The Steaua encounter was an easy match for the Blues who showed great focus and determination. They also proved that the game against Basel was an aberration. Steaua put up a decent fight managing a 44% possession percentage and 8 on target attempts. That was not enough to intimidate Chelsea who ended the game 4 goals ahead of the Romanian side.
Mourinho’s team started off strong and were clearly the better side. Steaua’s defense had to deal with some difficult situations from the moment the whistle was blown. Schürrle put on a great show, managing some great runs on the left side of the pitch. The Romanians play a pretty aggressive game but still have problems keeping the ball. Just 10 minutes into the game Torres was replaced by Eto’o because the Spaniard struggled with an injury.
Ten minutes after that the first goal came. Schürrle got passed his opponent and crossed the ball into the box. Eto’o’s soft shot ended up in front of goal from where an unmarked Ramiers scored an easy goal. The next few minutes came with chances from both sides but nothing significant. Mata looked pretty well integrated even if he had very little time spent on the pitch since Mourinho came to Stamford Bridge. The first half ended badly for Steaua who scored an own goal giving Chelsea a 2-0 advantage before the break.
The second half started with some great chances from Eto’o and Lambard. The third goal came during the 55th minute. Schürrle who managed a great performance managed to get the ball to Oscar who passed it further to Ramires who scored his second game of the night.
Steaua did not give up even with the score being 3-0. They pushed forward and managed to dominate the game for the next 15 or 20 minutes. Even so, Chelsea remained the more dangerous team with Schürrle and Mata missing some great opportunities. The match was quite eye-pleasing with chances on both sides. Azpilicueta and Willian came in for Oscar and Mata with 10 minutes to go. The match ended with Lampard’s goal who found the net from outside the box after a great run by Eto’o.