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UCL: Drogba On Target As Chelsea Romp 5-0 Win To Qualify At Schalke

Published

10 years ago

November 25, 2014

Classy Chelsea romped to a 5-0 win at Schalke 04 on Tuesday to power into the last 16 of the Champions League and make it a miserable night for their former coach Roberto Di Matteo.
Captain John Terry headed in a corner after 78 seconds and Willian doubled the lead with a fierce low shot on the half hour as the Group G leaders extended their unbeaten start to the season to 19 games in all competitions.
A Jan Kirchhoff own goal in the 44th minute made it 3-0 and second-half goals from substitutes Didier Drogba and Ramires mean Schalke’s qualification hopes now hang in the balance.
Schalke, who hit the woodwork in the first half, had little to offer against a rampant Chelsea attack as coach Di Matteo lost his first meeting against the team he led to Champions League glory in 2012.
Chelsea clinched top spot in the group with 11 points from five games while the Germans are on five points with one match remaining.
It was the first home defeat for Schalke since Italian Di Matteo took charge last month.
Diego Costa, who has scored 11 goals in 10 games in this season’s Premier League but none in Europe, raced clear in the first minute but saw his shot blocked.
The resulting corner, however, saw Terry beat Benedikt Hoewedes in the air to give his side a dream start.
Jose Mourinho, bidding to become the first coach to win the Champions League with three different teams, wanted a trouble-free win to ease the pressure going into a busy period of fixtures and that is precisely what his side gave him.
Chelsea were lucky when Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting’s deflected shot bounced off the crossbar but Willian put the hosts firmly in their place with a second goal.
The unfortunate Kirchhoff then headed a left-wing corner into his own net on the stroke of halftime.
Drogba tapped the ball into an empty net after being set up by Willian before the Ivorian lofted the ball to the far post for Ramires to nod the fifth goal.