FC Porto 2-1 Chelsea: Highlights and 5 Talking Points

Jose Mourinho’s return to Estadio Do Dragao ended in disappointment as a mixture of shambolic defending by Chelsea and spirited attacking by the home side resulted in a 2-1 defeat for the reigning champions of the Premier League. This is Chelsea’s fifth defeat in all competitions this season. In the last season, they had only lost four matches from August to May.An in-form Porto made four changes from the draw with Moreirense last time out, as Bruno Martins Indi came in on the right side of defence. Vincent Aboubakar returned to lead the line for the home side along with Ruben Neves and Giannelli Imbula.Mourinho dropped Eden Hazard and Nemanja Matic and replaced them with Ramires and Willian, both of whom impressed after coming on past the hour mark against Newcastle. John Terry was also benched for this game. A decent first half performance from the Blues was followed up with a poor performance after the restart, with the visitors running out of ideas long before the 90 minutes. Here are the talking points from the match.

#1 Branislav Ivanovic is a burden at the moment

Ivanovic’s s struggles down Chelsea’s right flank have already been something that has been highlighted as one of the main causes for Chelsea’s defensive woes this season. Not only has his form stayed the same, but he is now wearing the captain’s armband which means he has the added responsibility of leading the players on the field with the right mindset and attitude.

To give the armband to a player already in poor form does not seem to be bringing the best out of him so far. Yacine Brahimi utilized his lack of confidence very well and Ivanovic had no answers to any questions thrown at him, resulting in the opening goal of the game.

Mourinho now has two options. Either drop Ivanovic, who has been playing badly right since the start of the season, or if he’s not ready to risk Rahman at left back against Premier League opposition, bring back Chelsea’s influential leader.

John Terry might not have the ability to play the high line, but when results don’t go your way, Mourinho might need to revert to a more conservative approach. And that is where Terry’s experience will come in handy.

#2 Porto\'s Ruben Neves is a player to watch out for

As Porto completed yet another victory over an English side, scouts from around the football world will have taken note of a young and upcoming 18-year-old footballer who managed to cement his place in the lineup from the get-go against the defending champions of the Premier League. To entrust that much faith upon the youngster, he must have been really good. And it showed in his performance as he outplayed his midfield counterparts with surprising ease.

His balls from midfield oozed class and it was one such flighted delivery from a corner that restored Porto’s lead in the second half. To say he did well defensively would be putting it mildly. He successfully made 7 tackles and 5 interceptions and both of those stats were the highest in the game for a player from both sides.

The fans know and appreciate the kind of player they have got in their ranks and it was visible in the way they applauded him off the field as he was substituted. At 18 years of age, if he can continue developing, Porto will have yet another world class midfielder at their disposal.

Stats taken from WhoScored

#3 Diego Costa impresses for Chelsea

The Blues may have won the match against Arsenal under controversial circumstances, but they lost their star striker Diego Costa to retrospective punishment by the FA. Costa, who started against Porto, will be unavailable in the league due to the ban. It was the worst time for the Brazilian-born Spanish forward to get punished since Blues look clueless in the attack without him leading the line.

A decent first half performance from Chelsea required Costa to hold up play and win duels in the air to create chances for Cesc Fabregas, Willian and Pedro. But none of them could convert them.

After Willian curled a free kick into the net to equalize, Costa hit the post with a terrific effort from outside the box that deserved a goal. He was also involved in a late penalty shout concerning a handball inside the box and replays showed that he had a definitive case for a handball there.

Although isolated up top towards the end of the game, it was mainly due to the lack of supply from Chelsea’s midfield that he was unable to make an impact. Costa wasn’t at fault for this loss. He tried his best, and will be expected to do exactly the same when he returns to play in the league after his 3-match ban.

#4 Porto give Chelsea a lesson on attacking football

Porto’s Andre Andre (L) clebrates his goal against Chelsea

Estadio Do Dragao gasped collectively as Diego Costa shouted for a penalty in the final moments of the game. And replays showed that it probably was a handball and a penalty that somehow went unnoticed inside the box by the officials. But soon after the referee blew the final whistle the collective gasps turned into moments of joy around the stadium as Porto secured a victory they fully deserved.

What Chelsea couldn’t manage to do, the home side did. And that was to use their wide men to perfection. Imbula, Andre Andre and Brahimi constantly switched positions and managed to trouble the Chelsea defenders time and again.

Brahimi caused nightmares throughout the match and it was his attack down the left that resulted in Andre scoring from the rebound. Aboubakar also stayed strong when his team needed him and he had an impressing outing.

In contrast, Chelsea’s wide men struggled to match the energy and quality their counterparts had to offer. Pedro, in particular, had one of his worst games in a Chelsea kit. If they are to improve their season, width on the pitch is an important area that can be used to unlock the opposition as Porto have showed last night.

#5 Chelsea\'s midfield crisis continues

Coming into the game as defending champions of the Premier League, some of the passages of play in the game were poorly dealt with by Chelsea. The two goals conceded, in particular, were poorly defended. Maicon lost his marker Ramires to head the ball in from a corner to score the second goal and once again it was poor defending.

The two goals aside, there was enough time in the second half for Chelsea to come back into the game, but they seemed like they had run out of ideas and were constantly getting run over in the centre of midfield by the Portuguese side.

The absence of Matic from last season was being clearly felt. What Matic did last season was to break up play and initiate attacks from midfield. He did it so smoothly that it normally went unnoticed. And for some reason, he has started this season badly, and Chelsea have nobody who can be called as a replacement for Matic and therein lies the problem.

Sooner the man from Serbia regains his old form, the better for the defending champions.