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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