Chelsea beat Valencia 3-0 at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday to seal their progress to the knockout rounds as Group C winners.
The Blues entered this game under pressure, knowing a defeat or score draw would see them eliminated from the Champions League group stages for the first time ever.
Any nerves among the Stamford Bridge faithful were calmed as early as the 3rd minute when Didier Drogba side-footed past Diego Alves. Brazilian Ramires doubled the lead in the 22nd minute, before Drogba struck again in the second half to round off a comfortable 3-0 win.
Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas made a bold decision in leaving out Frank Lampard, and his selection paid immediate dividends when Juan Mata set up Drogba to fire the Blues into an early lead.
Valencia were stung into a response, and Jordi Alba fired against the goalpost before David Albelda was denied by a diving Petr Cech save.
Chelsea doubled their lead in the 22nd minute and Drogba was again a key figure. The Ivory Coast striker played in Ramires, and the Brazilian beat Victor Ruiz before prodding his shot past Alves. The goal sparked emotional celebrations on the Chelsea bench, with a fired up Villas-Boas punching the air in delight.
Valencia started the second half well and went close to cutting into Chelsea’s lead when Cech had to save well from Sofiane Feghouli.
Drogba wrapped up the win when he added Chelsea’s third goal in the 76th minute with Mata again the provider.
With Bayer Leverkusen drawing 1-1 at last placed Genk in Group E’s other game, Chelsea leap-frogged Bayer and will now go into the last 16 as Group E winners. This means that Chelsea will avoid giants like Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the next round.
The win was a relief for Villas-Boas, who has for weeks had to face questions about his job security should Chelsea fail to advance in this tournament. The emotional Portuguese manager used the post-match press conference to fire a tirade against the fans and media who have put pressure on his team.
“My players deserve respect they don’t get,” Villas-Boas told BBC Sport. “We’ve been chased by different kind of people and pressures and here we have given everyone a slap in the face.”
“This is a continuous persecution, it is aggression towards one club,” continued the angry Chelsea boss. “It is unfortunate for you guys (the media) because you have to report on a brilliant win for Chelsea and we qualify first in the group. It is difficult for everybody and today this is difficult for you.”
Fans of Chelsea will be thrilled at the result, and will hope that their team gives Villas-Boas more ammunition in what could become a feisty battle with his critics in the media as the season progresses.
LINEUPS
CHE – Cech, Ivanovic, Cole, David Luiz, Terry, Romeu, Ramires (Mikel 65), Meireles, Mata (Malouda 83), Drogba (Torres 77), Sturridge.
VAL – Diego Alves, Rami, Barragan, Alba (Aduriz 54), Ruiz, Mathieu, Albelda, Feghouli (Pablo 64), Facundo Costa (Parejo 76), Oliveira, Soldado.
LiveSoccerTV Man of the Match: Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
Attendance: 41,109
Any nerves among the Stamford Bridge faithful were calmed as early as the 3rd minute when Didier Drogba side-footed past Diego Alves. Brazilian Ramires doubled the lead in the 22nd minute, before Drogba struck again in the second half to round off a comfortable 3-0 win.
Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas made a bold decision in leaving out Frank Lampard, and his selection paid immediate dividends when Juan Mata set up Drogba to fire the Blues into an early lead.
Valencia were stung into a response, and Jordi Alba fired against the goalpost before David Albelda was denied by a diving Petr Cech save.
Chelsea doubled their lead in the 22nd minute and Drogba was again a key figure. The Ivory Coast striker played in Ramires, and the Brazilian beat Victor Ruiz before prodding his shot past Alves. The goal sparked emotional celebrations on the Chelsea bench, with a fired up Villas-Boas punching the air in delight.
Valencia started the second half well and went close to cutting into Chelsea’s lead when Cech had to save well from Sofiane Feghouli.
Drogba wrapped up the win when he added Chelsea’s third goal in the 76th minute with Mata again the provider.
With Bayer Leverkusen drawing 1-1 at last placed Genk in Group E’s other game, Chelsea leap-frogged Bayer and will now go into the last 16 as Group E winners. This means that Chelsea will avoid giants like Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the next round.
The win was a relief for Villas-Boas, who has for weeks had to face questions about his job security should Chelsea fail to advance in this tournament. The emotional Portuguese manager used the post-match press conference to fire a tirade against the fans and media who have put pressure on his team.
“My players deserve respect they don’t get,” Villas-Boas told BBC Sport. “We’ve been chased by different kind of people and pressures and here we have given everyone a slap in the face.”
“This is a continuous persecution, it is aggression towards one club,” continued the angry Chelsea boss. “It is unfortunate for you guys (the media) because you have to report on a brilliant win for Chelsea and we qualify first in the group. It is difficult for everybody and today this is difficult for you.”
Fans of Chelsea will be thrilled at the result, and will hope that their team gives Villas-Boas more ammunition in what could become a feisty battle with his critics in the media as the season progresses.
LINEUPS
CHE – Cech, Ivanovic, Cole, David Luiz, Terry, Romeu, Ramires (Mikel 65), Meireles, Mata (Malouda 83), Drogba (Torres 77), Sturridge.
VAL – Diego Alves, Rami, Barragan, Alba (Aduriz 54), Ruiz, Mathieu, Albelda, Feghouli (Pablo 64), Facundo Costa (Parejo 76), Oliveira, Soldado.
LiveSoccerTV Man of the Match: Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
Attendance: 41,109
