Full-time: Chelsea 4-0 Maccabi Tel Aviv
Jose Mourinho demanded “a new dynamic” and there were hints of that, although it is difficult to be conclusive given the feebleness of the opposition and there were still worrying syptoms: Fabregas and Hazard still looked off, Willian got injured and defensively they were still quite open. But Loftus-Cheek was very good in midfield, Baba got forward well down the left and Costa showed signs of regaining some sharpness. But an important win and a generally positive performance.
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90 min: There will be two more minutes. Azpilicueta reckons that is enough time for him to get involved in the fun up front so he races into the opposing half with the ball. But his team-mates aren’t so earnest so when he offloads, they just stroke it about.
88 min: Peretz, a substitute, raids dangerously down the right for the second time in a couple of minutes and forces Cahill to stretch and make a valuable clearance at the near post.
85 min: The Maccabi fans, at least, are putting on an impressive display. Some 3,000 of them continue to chant and groove in unison. And they nearly had a goal to applaud - but Igiebor, who had eluded Baba, narrowly failed to get a precise connection on a ball fizzed into the box from the right.
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82 min: Lovely interplay! Traoré was the chief orchestrator, receiving a pass from Hazad just outside the box before performing a give-and-go with Ramires and curling an admirable effort just wide from 16 yards.
GOAL! Chelsea 4-0 Maccabi (Fabregas 78)
The inevitble has happened. Hazard led a counter-attack in which Chelsea had four players against two defenders. The belgian drew on of those defenders and then slipped the ball to Rémy on the right. The keeper saved from the Frenchman but the ball ran to Fabregas, who slotted easily into the net from eight yards.
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77 min: Chelsea substitution: Loftus-Cheek strides off after a fine performance. Bertrand Traoré comes on in his stead to make his Chelsea Champions League debut. He’s a player with fantastic potential, good to see him getting a chance. And will Loftus-Cheek start against Arsenal this weekend?
76 min: Dinky play by Chelsea ... right up until the final ball, which Hazard misplaced. Costa would surely have made it 4-0 if the Belgian had been able to find him.
74 min: Maccabi are struggling to get out of their own third. Loftus-Cheek tries to tee up up Costa for another goal, booming the ball across the face, but too hard for Costa to adjust in time to make a true connection.
72 min: An enterprising run down the left by Baba, past two defenders and all the way into the box. He tries to fox the last man by throwing some shapes but it doesn’t work and he’s dispossessed. The ball then comes to Hazard who tries to go one better than Baba, but he too is denied.
69 min: Costa and Loftus-Cheek try to one-two their way through the Maccabi defence, and they would have got away with it if it weren’t for that meddling Ben Haim I. Loftus-Cheek, to repeat, has been good tonight, contributing much-needed vim and power to Chelsea midfield that has looked mushy this season with Matic seeming jaded.
67 min: Maccabi have made two changes too: Ben Haim II and Rikan have been replaced by Micha and Radonjic.
66 min: Cahill somehow escapes a booking after manhandling Alberman to thwart a Maccabi counter-attack. Inexcusable refereeing.
63 min: Chelsea sub: Oscar off, Ramires on. “Stand up for The Special One” chant the Stamford Bridge faithful. The Special One responds with an appreciate wave. And then, perhaps, closes his eyes and pretends the songs came from the Stretford End.
61 min: Maccabi are likely to be the worst side Chelsea face this season. This contest is just a question of how many goals Chelsea can rack up. Fabregas had a chance to create a fourth a moment ago but wasted a freekick.
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GOAL! Chelsea 3-0 Maccabi (Costa 59)
That’s an exquisite finish from Costa! Fabregas clipped a ball towards the penalty spot, Oscar’s run took a defender away and Costa darted forward to meet the ball before a defender and then, with his back to goal, guided a lovely sidefooted volley into the top corner from 14 yards!
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55 min: That’s better from Maccabi! Mitrovic floated a cross from the right to the rim of the area, where Rikan arrived to meet it with a fine volley. It bounces just wide via a deflection off Igiebor. But the ref thought it came off a Chelsea player and awards a corner. Which yields nothing.
52 min: It’s all Chelsea. This is proving a useful run-out for them, a chance to re-establish some confidence and cohesion. Still some way to go on that front, mind.
49 min: Chelsea stride forward again and Loftus-Cheek slips a nice pass to Costa ... who fails to get it under control, and the chance dies. He’s still looking rusty. By the way, I’ll be interested to hear later why Hazard didn’t take the second penalty. Did he stand himself down? Or was he ordered not to go near it by a manager who reckoned his excessively casual attempt at the first one was symptomatic of his start to the season? He’s been rather off since Day 1 and looks like he could do with a boot up the ace.
47 min: Chelsea immediately romp forward. After huffing and puffing they win a corner, which comes to nought.
46 min: Here come the teams again, to paraphrase Annie Lennox. No changes in personnel.
The lads on BT are analysing the first half but no one has summed up what preceded Chelsea’s second penalty better than Peter McMurry, who has just emailed thus: “That was the Tal Ben-Haimiest challenge I’ve ever seen.”
Half-time: Chelsea 2-0 Maccabi
Chelsea have not exactly been imperious but they certainly deserve to be in front. Given their season so far and, indeed, the travails of the other English teams in Europe this season, that’s got to be acceptable. Of the newcomers, Loftus-Cheek has done best, shrugging off his first-minute booking to become a positive influence in midfield. Remy has been peripheral - literally when he had to move out to the wing after Willian’s enforced departure - and Baba and Zouma wobbly.
GOAL! Chelsea 2-0 Maccabi (Oscar pen, 47+2)
Oscar does what Hazard normally does, strolls up and waits for the keeper to commit before rolling it the other way into the net.
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PENALTY!
47+2 min: After Costa barges between two defenders and bears down on goal, Ben Haim desperately stick out a foot and brings down the striker. The ref points to the spot again! Will Chelsea convert this time?
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45 min: Diligent defending en masse by Maccabi as Chelsea try to create another opening before the break ...
42 min: Loftus-Cheek forces a good save from Rajkovic from distance. “It’s not a free-kick, but this is definitely a contender for the worst cross-field pass ever,” says Ben Rule before linking to this beaut. “It’s almost as though the ball sensed an opportunity to abscond and promptly had a go. And he was in the middle of the pitch!”
40 min: Mitrovic curls a decent ball from the right into the Chelsea box. They’re gaining belief here. But this time Zouma snuffs it out with an astute intervention.
@Paul_Doyle From Israel I can tell you Maccabi are under-par at best today. Defence left their confidence at the lockers The crowd though...
— Yaad Ilani (@yaad_ilani) September 16, 2015
37 min: Cahill heads the ball into the Maccabi box. Costa tries an overhead kick but fluffs it ... but it turns into a great through-ball to Oscar, who slams it past the keeper from close range .... and out off the crossbar! But it wouldn’t have counted because the ref had blown for a freekick, seemingly ruling Costa’s overhead effort to be dangerous. That basically amounts to a band of overhead kicks. It’s like forbidding guitar solos in metal tracks. A darn cheek, is what it is.
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35 min: Slack play by Baba, who gives the ball away just after Cahill had curtailed an attack by dispossessing Zahavi smartly at the edge of the Chelsea area. Mourinho’s side are unquestionably the better team here but there is still an stodginess and adgines to them. They are vulnerable and they know it.
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34 min: Rajkovic punches a Fabregas corner clear.
31 min: Chance for Maccabi as Chelsea’s defence goes awol! A freekick was swung in from the right and two Maccabi players beat an woefully ineffective Chelsea offside trap, and the home side were mighty relieved to see Zahavi nod over from 12 yards. Rank disorganisation in the Chelsea defence though.
28 min: Blimey. I’m not too sure what happened there. Baba lined up a freekick on the right, about 35 yards out. Would he cross? Would he shoot? It seems he never got the chance, as the ball took off into the stands seemingly by itself. Although the replay shows that Baba did actually connect with it. That could just make the worst freekick ever. I’d be happy if anyone wanted to send other contenders...
26 min: Zouma makes a decisive intervention to prevent Zahavi from racing on to the ball in the Chelsea box. The Frenchman atoned for his own error there, as it was his errant pass that led to the opening in the first place. “Re: your challenge at minute 8 and common names: I’m with you, Doyle,” tweets Toby Stone “If ever there was a bog standard name, it’s Toiletseat.” He’s on a roll.
25 min: Costa’s first action is to harrass Ben Haim I into conceding corner. Fabregas delivers and out-swinger that Cahill meets eight yards out after jumping above Ben Haim I. But his header zips over the bar.
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23 min: As suspected, Willian can’t continue. He hobbles off, and on stomps Costa. Rémy shifts out to the left.
22 min: Oscar, who has mixed encouraging play with faffery so far, is robbed off possession in midfield by Alberman. But Chelsea soon get it back.
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20 min: Prolonged Chelsea pressure. Oscar heavily involved in the probing. But Maccabi eventually clear. Chelsea never actually made it into the box. “Willian is back on the pitch, for now at least. “Its been a bright start for Chelsea but boy do Hazard and Fabregas look out of form,” groans Lee Madden. “It will be interesting to see though if Remy, Loftus-Cheek and Rahman can take their chance. Oscar is playing in his preferred position behind the striker and he really needs to step up and show he can control a game for a midfield that has really struggled this season. Great to see Loftus-Cheek given a chance in a game that matters too.”
18 min: Oh. Suddenly Willian’s not looking so sprightly. He appears to have suffered some sort hamstring bother and hobbles off, presumably to be replaced.
16 min: The goal came from a fine delivery from Willian, though it would probably be better described as a ‘delivery’ than a ‘shot’. He deserved it, though, as he’s been Chelsea’s most sprightly player so far.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Maccabi (Willian 15)
From about 30 yards out, Willian curls a freekick towards Cahill on the penalty spot; the defender can’t reach it but it carries all the way through to the net, bouncing past the stranded goalkeeper!
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12 min: Willian does well on the right to work space for a cross and then bangs a low ball towards the near post. The keeper intercepts, drops it and then recovers.
10 min: Oscar is pulled down outside the box. Freekick just outside the D. And the resultant freekick is an F-, as Oscar dabs the ball into the wall.
8 min: Maccabi are looking confident but they’re not very good. They stroke the ball around for a bit but then Chelsea win it back and charge forward. Without creating any more openings, as yet. “From here just outside Tel Aviv, I can report that Ben Haim is no more a popular Israeli name, than any other name,” reports Matthew Salter. “It’s just one of those things - Two guys on the same team, with the same name. Hopefully they will both score, just to add to the confusion.” I’ll have to challenge you on that, Matthew. Are you saying Ben Haim is no more popular a name in Israel than, say, Harald Toiletseat?
PENALTY MISSED!
5 min: Hazard casually balloons the penalty kick over the bar! Oh Chelsea, is it going to be one of those nights!?
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4 min: Ben Haim’s second significant contribution is less auspicious: he gives the ball away in his own half, allowing Chelsea to slide a pass though to Willian. The keeper comes out to intercept ... but brings down the Chelsea player. penalty! The ref decides against sending him off, possibly because there was only a little contact - though if he judged it enough for a spotkick, then it was surely worthy of a red card.
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3 min: Ben Haim I’s first important contribution is to intercept a pass intended for Rémy before clearing well.
1 min: Off we pop. Chelsea show purpose from the start by lauching forward. But where there is purpose there must also be precision, otherwise you just wind up losing possession, which is what happened. And in his eagerness to win the ball back, Loftus-Cheek charges studs-up towards Mitrovic. He doesn’t really connect but the ref reckons it was dangerously reckless behaviour so flash a yellow card. Not the beginning Chelsea were looking for.
Following the demotion of John Terry, Gary Cahill gets to wear a nice yellow armband.
Clack-clack-clack .. splash! The teams have walked out on to the pitch. Chelsea are in their familiar police blue, while Maccabi are in a yellow and blue number that would go down well in County Clare. The visitors are looking positively giddy to be at Stamford Bridge - yes, I know that sounds patronising. Chelsea players look nervous. For the love of football, won’t someone let them do bantz ...
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“So we get two Ben Haims for the price of one?” gulps Bryan Tisinger. “Are they related? Is Ben Haim a popular last name in Israel, similar to Smith or Johnson? Are they really listed as Ben Haim I and II or was that your addition? Do they have I and II on their jerseys? So many questions!” So pipe down and let me try to answer them! Firstly, no, they are not related. I don’t know how popular the name is in Israel, nor how popular Smith and Johnson are there. Ben Haim II - a winger as opposed to a defender - is also known as Ben Haim Junior; and in order to distinguish his jersey from that of his elder, his one has Ben Chaim across the back. Will that be all? Thank you, please come again.
Since Chelsea fans have had little to cheer about this season, let’s recall happier times (don’t fancy the defending for that Real goal, mind).
“Cut the references to shrunken underpants, Doyle, this is a banter-free zone,” bawls Justin Kavanagh, on behalf of Mourinho. Tell you what, there won’t be many giggles at the Bridge tonight for anyone not wearing suitable clobber for a full-on monsoon. Will Jose risk a brolly?
Right, as you can see from line-ups posted in their regular slot below, the manager’s have revealed their hands. Mourinho has made six changes. Fabregas is lucky to have kept his place (or maybe not, perhaps he could do with a rest?) because he’s been plod lately. He starts here, but probably in a deeper role than he’s been playing in for a while, alongside young Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Baba Rahman gets a start at left-back so Cesar Azpilicueta will toddle across to the right, presumably with Branislav Ivanovic urged to go get hammered in Las Vegas or something, anything, to banish the cobwebs he’s been carrying around since the start of the season. No, sorry, my bad: Ivanovic is on the bench. And so is John Terry. But Loic Rémy isn’t! Hopefully this is the start of a decent run in the starting line-up for him, as it’s been hard to justify his lack of action over the last while.
Preamble:
Hello and welcome to the match in which the Premier League champions will restore a smidgin of English pride after another night of European embarrassment. Or will they? Chelsea’s form so far this season makes counting on them feel about as comfortable as shrunken underpants. But don’t worry, because Jose Mourinho has vowed to make changes, with the starting line-up expected to reveal several alterations to Chelsea’s usual side.
He’s struggling through, isn’t he, old Jose? He’s been in a funk since even before the start of the season. Last season was a doddle on the domestic front thanks largely to the bungling of other teams but in Europe he came up badly short and now he’s discovering that dynasty-building is a rum stunt. And is he also realising that his heart isn’t really in it? The challenge of doing something new may have been the line he used to convince himself that treading over old ground was not an admission of failure but now he may be finding that being back at Chelsea just doesn’t stimulate him. That he’d much rather be building an empire at Old Trafford. If being overlooked by Manchester United still torments him, we have ourselves an explanation for his multiple strops this season and the slight whiff of fin-de-régime that’s emanating from Stafford Bridge at a time when the club should instead be awash with excitement about a team on an imperious rise.
It’s a theory. It could be bunkum. And maybe tonight Chelsea’s fresh faces will blaze a trail forward. If they can shatter a defence led by Tal Ben Haim, then surely their problems are behind them. Well, it would be a step in the right direction at least. Shutting out Eran Zahavi, the striker who’s scored seven goals in Maccabi’s run to the group stages, would be progress too. So let’s see what you’re all about, Chelsea.
Teams:
Chelsea: Begović; Azpilicueta, Zouma, Cahill, Baba; Loftus-Cheek, Fàbregas; Willian, Oscar, Hazard; Rémy
Subs: Blackman, Terry, Ivanović, Ramires, Matić, Traoré, Costa.
Maccabi Tel-Aviv: Rajković, Shpungin, Tibi, Ben Haim I, Ben Harush; Alberman,Rikan, Mitrović, Igiebor, Ben Haim II; Zahavi
Subs: Lifshitz, Carlos García, Miha, Vermouth, Peretz, Itzhaki, Radonjić.
Referee: F Zwayer (Germany)
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