José Mourinho prowled his technical area wrapped up in long coat and scarf, wearing the scowl of a man still rather dissatisfied with his lot, but Chelsea's response to a sluggish opening in their Champions League campaign had been emphatic. Steaua Bucharest were swatted aside, all that trauma endured against Basel a fortnight ago exorcised. The 2012 European Cup winners are up and running.
This was admittedly a mismatch against the whipping boys elect of Group E and, to that end, should be considered with an element of caution. But there was a vibrancy to Chelsea's play, both as they unpicked the home side in the first half and then bit into them on the break thereafter, that bodes well. Steaua, trampled underfoot by Ramires's display in midfield in particular, had no answer. The back-to-back collisions with Schalke in the London club's next two fixtures are key.
This had been an opportunity for the Europa League holders to establish some authority after that sloppy defeat to Basel last month. Mourinho's dark mood in the build-up, presumably lightened by Fernando Torres's reprieve from punishment for scratching Jan Vertonghen during Saturday's derby at Tottenham Hotspur, reflected a manager focused only on a potentially awkward occasion and infuriated by any hint of distraction. His was an understated punch of the air while his coaching staff leapt to their feet in celebration as Chelsea edged ahead in the opening period. By the interval that lead had been doubled.
They had merited the advantage, their three creators unsettling Steaua from the outset. Juan Mata, revitalised since that run-out at Swindon last week, and Oscar interchanged as the central playmaker while André Schürrle, if unpredictable and occasionally wild with his distribution, hugged the left touchline and tormented Daniel Georgievksi. Their opener stemmed from the German's glide down the flank, his cross into the six-yard box aimed at Samuel Eto'o only for the ball to rear up from the substitute's first touch. He swung his left leg regardless, the shot rather scuffed but still disorientating panicked home defenders, and there was the marauding Ramires to burst through the middle and conjure a cute flick over the onrushing Ciprian Tatarusanu.
The slick football was all Chelsea's, their rhythm established by Ramires's eager presence in central midfield, the Brazilian irrepressible.
Just as Steaua mounted some frantic pressure of their own they were caught on the counterattack, Ashley Cole and Mata sending Eto'o charging into enemy territory with the Romanians' back-line dishevelled. The Cameroonian cut inside Iasmin Latovlevici and saw his low shot pushed out by Tatarusanu only for Georgievski, at full pace, to smash the rebound inadvertently beyond his prone goalkeeper.
The own goal was comical, yet it was actually admirable that the Premier League side had generated such tempo to their play, particularly given the early disruption centring, perhaps inevitably, on Torres. The Spaniard's Chelsea career has been littered with false starts, every performance that conjured memories of those giddy days at Liverpool quickly checked: a sending off, an injury, a rush of blood in front of goal to sap his confidence again.
That he will only sit out a one-match domestic ban for the events at White Hart Lane was cause for considerable encouragement, and yet his evening here was effectively ended after 36 seconds. An injury sustained as he tracked back to tackle Cristian Tanase left him limping, one bout of treatment proving insufficient and Eto'o duly summoned from the bench after 11 minutes. A lay-off that extends beyond Sunday's trip to Norwich may await regardless. So much for a sense of relief.
There was short-term comfort to be drawn from dominance in Bucharest. Frank Lampard might have added a third before Ramires did, a goal stemming from Schürrle's brilliant spin and scurry away from the hapless Georgievski. The German's cross found Oscar who cut a pass inside the full-back on the opposite side for Ramires, bursting unchecked into space once again, to thrash his second beyond Tatarusanu.
Mourinho made a point of congratulating Schürrle's contribution. The mind boggles as to how he would have celebrated had Mata not thumped against a post after Oscar's back-heel between opponents in a cluttered penalty area moments later.
The Brazilian would later clip the angle of post and bar, with the visitors revelling in Steaua's desperation to retrieve some dignity. The closest they came was Lucian Filip's suffocated effort from close range and Tanase's clever chip from distance that was tipped over by Petr Cech, the goalkeeper floored after colliding with the woodwork. Bruises aside, this was all hugely productive with Lampard's late fourth, guided in off a post from the edge of the area, underlining their superiority. Mourinho had reason to be content.
via Football: Chelsea | theguardian.com http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/oct/01/steaua-bucharest-chelsea-champions-league
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