Match Summary
Chelsea had to settle for a point against Slovenian outfits Maribor after a sloppy evening’s work.
The Blues, who still sit at the top of the table, would have been confident of an easy ride having walked in six goals in the reverse encounter, but the trek out to eastern Europe proved much less fruitful and, bar for Matic’s equaliser, could have been even worse for Mourinho’s men. It could also have been much better, however, had Hazard scored his last-minute penalty.
Instead. they go home with pride hit. In a week where Mourinho attacked the Chelsea fans, many of whom took it personally, it was Mourinho now becoming irate at his complacent team.
Zouma and Drogba both had chances in the first half but the the second half was where the goals lay. Costa and Oscar were the entrants with Schurrle and Willian departing but it was Maribor who took the surprise lead. Ibraimi’s looped effort managed to beat Cech and send the home faithful into delirium.
So came the combination of attack and desperation. Matic pulled one back but the hard work was done by Terry from a corner. Hazard drew a penalty from the Maribor defence but, despite having a 100% success rate in the Premier League, could not find similar accuracy tonight.
Man of the Match
NEMANJA MATIC: No-one stood out tonight and though the likes of Hazard and Oscar were good, both had the reasons for me to not give them my Man of the Match: Hazard missed a crucial penalty to win the game and Oscar did not play half of it. It leaves me with the goal-scorer and the man to spare the blushes, Nemanja Matic. 7/10
Manager Reaction
Mourinho was unhappy with his team: “Many times surprises happen when people are not fully focused, when they believe the game can’t be a difficult one. Only when Maribor scored did the players realise the game was in danger. After that, a fantastic reaction. We deserved to win, clearly.”
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