Jose Mourinho threatened to bench his star players in big matches if they didn’t pick up the pace. Come Tuesday’s Champions League tilt with Porto, that’s exactly what he did, dropping Eden Hazard and Nemanja Matic as Chelsea head to Portugal to try to earn their second Champions League win.
Chelsea drops Eden Hazard and Nemanja Matic against FC Porto
Jose Mourinho followed up on his threat to drop major players in the Champions League for failing to perform up to expectations in the Premier League.
In their place are Ramires and John Obi Mikel, who aren’t exactly young scrubs themselves. Still, it looks like Chelsea will be setting up a little more to play on the counter, as that’s generally how they approach matches with Ramires on the wing.
Porto’s lineup is more or less as expected, with red-hot Vincent Aboubakar up top. The Cameroonian striker has been in excellent form and Chelsea’s central defense pairing has not, so he might just be able to have a big day against one of the biggest teams around.
FC Porto starting XI (4-3-3): Iker Casillas; Maxi Pereira, Maicon, Ivan Marcano, Bruno Martins Indi; Danilo Pereira, Rúben Neves, Giannelli Imbula; Yacine Brahimi, Vincent Aboubakar, André André
Chelsea starting XI (4-2-3-1): Asmir Begovic; Branislav Ivanovic, Kurt Zouma, Gary Cahill, Cesar Azpilicueta; John Oby Mikel, Cesc Fabregas; Ramires, Willian, Pedro; Diego Costa
See More:
