1. This was almost a perfect game for Chelsea
Apart from the injury to Loic Remy which spoiled the game for the Blues, they could not have hoped for a better match. They played a side that had gone eight games without a Champions League defeat and was supposed to force Chelsea to work very hard for anything.
The Blues though were 4-0 up inside 54 minutes and Mourinho could afford to consider his squad freshness as he took off Cesc Fabregas and Oscar to conserve their energy ahead of a trip to Old Trafford. They finished the game with three teenagers in their side but still kept a clean sheet.
2. Jose Mourinho may end up repeating his striker-less tactics against Manchester United
Chelsea lost Loic Remy to a groin injury in the opening quarter of an hour in the game and he is unlikely to feature against Manchester United. Diego Costa is also a huge doubt as he has hamstring problems to deal with and Dominic Solanke clearly has the talent to become a top striker, but is not ideal to lead Chelsea’s attacks now in a big game.
That leaves 36-year-old Didier Drogba as the last centre forward. Drogba now lacks pace so Mourinho would need someone like Eden Hazard to start as a supporting striker running in behind defences.
Mourinho still believes in building his side’s approach with a solid defensive set up especially in big away games so going to Old Trafford with two strikers may be unlikely. Andre Schurrle could be back from illness for this game so there is a good chance that Mourinho may turn to Schurrle again as a false nine like he did in when Chelsea visited Old Trafford last season.
3. Ante Simundza should take the important lesson from this game
Maribor manager Simundza started with two strikers in a 4-4-2 formation. These strikers may have been part of the defensive plan but they were not adept to pressing as much as midfielders and Cesc Fabregas kept eluding them with his roaming.
Simundza should have paid more respect to Chelsea’s quality and started with five midfielders instead of four. Quality players like Fabregas and Oscar will totally dominate the central midfield against just two opponents. This should be part of his tactical changes when these sides meet again soon.
4. Chelsea’s understudies kept high standards in the side
For one reason or the other, a couple of fringe Chelsea players had to be involved in this game. Filipe Luis, Kurt Zouma and Petr Cech replaced Cesar Azpilicueta, Gary Cahill and Thibaut Courtois respectively, while Nathan Ake and Solanke came off the bench.
The defensive understudies who started the game had a comfortable outing. Central midfielder Ake assisted Eden Hazard with a perfectly weighted pass typical of Fabregas, the player he directly replaced.
5. Eden Hazard is at his best when his side enjoys a strong start
Hazard is one of the most difficult wingers to mark on any day as he can comfortably go both sides and still cause problems. The Belgian winger reminded the Blues faithful that he is even unplayable in games like this one in which his side goes out of sight early on and he gets the freedom to be extravagant with his play. He was clearly the best player on the pitch and that was mainly because of his second-half influence.
