Shakhtar Donetsk 2 - 1 Chelsea - Match Report

Chelsea lost their first game of the season after being beaten 2-1 by Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk.

Alex Teixeira put the hosts ahead after just three minutes before Fernandinho extended their lead just after half time.

Oscar netted a late reply for Chelsea to set up a tense final five minutes but Shakhtar held on for the win.

In what was always going to be a difficult encounter for the defending European champions, Roberto Di Matteo made a bold statement with his team selection by choosing to drop Eden Hazard to the bench so that Frank Lampard could start, pushing Ramires out onto the right wing. The Italian also dropped Gary Cahill so that John Terry could return to captain the Blues in the beautiful Donbass Arena.

Chelsea had never played Shakhtar before but the Ukrainian champion’s reputation precedes them. They are unbeaten in an incredible 11 months and have not lost in 21 league matches. They have also scored in every single one. Mircea Lucescu has worked wonders at the helm of the team and it shone through here tonight.

The hosts wasted little time in taking the lead, Brazilian Alex Teixeira slotted Shakthar ahead after Luiz Adriano’s initial shot had been blocked by Terry. Teixeira rolled the ball through the legs of Ashley Cole and into the far corner leaving Petr Cech with no chance.

Lucescu’s men took the game by the scruff of the neck and really dominated Chelsea for much of the first half. The brilliant Willian who was a summer target for the Blues and also Tottenham put in a quality performance that enhanced his growing reputation.

The Ukrainians pushed for the second goal but could not beat Cech who was somehow managing to keep the game alive for the Blues with some magnificent saves. First of all he denied Henrik Mkhitaryan and then he pulled off a world class instinctive save to stop Tomas Hubschman doubling his side’s lead.

The Chelsea attack seemed rejuvenated however when Hazard was brought on for the injured Lampard, the Belgian setting up Fernando Torres on several occasions, only for the Spaniard to either be denied by goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov or closed down by the Shakhtar defence.

It was Hazard whoever who was the architect of the second goal for the hosts. Caught in possession in midfield by Fernandinho, Adriano then found the advancing Brazilian who fired across Cech to kill Chelsea off.

Heads however did not drop, Hazard nearly made amends for his error by pulling a goal back for the visitors after a neat touch by substitute Daniel Sturridge but his shot was saved well.

It was to be a night of Brazilian goalscorers at the Donbass when Oscar rounded off a well worked Chelsea move involving Sturridge and the hard working Branislav Ivanovic.

Shakhtar held on though to gain full control of Group E after Juventus could only draw with FC Nordsjaelland.

Chelsea now face their toughest test of the season with a league and league cup double header with Manchester United..

So then Blues fans, what did we make of that?

It was always going to be a tough game, I think we can all agree on. However, I’m a little disappointed at how easily Shakhtar dominated us for most of the game. There was no real passion or bite to our team tonight which surprised me a little. We let Willian control far too much of the game and never really put our own stamp on it. Not too sure why Hazard was dropped either, maybe RDM felt Lamps was more experienced for this kind of game and had one eye on the game with Utd at the weekend, I don’t know.

Also, and I’m pretty sure I’m not the alone in this, I was really disappointed with Torres tonight. My friends are sick of my leaping to defend Torres all the time, however tonight I simply can’t. I thought he looked sluggish, distant, hesitant and out of sorts. And that is really worrying. I saw a tweet suggesting we need to sign Falcao but in my opinion, he should be a last resort. Sturridge came on and looked energetic, condfident and willing – something Torres was lacking. I have no doubt that Torres will probably start against Utd but I can’t see him lasting the full game if he puts in another shift like the one he did tonight.

Were there any positives from tonight? Yes, actually. For the most part, Shakhtar dominated us. There’s no escaping that fact. When the second goal went in I was expecting most player’s heads to drop and for us to leave Ukraine with a whimper. But I was very proud of our boys for the way they responded after Fernandinho’s goal. Sturridge and Hazard combined well to create an opportunity for Hazard which was saved well and it shows that even after his error, Hazard was willing to dust himself off and keep working hard for his team, which I think is a real bonus. Wouldn’t you agree? Also to see Sturridge looking to create chances for his teammates is great, especially with the amount of stick he’s got for being ‘selfish’. We put together a nice little move for the goal as well, demonstrating our willingness to get forward even after the game was seemingly lost.

Also I thought Big Pete was exceptional tonight, fully demonstrating why he is still regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. Nothing he could do about the goals and he pulled off some blinding saves. How much do we owe him for his work over the last few years?

What do you think guys? What were your opinions regarding tonight’s game? Be sure to comment or leave me a tweet!

KTBFFH