Chelsea were made to pay for a below par second half performance as Schalke came from behind to nick a point from Stamford Bridge.
Cesc Fabregas’ first goal for the club was cancelled out by Klaas-Jan Huntelaar’s second half equaliser.
Chelsea lined up with Filipe Luis is defence as he made his first start for the club. Ramires played alongside Matic in midfield while Willian, Hazard and Fabregas made up the trio behind the striker.
The striker in question tonight was one Dider Drogba, who was starting for Chelsea for the first time since that night in Munich when Chelsea secured their first Champions League trophy over two years ago.
Courtois kept his place in goal over Petr Cech, but was unable to keep Schalke out and deny the German side a point.
Chelsea started brightly against an injury plagued Schalke team, with Hazard, Willian impressing in the early stages and Drogba going close to his first Chelsea goal since returning to the club.
Their bright start was rewarded as they got a relatively quick goal, when Cesc Fabregas latched onto Eden Hazard’s brilliant reverse pass before slotting the ball underneath Fährmann for his first Blues goal.
The 11th minute goal, however, didn’t come without its controversies as Meyer felt he was fouled by the ex-Arsenal man, seconds before he put Chelsea a goal to the good.
Chelsea had their chances to increase their lead but failed to add a cushion before the break, and it remained 1-0 as the whistle went.
The German side looked a different team in the second half as they pressed Chelsea considerably more, and Mourinho’s men had nothing in reply.
Didier Drogba had a golden opportunity to put Chelsea two goals ahead but after a heavy first touch, the finish from the angle was always going to be difficult and Drogba could only roll in inches wide.
And, as so often happens, Chelsea were made to pay. Fabregas was dispossessed by Huntelaar and, despite suggestions of a foul by the striker, play went on.
With the Chelsea defence backing off, Huntelaar kept gaining into Chelsea territory before he drove the ball through Cahill’s legs and wrong footed Courtois. One and piece.
Chelsea bought on Diego Costa and Loic Remy in an attempt to steal the victory but, apart from a Remy shot which was headed off the line, The Blues never looked like nicking it.
It was the classic case of not taking the chances that came Chelsea’s way that came back to haunt them; a feature which was all too familiar last season.
However, while a draw is not what Mourinho will have wanted, the same scoreline in the other game in group G means its still very much all to play for in the coming games.
After witnessing his team manage just a draw, Mourinho said of his team’s performance:
It was frustrating because we had very good chances to make it 2-0 but we didn’t take them.
“We had so many chances to win the game, especially in the last 15 mins. Not a fantastic point for us, but it’s a point”, he added.
Mourinho was impressed with a couple of individual performances during the game, including that of Eden Hazard.
Jose on Hazard: ‘Eden was permanently in the game tonight. He had a good performance.’ #CFC
— Chelsea FC (@chelseafc) September 17, 2014
He added that he was “happy” with what Drogba did during the game, and said his performance was “positive”.
Chelsea face Manchester City this coming Sunday in the Premier League. Their next European clash is in just under two weeks time away to Sporting Lisbon.
Chelsea 1-1 Schalke: Match Facts
- Filipe Luis made more interceptions than any other player during the first half against Schalke
- John Terry made his 600th Chelsea start vs Schalke tonight
- Chelsea have now scored in each of their last 16 Champions League home games
- Chelsea had 18 shots vs Schalke, the German side had 13. Chelsea completed 24 take-ons to Schalke’s 11.
Source: Opta/Squawka
