MATCH REPORT: FENERBAHCE 0 CHELSEA 2 Goals from Diego Costa and Branislav Ivanovic helped the Blues to a 2-0 win over Fenerbahce in our opening game at the Turkish charity competition in aid of the Soma mining disaster. With the tournament following a league format, and all three teams playing each other once in a 45- minute contest, the victory ensures three points in our second game, against Besiktas, will see us lift the trophy. Jose Mourinho named a strong starting 11 for our opening game of the charity tournament against Fenerbahce. Andre Schurrle and Oscar, having only joined up with the squad earlier this week, both started, while Eden Hazard, a substitute against Werder Bremen last weekend, was also selected. Diego Costa started as the lone striker in a team which also included Petr Cech, John Terry and Cesc Fabregas. There was a familiar face lining up against us in the form of Portuguese midfielder Raul Meireles, who represented the Blues during the 2011/12 campaign. The opening 10 minutes of the contest produced very little in the way of goalscoring opportunities at either end, but it was Chelsea enjoying the majority of possession. The first real chance, however, fell to Fenerbahce, after a Gary Cahill slip had allowed Emmanuel Emenike to get goal-side of the Blues defender. The Nigerian rolled the ball into the path of Meireles, whose strike was a fierce one, but Azpilicueta did well to get across and make the block, diverting the ball behind for a corner. Moments later we thought we’d taken the lead after Hazard had brilliantly slipped in Oscar. The Brazilian showed great composure to fire past Volkan Demirel but, much to the frustration of Mourinho, the offside flag was incorrectly raised. Caner Erkin bent a free-kick narrowly wide for the home side as they looked to take the initiative, and shortly after Cech made a wonderful point-blank save to deny Alper Potuk, whose close-range header looked destined to break the deadlock. It was a miss which Fenerbahce were made to rue almost instantly as we took the lead with our next attack, with an individual goal of the highest quality. The ball was worked forward from the back into the feet of Diego Costa, who initially looked to have very little on. The striker turned inside and, with the defenders backing off, opted to go alone. He then produced a marvellous piece of skill to weave in and out of two challenges before dispatching his strike into the far corner of the net. On the half-hour our lead was extended after the goalscorer had been awarded a free-kick 30 yards from goal. Schurrle curled a brilliant effort around the wall, and while Demirel did well to save low down to his left, Branislav Ivanovic reacted quickest to fire into an empty net. In a matter of minutes we’d taken complete control of the contest. Meireles went close at the other end as Fenrbahce looked to find a way back into the game, but the two quick goals had undoubtedly given us a psychological, as well as a numerical, advantage. Mourinho made two changes to personnel, with Ramires and Drogba replacing Schurrle and Costa. Unsurprisingly, given his Galatasaray connections, Drogba’s every touch was greeted by a cacophony of boos, but it barely mattered as we began to dictate the tempo of the game. Oscar was unfortunate not to put the game beyond doubt when his stinging effort was well saved by Demirel, and Mourinho will have been pleased with the Brazilian’s performance during his first minutes of pre-season action. Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry (c), Azpilicueta; Matic, Fabregas (Mikel 39); Schurrle (Ramires 33), Oscar, Hazard (Salah 41); Costa (Drogba 35).
Posted on: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 22:06:53 +0000