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Chelsea recorded their biggest win of the season and their biggest ever Champions League win when Maribor were beaten by six goals at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.
The record win puts us firmly in charge of Group G with seven points from the first three matches.
Loic Remy scored the opener before having to be replaced by Didier Drogba due to an injury. The Ivorian scored our second from the spot, before John Terry made it 3-0 before the break.
A second half own goal by Maribor defender Aleksander Rajcevic and a brace from Eden Hazard set the final score at 6-0.
First half
The Blues started brightly and Mourinho’s pre-match comments of not taking this match lightly were reflected in the starting XI, though a rare start for Kurt Zouma saw Gary Cahill drop to the bench. Petr Cech also got his second start of the season.
At 13 minutes Remy was at the end of a brilliant through-ball from Terry. The striker got control of the ball and brilliantly placed the ball from the edge of the box and into the far corner with his left foot.
While shooting, the Frenchman pulled his groin and had to be replaced by Drogba, who claimed the ball when we got a penalty halfway through the first half. The 36-year-old’s first goal in Blue since the winning spot-kick in Munich was an emotional moment for all parties.
Minutes later Terry showed great determination and power to storm forward on a counter attack. The centre half slid in 3-0 after a truly magnificent break that saw Fabregas find Terry inside the opposition’s six yard box just seconds after defending a Maribor corner.
Second half
After the interval the Blues kept playing brilliant football and it was only a matter of how many we would score.
The fourth came after a sublime build-up play down Maribor’s right-hand side. Filipe Luis found Hazard at the back stick, and the Belgian took a couple of touches before trying to pass it back across the goal but the ball hit Rajcevic’s leg and rolled across the goal line.
A few minutes later Nemanja Matic was a little bit clumsy when he pretty much ran down Agim Ibraimi inside the box just after the hour mark, but the Maribor striker hit the post from the penalty spot.
When Branislav Ivanovic was brought down inside the box on 77 minutes and the referee pointed to the spot for the third time in the game, Hazard claimed the ball immediately.
The Belgian’s display had been superb and he deserved a goal, which he got from the penalty.
Into stoppage time Hazard got his second and Chelsea’s sixth of the day when substitute Nathan Ake’s 50 yard pass played Hazard through on goal. After a little bit of showboating the winger picked his spot and hammered the ball in for 6-0.
It was an absolutely brilliant performance by everyone in Chelsea blue. We kept pushing for more and more goals and the defence was rock solid throughout.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Zouma, Terry (c), Filipe Luis; Matic, Fabregas (Ake 59); Willian, Oscar (Solanke 73), Hazard; Remy (Drogba 16)
Next up is Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday. Will we see another Mourinho master class then? Bring it on!
