UEFA Champions League round-up: Dortmund snap Arsenal's winning run, Milan hold Barca

Group E

Schalke 04 0-3 Chelsea

Fernando Torres bagged a brace on his 100th start for Chelsea

Fernando Torres marked his 100th start for Chelsea with a well-taken brace that helped put Schalke to the sword at the Veltins Arena in Gelsinkerchen.

Jose Mourinho decided to start with Torres ahead of Samuel Eto’o and the Spaniard repaid his manager’s performance with a superb showing. With just five minutes gone, he gave Chelsea the lead with a low, stooping header. Having taken the lead, Chelsea opted to sit back a bit and hit the opposition on the counter and it almost proved counter-productive as Schalke grew in confidence and nearly equalized, but for some fine defending from Petr Cech and Cesar Azpilicueta to deny Roman Neustadter and Julian Draxler respectively.

They couldn’t however replicate that form in the second half and Chelsea took control. Torres had another header at goal, this time it rebounded off the post. On 68 minutes though, he did have his brace when he finished off a rapid counter after good work early from Oscar and Eden Hazard.

Schalke, in an effort to grab goals, continued to pour forward and left huge gaps at the back for Chelsea to pick out. The Blues got their third in similar fashion when Hazard ran at the exposed Schalke defence and skipped past the defenders’ challenge to score.

The result sends Chelsea top of the group.

Steaua Bucharest 1-1 FC Basel

Leandro Tatu scored the equalizer against Basel

Basel were left frustrated as returned from their visit to the Romanian capital with just a solitary point. Chilean Marcelo Diaz scored for Basel after being set up by Marco Streller in the 48th minute and had the score stayed the same, the Swiss side would have gone joint top with Chelsea and Schalke.

But, as it turned out, they now lie 2 points behind them after Leandro Tatu scored for Steaua with two minutes left on the clock in regular time. Basel, in fact, looked the more likely to score again after their opener, but the spurned their chances and Tatu’s equalizer in the end, means they have work to do to ensure qualification from the group.

Steaua earned their first points of the campaign.