London, Sept 14: Chelsea kicked off its quest for an elusive Champions League title with a 2-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen courtesy of second-half goals by Brazil defender David Luiz and Spain winger Juan Mata on Tuesday.
Luiz produced the kind of finish that had proved beyond his team's misfiring strikers in a hard-fought Group E opener by running onto Fernando Torres' lay-off and bending a sublime strike into the bottom corner in the 67th minute.
Torres was also the provider for Mata's goal with seconds remaining, breaking free down the left and unselfishly setting up his international teammate for a easy tap-in when he could easily have gone for goal himself to break his drought this season.
Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas chose to rest captain John Terry and midfielder Frank Lampard—two of Chelsea's stalwarts for the past decade—with Sunday's Premier League match against leader Manchester United in mind, and that decision almost backfired despite the hosts dominating for large parts.
Indeed, Leverkusen will look back on missed chances by Michael Ballack, the former Chelsea midfielder, and Andre Schurrle when the score was 0-0 as turning points, although Villas-Boas felt it was the right result in the end.
“How many chances did we have?” said Villas-Boas, who is under pressure to deliver a first Champions League title to satisfy the demands of billionaire Russian owner Roman Abramovich.
“We have to be fair and say Leverkusen went one on one with our goalkeeper before we scored but we had numerous chances throughout the game. We made a very good collective effort throughout and we deserved to win.”
Fresh off leading Porto to the Europa League title last season, Villas-Boas made the step up to the Champions League for the first time, with one of his remits undoubtedly to end the club's barren run in Europe's elite competition after a host of near misses.
Chelsea has reached the semifinals of the competition in five of the last six years, losing to United on penalties in the 2008 final. And considering Abramovich's obsession with the Champions League, it was a brave call to go without Lampard and Terry for a match against one of the main rivals in the group.
“I think it was a fair decision considering the amount of talent we have in our squad. It would be a mistake for me not to try to keep everybody motivated and exploit the talent of everybody,” Villas-Boas said. “I don't see any braveness in it.”
Leverkusen—the Champions League runner-up in 2002 -- was denied a goal after less than three minutes when Simon Rolfes' close-range header was ruled out for an earlier push by Omer Toprak but was otherwise on the back foot in the first half.
Even taking into account the Schurrle and Ballack chances which were well saved by Petr Cech, Chelsea's captain for the night, Leverkusen was a clear second best.
“I must say Chelsea deserved to win but we gave a good performance,” said Leverkusen coach Robin Dutt. “We showed we can cause a team like Chelsea problems.”
Raul Meireles, the replacement for Lampard, stood out in midfield and had a goal disallowed for offside less than a minute after Rolfes' ruled-out effort.
Torres toiled up front on his recall to the team after being dropped against Sunderland on Saturday, creating a couple of half-chances for himself in the first half but again looking bereft of confidence with just one goal to his name since club-record 50 million pound (then $81 million) move from Liverpool in January.
He did, though, create both of his team's goals.
“I was happy with his effort for the team,” Villas-Boas said.
The home crowd had grown increasingly frustrated by the time Luiz, marauding forward as Brazilian defenders often do, ran onto Torres' pass and finally beat Bernd Leno, the 19-year-old goalkeeper who performed stoically.
Strengthened by the introduction of Lampard and Nicolas Anelka from the bench and with a previously flat atmosphere suddenly energized, Chelsea asserted its authority and Mata, collecting an Anelka cut-back, saw his fierce shot tipped over by Leno.
The Spain international claimed his goal, however, with seconds remaining in an ultimately fruitful night for Chelsea. AP
