asmir Begovic. However, the ball was deflected into the path of Andre, who caught the ball on the volley and was able to beat the Bosnian.
Chelsea would draw level with the last kick of the half as Willian provided some free kick magic again. The Brazilian hit the back of net for his third goal of the season from a dead ball situation. Casillas was caught wrong-footed, and could only watch as the ball sailed into the top right corner of the net.
Without a goal, it would have been a relatively pedestrian half for the Blues, but the equalizer put Chelsea in a position to push on and take control of the game in the second half. With Porto already showing that they could create something in attack, Chelsea would need to address defensive responsibilities, especially with respect to the wingers, for the 2nd half.
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Porto took the lead in the 52nd minute through Maicon. The defender would make a near post run from a corner kick and beat Begovic with a glancing header. Momentum would now shift back to the hosts.
Costa almost struck right back for Chelsea, but his shot bounced agonizingly off the post.
As the game neared its end, the officials seemed to miss a big penalty shout. As Costa made his way towards goal, Ivan Marcano swung his arm towards the ball to change its path. In the end no official made the call and play went on.
There would be no fairytale tonight, as the Blues would fall 2-1. In truth, it was another poor performance to go with a multitude of poor performances from the English champions this season. The loss comes as a blow, but Chelsea can bounce back with two winnable games against Dynamo Kiev.
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