Maccabi Tel Aviv 0-4 Chelsea – Classy Blues beat 10-man Maccabi to go top of Group G
Chelsea looked to be heading back to their best as they moved to the top of Group G after beating Maccabi Tel Aviv in Haifa on Tuesday night.
Gary Cahill gave the Blues the lead in the first half from a corner before Maccabi’s Tal Ben Haim I saw red for kicking out at Diego Costa.
Two second-half goals in three minutes from Oscar and Willian before Kurt Zouma added a late fourth to signal an end to the game as a contest.
Porto lost 2-0 at home to Dynamo Kiev meaning the Blues moved top, level on points with the Portuguese champions, while Kiev lurk two points behind in third.
Chelsea will host Porto in the final group game with no team guaranteed of their place in the round of 16 yet.
The Blues were given an early warning sign of what could happen when Dor Peretz headed Tal Ben Haim II’s cross over Asmir Begovic’s bar.
It took eight minutes for Chelsea to get their first effort of the night as Cesar Azpilicueta linked up nicely with Oscar but the Spaniard saw his shot fly high and wide of the goal.
The Maccabi pitch was cutting up terribly but it did not stop Chelsea dominate possession around their opponents’ box as Cesc Fabregas tried to dink the ball over the head of Predreg Rajkovic in goal.
However, Chelsea did score a minute later when Cahill met Willian’s corner with a powerful header which was unbelievably saved by Rajkovic, only for the English centre back to slam in the rebound from two yards.
As the rest of the Chelsea side celebrated, Costa took the opportunity to square up to Ben Haim I, while Jose Mourinho ran onto the pitch to flatten out some of the treacherous divots.
And Costa’s battle with the former Chelsea defender ran on until the 40th minute when Ben Haim finally bit, taking swinging two huge kicks at the Spaniard before immediately realising his mistake and covering his face with his hands as he was shown a straight red card.
The teams came out for the second half but it was Maccabi who had the first chance as Eli Dasa escaped the poorly positioned Baba Rahman to go through one-on-one with Begovic but the big Bosnian was equal to the strike.
Chelsea were probing for a second as Eden Hazard and then Azpilicueta went close but Maccabi immediately sprang a counter attack and would have equalised through Eran Zahavi if not for the fingertips of Begovic.
There were worrying scenes for Chelsea fans as John Terry was stretchered off after turning awkwardly on his ankle.
However, the Blues had doubled their lead seconds later as dead-ball king Willian scored his fourth free kick of the Champions League this season with an unstoppable, curling effort. This time Mourinho celebrated with a fist pump rather than another spot of ground keeping.
And only minutes later it was three as Baba Rahman found space on the left before delivering a pinpoint cross onto the head of Oscar, who couldn’t miss from five yards out.
There was still enough time for Zouma to add a fourth with a thunderous header meaning Chelsea who take control of Group G at the most vital point as they prepare for Tottenham away on Sunday, live on talkSPORT.