3 things we learned from Porto’s 2-1 win over Chelsea in Champions League

Despite Chelsea’s hopes that they could spark improved performances by changing the lineup, they lost in Portugal. Porto managed to simply outplay them en route to a massive 2-1 win at the Estádio Do Dragão in the Champions League.

It was clear early on that Chelsea were not quite playing up to par in this match. The English club had more of the ball for long stretches of the match, but struggled to be dangerous with their possession, with their attacks too often fizzling in the final third. Porto frequently looked threatening, penetrating Chelsea’s midfield and into the defense with ease.

As the half progressed, Chelsea started to slowly settle, and actually started to create some threat themselves, with Diego Costa in particular looking dangerous in front of goal. That came to an abrupt halt when Porto opened the scoring. Yacine Brahimi turned Branislav Ivanovic inside out on a darting run into the box and unleashed a tremendous shot that Asmir Begovic did well to parry away -- but the rebound fell to a completely unmarked Andre Andre, who volleyed it home with ease.

Chelsea would level right at the end of the first half thanks to a lovely free kick from Willian that Porto defended poorly, but the Portuguese club came out swinging in the second half and it didn’t take long at all for them to find another goal. Ruben Neves swung in a corner that came a little short of the near post he was aiming for, but Maicon reacted well, moving to the ball and curling in a fantastic header that left Chelsea’s sleeping defense baffled as it slipped past Begovic to give Porto the lead again.

After that the game went back and forth, with Porto having spells where they looked incredibly unlucky not to score a third, but Chelsea got their chances to score as well. That was especially true after Eden Hazard finally came on. The Belgian made an instant impact, running past Porto’s entire defense before his shot wound up in the side netting instead of scoring.

Chelsea might feel aggrieved not to have gotten a draw -- there was a fairly clear-looking handball incident late on when Costa drove into the box and tried to knock the ball past Marcon, who appeared to swing his arm out a bit to catch the ball with his bicep. Costa and Chelsea were livid not to have the penalty awarded, but Antonio Mateu was firm in his decision and did not waver even in the face of an enraged Costa screaming at him.

That left Chelsea little time to find another way to equalize, and that time ran out with one last desperate shot sailing wide just as the full-time whistle blew. Porto and their fans exploded into celebration, with the massive win putting them joint-top in Group G after Dynamo Kyiv beat Maccabi Tel Aviv. Chelsea continue to reel, now having lost more all-competitions matches this season than they did all of last campaign. The questions keep coming for Mourinho and company, and they really seem to be struggling to find answers.

Goals: Andre Andre (39’), Maicon (52’)

Goals: Willian (45’+1)

Mourinho benched Nemanja Matic and Hazard to, in part, send a message to his team that no one is safe if they don’t perform well. Chelsea responded by not performing well. They struggled to get quality chances in front of goal, gave away the ball too easily in midfield and their defense struggled to track all of Porto’s attackers consistently. It’s the same set of problems that have plagued them all season long, and changing who was on the pitch didn’t improve things like Mourinho hoped.

Brahimi grew into prominence for many fans after he joined Porto last season and excelled, but this season the Algerian attacker has taken things to another level. That was on display in a big way in this match -- he was arguably the best player on the pitch, out-performing even the stars of Chelsea, which is no easy task. He’s got excellent passing skills, is fantastic moving on the ball and even defends well from the front. He’s a wonderfully talented and well-balanced player, and he’s going to make Porto a ton of money when they eventually decide to sell him.

A lot of people seem to forget about Porto when they talk about the better teams in Europe, but they showed today why the need to be included in that conversation. Chelsea struggled, yes, but Porto had them well-scouted and exploited the weaknesses Chelsea have been showing all season with ruthless ease. They’ve got an excellent side and despite constantly selling their best players, they just keep finding ways to stay as good as they were before. If they can make Chelsea look this mediocre, they can hang with just about anyone.