CHELSEA advanced to next round and also earned some relief from their domestic woes on Wednesday, beating Porto 2-0 to top Champions League Group G. The Blues only needed a draw to ensure they qualified to the knockout stages but knew a win would send them through as group winners.
Fortune favoured Chelsea in the 12th minute at Stamford Bridge when Ivan Marcano scored an own goal and Willian rifled a superb strike past goalkeeper Iker Casillas early in the second half.
Below are the player ratings of Chelsea players-
Thibaut Courtois (7/10)
Didn’t trembled as he did against Bournemouth. His confidence should transmit through the team now. Had very little to deal with but was nonetheless impressive whenever called upon for action.
Branislav Ivanovic (7/10)
Was always strong and solid though not tested much.
Kurt Zouma (8/10)
Was one of the best performers for Chelsea. Constantly dealt with the aerial threat while with his pace tacked back and stopped any advances made by the opposition attackers.
John Terry (7/10)
Marshalled defence and was very physical. Also, lead the side when they needed him the most with his excellent leadership qualities.
Cesar Azpilicueta (7/10)
Had a shaky start but grew more as the game progressed and was very resolute defensively.
Ramires (7/10)
Came back after injury but slotted himself perfectly to partner Matic. did a commendable job in holding midfield and was also agile when needed to break forward.
Nemanja Matic (7/10)
Was the main backbone of Chelsea’s midfield and was certainly the Matic of last season. Did well to restrict Porto’s attacking moves before creating some of Chelsea’s attacks.
Willian (9/10)
Moved freely in the park and swapped places with Hazard continuously creating a lot of nuisance amongst Porto’s defence. Was also Chelsea’s most creative player and was rewarded for his efforts with a blistering strike that resulted in a fabulous goal.
Eden Hazard (6/10)
Interchanged positions with Willian and Oscar continuously. Went missing in first half but came back stronger in the second half to provide an assist to Willian for Chelsea’s second goal.
Oscar (8/10)
All hard labour and creativity. A display which had aggression, commitment, and also a nutmeg just to prove why he is still bestowed faith by the Blues’ faithful.
Diego Costa (6/10)
Though showed sign of returning to his best still lacks the killer instinct he had last season. Was instrumental for both the goals: forced the first goal and started the move for the second.
Substitute:
Pedro Rodriguez
Was introduced in place of Oscar at the 81st minute. Hadn’t had much impact to the game.
John Obi-Mikel
Came in place of Costa in the dying few minutes.
Loic Remy
Was brought on in the 90th minute and missed a clear scoring chance.
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