Schalke 0 Chelsea 3: Torres brilliance sends Mourinho’s men to top of the group
For a manager with a lust for victory, it will not have amused Jose Mourinho to lose his first six Champions League games on German soil, but last night there was so much to enjoy.
Top of the list was the form of Fernando Torres, back from injury in irresistible style to score twice and come within inches of a hat-trick when he hit the woodwork.
It was not, however, simply his finishing. Torres put in a brilliant shift up front, leading the line. His touch was good, his movement sharp and he combined smoothly with those around him.
He also contributed to the third goal with a splendid decoy run which opened the chance for Eden Hazard to complete the scoring in the 87th minute.
With that, Mourinho’s team were hoisted to the top of Group E, correcting the damage of a home defeat by Basle in the opening game as the Swiss champions dropped points against Steaua Bucharest.
‘I was not in hell after the first game and I am not in heaven today,’ said the Chelsea manager, who will accept an FA charge of improper conduct after being sent off against Cardiff on Saturday.
He will be fined £8,000 and will be on the touchline against Manchester City on Sunday but in good spirits after a performance which leaves his side nicely poised at the halfway stage in their Champions League group. More importantly, there are signs he might be settling on his best blend, his strikers are finding the net and his defensive unit were strong and determined in Gelsenkirchen last night. There were times when they had to be.
‘Everything started from the way we defended,’ said Mourinho. ‘It gave us great stability. We were compact, solid. We controlled the game, we were always dangerous. We deserved the points.’
Since half-time at Tottenham at the end of September, his team have been mightily impressive, fighting back to salvage a point at White Hart Lane before plundering 14 goals in four games, split either side of the international break. Goals against Norwich, Cardiff and Steaua are one thing but becoming the first team in 11 Champions League games to stop Schalke scoring at home and winning in Gelsenkirchen is all together more eye-catching.
In the city of a thousand fires, Torres had one burning in his belly. ‘In the last few games I feel very sharp and well,’ said Torres, starting for the first time since damaging knee ligaments in Bucharest three weeks ago.
When the injury struck, he was in a groove of fine form and it was as if he had never stepped away when he appeared unmarked at the back post to head in a simple chance in the fifth minute. It came from a corner swung in by Frank Lampard and touched on at the near post by Branislav Ivanovic with the Schalke defenders nowhere to be seen.
Torres did not complain, stopping to head in his 37th goal on what was his 100th start for the club. However, the much-maligned £50million man has made 40 appearances as a substitute, which makes the figures rather less striking. No 38 was converted 21 minutes from time as Schalke were sliced open on the break. Oscar provided the final pass and Torres skipped around keeper Timo Hildebrand before scoring.
The travelling fans sang: ‘He scores when he wants.’ In between those two goals, Chelsea fought and scrapped to protect their lead.
Cesar Azpilicueta, possibly chosen at left back ahead of Ryan Bertrand for his pace, has hardly forged a reputation for heroic defending since arriving from Marseille, yet he made two vital blocks in his goalmouth inside a few minutes before the interval. First he denied Max Meyer then hurled himself in front of a sweet drive by Julian Draxler. When the back four were beaten, the goalkeeper stood firm.
Petr Cech, making his 96th appearance in the Champions League, turned over a well-struck effort from the edge of the box by Kevin Prince Boateng then thwarted Roman Neustadter from the resulting corner.
Another untidy scramble ensued from the next corner, ending with centre half Benedikt Howedes attempting a backheel, which he caught well but the ball finished a yard wide of the target.
The second half unfolded very much as the first had ended. Schalke dominated possession but Torres escaped his marker to head a Lampard free-kick against the frame of post and bar.
Hungarian referee Viktor Kassai rejected two noisy appeals for penalties, both for handball against Gary Cahill, the first far more convincing than the second, and Cech saved from Christian Clemens.
Perhaps the best chance dropped to Howedes, who planted his header wide, and once Torres made it 2-0, the win was never in doubt.
Hazard capped another direct counter-attack with his first Champions League goal for Chelsea to add a little gloss. Mourinho said with a smile: ‘The record was only defeats in Germany, but I’ve never lost at home against a German team.’
— Daily Mail