European competition has finally provided Chelsea with some respite. For the first time this season, the odd sprightly period of the occasional game aside, José Mourinho witnessed his side impose themselves on a contest, dominate for lengthy periods, and revel in clear superiority. Maccabi Tel Aviv had been cowed from the off in the face of the home side’s greater energy and quality. What might have been awkward ended up as a thrashing.
This win, even against such feeble opponents, was celebrated, with the locals chorusing their manager’s name amid a wave of relief given so much of the team’s domestic campaign to date has been dismal. There is optimism again ahead of the visit of Arsenal on Saturday for a fixture which tends to have Mourinho’s juices flowing. In truth, it felt like the imposition of the natural order, the Portuguese having urged his charges to remind the world why they had been crowned Premier League champions back in May. Their response, with a revamped team littered with players with points to prove, was emphatic.
Both Basel and Schalke have prospered at Stamford Bridge in recent seasons in the first group game of the Champions League, but Maccabi were never permitted to thrive. Mourinho said his team had demonstrated “a different state of mind”, rejecting Steven Gerrard’s suggestions in his capacity as a pundit on TV that there was friction in the ranks, particularly between the manager and his rested captain, John Terry. “I admire Steven very much, and have good relations with him, but he is wrong,” he said. “We have no problems at all. As for the crowd, I’m happy when they sing for Chelsea and that they know what we are, champions of England.
“I’m not there waiting for personal support, but it’s obviously welcome. I prefer that to them saying ‘Mourinho out’. That shows they don’t have short memories. For a Chelsea fan, there’s an easy way to think: ‘We won four Premier Leagues, three with him, and one with his team. So this guy is not bad. Let’s support the guy. We have a chance to win a fifth.’”
Everything about this match, even with Terry on the bench, seemed like a tonic. Those offered a rare opportunity took their chance with relish. Ruben Loftus-Cheek, with only 17 minutes of first-team football behind him previously this season, was cautioned for a high challenge on Nikola Mitrovic after only 56 seconds but, unperturbed, was soon stretching again into tackles and surging impressively up-field in support of his attack. The whole setup had been crying out for the energy the youngster supplied and his display may now demand inclusion against Arsenal, potentially alongside Nemanja Matic.
But the teenager’s was not the only performance to be celebrated. Oscar’s return after a knee injury was impressive, the Brazilian sliding home his team’s second penalty of the night in first-half stoppage time after Diego Costa had wriggled away from Mitrovic’s tug only to be floored by Tal Ben Haim’s lunge. More significantly, Oscar’s presence seemed to reassure Cesc Fàbregas. The Spaniard has endured his own sluggish start to the campaign but this match provided a first assist and goal of term. His was a beautifully clipped diagonal pass into the penalty area just before the hour mark which Costa, on for the injured Willian, thumped gloriously on the volley and in off the underside of the crossbar.
Fabregas’s first soon followed, a tap-in after Eden Hazard had countered at pace and Loïc Rémy’s shot had been pushed out by a jittery Predrag Rajkovic. “Fàbregas and Ruben gave speed to the team,” said Mourinho, who will be without the injured Willian and Pedro on Saturday. “Ruben is potentially a very good player, but you have to feed these youngsters and choose the right moment. His evolution is important. But I know, with all respect that Maccabi deserves, what you are thinking: we didn’t beat Barcelona, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich. But we beat a team who deserved to be here. It was not too difficult because we played very well.”
There was greater balance to this team, with Baba Rahman a threat down the flank on debut at left-back and César Azpilicueta assured on a rare foray in his favoured position on the opposite side. Gary Cahill, captaining the team for the first time, was a powerful presence and if Kurt Zouma and Rahman were both prone to overplaying, the home side were rarely tested until Nosakhare Igiebor missed an open goal as full time approached. “Welcome to the Champions League,” offered Slavisa Jokanovic. He did not try to deny his side had been overwhelmed.
Even so, the perfectionist in Mourinho will have pinpointed the areas that still need work before Arsenal’s arrival at Stamford Bridge. Hazard, in particular, could have done with a goal as he seeks to kick-start his own form this time round. He had been gifted his opportunity early on when Tal Ben Haim misplaced a pass, the slippery Rémy reacted smartly to intercept and slide Willian into the penalty area. Rajkovic’s forward dart invited trouble and the Brazilian duly tumbled to get the penalty. Yet anxiety gripped as Hazard prepared to convert. There was tension in his stride to the ball, eyes fixed on Rajkovic’s net, and the spot-kick was skied dismally into the upper tier of the Shed.
The recovery thereafter demonstrated strength of character. Willian made amends for his team-mate’s profligacy soon enough. Yuval Shpungin fouled Hazard midway inside the Maccabi half and, with Rajkovic unnerved by the crowd wrestling their way towards the spot, Willian’s inswinging free-kick skipped into the corner of the net. Hazard was slaloming into the Maccabi area like his old self before the end. Arsenal, licking their wounds from an untimely defeat in Zagreb, will confront a team who have finally found some rhythm.
