Chelsea are through to the quarterfinals of the Champions League after they coasted past a rather poor Galatasaray at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea vs. Galatasaray: Final score 2-0, Blues cruise past lacklustre Cim Bom
José Mourinho’s Chelsea eased into the quarterfinals of the Champions League with a simple victory over a rather disappointing Galatasaray.
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Samuel Eto'o opened up the scoring early on, before Gary Cahill doubled Chelsea's advantage by smashing home a loose ball off a corner.
Chelsea got off to the perfect start after fine work from Eden Hazard and Oscar saw Eto'o just sent clear, and although the angle was difficult, Eto'o's turning effort was fierce enough to beat Fernando Muslera, who got a hand on the ball but could not keep it out of the goal. The ball trickled slowly over the line, confirming Chelsea's lead on the night.
Galatasaray still only needed one goal, but they could not cause much danger with their forays into the Chelsea half and were frequently undone on the counter-attack. Eto’o was sent clear again before falling foul to a lack of support, while Hazard forced Muslera into a fine save before the offside flag came to the visitors’ rescue.
Chelsea continued to enjoy better chances. John Terry came close before Willian shanked a decent opportunity after more good work from Eto’o. Eventually, Chelsea found their second from a corner. John Terry met the delivery firmly but headed it too close to Muslera. The Uruguayan could only parry it to Cahill, however, who duly smashed the ball home to leave Galatasaray needing two goals.
After halftime, the visitors could not find their impetus. Chelsea began to strangle both the game and their opposition. By the hour mark, Roberto Mancini’s men had yet to register a shot on goal.
Chelsea were not exactly having a string of chances in the second half either, however, although Frank Lampard should have done better than put a header right at Muslera after being picked out by Oscar. The visitors could simply offer nothing else in attack, and José Mourinho’s men had a remarkably easy night when it came to defending their own goal.
In the end, the final whistle sounded a comfortable and fairly routine victory. Mourinho guaranteed there would be at least one participant from England in the quarterfinals. Chelsea looked at their most dominant Tuesday night.
Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta, Ramires, Lampard, Oscar (Schurrle 82’), Hazard, Willian (Kalas 90+2’), Eto’o (Torres 86’).
Goals: Eto’o 4’, Cahill 42’
Galatasaray: Muslera, Alex, Chedjou, Kaya, Eboue (Hajrovic 77’), Felipe Melo, Inan, Sneijder, Kurtulus (Balta 67’), Drogba, Burak Yilmaz (Bulut 54’)
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