It was yet another unfortunate night for Chelsea fans, as they saw their team losing to Steaua Bucharest. The qualification to the next stage of the Europa League is not yet settled, considering the second match will take place at Stamford Bridge and that the Blues lost to a one goal difference.

Benitez started off with the clear intention of managing some of the more important players for the next match against United. Even so, this match should not have been a problem for Chelsea, who were the clear favorites against the Romanian side.

Although Steaua were clearly the underdogs for the match, they proved to be more committed to winning and looked better organized than the Blues, who cannot find their rhythm with Benitez leading them.

The match started with Steaua fans chanting their teams’ name. There were just under 200 Chelsea fans, mostly because a great deal of them already booked tickets for Amsterdam after the Romanians lost 2-0 to Ajax.

There was not much to talk about up until the end of the first half hour. Torres was still inefficient, Benayoun barely touched the ball and all important chances came from Lampard and Hazard.

It was an unlucky first half for the Blues after Steaua received a penalty 33 minutes into the game. It looked like Rusescu was pulled back by Bertrand and the referee decided to book Chelsea’s defender.

Rusescu, who is Steaua’s leading scorer, stepped up and took a powerful spot-kick, leaving Cech helpless.

The rest of the match was all about Chelsea. The Blues cramped the Romanian side in their own half but some brilliant saves by Tatarusanu prevented Hazard and Benayoun from scoring.

As the second half begun, nothing really changed, Hazard remained Chelsea’s most dangerous player. Torres was a disappointment in front of goal. He stumbled a few times and made a fool of himself as we have frequently seen this season.

Benitez sent Mata on at the 64 minute mark of the game hoping to avoid having to deal with angry fans at home, who already have it in for the Spanish coach.  There were not many important moments worth mentioning after that. Lampard had a good chance to score and Luiz wasted a free kick. The match ended with an unexpected chance for Steaua’s defender Gardos, who was blocked by Bertrand.

There are a few things worth mentioning regarding post match events. As many know, Steaua has one of the most eccentric owners in the world. He is known for all sorts of weird statements and behaviors that have seen the news in many countries.

After one of Steaua’s biggest accomplishments, the Romanian club owner said that Chelsea never stood a chance and that his team dominated the entire game. Apparently he watched a different match, seeing that Chelsea had a great deal of chances to score.