How Eto’o and Mikel excelled to give Mourinho another selection headache

Chelsea’s cruised to a three nil win over Schalke last night which has put them in control of their Champions League group and marks three straight wins since their opening day disappointment against Basel. Now on nine points, Chelsea just need a point in their next game to secure qualification to the next round, which is a marked improvement on how the club crashed out last season.

Key stats

Chelsea, as they often do, dominated the possession in this tie. The club capped what was a relatively comfortable performance as we can see above, with seven shots on target, compared to just two on target for Schalke. The hosts also had a higher tackle and pass completion than Schalke, reflective of a confident performance from the home side.

Performance Score

The performance scores are reflective of the game as a whole. After Chelsea scored their freakish first goal they were able to get a level of control, which was compounded when Samuel Eto’o coolly slotted away the second goal after a good break away. With the third goal added late on the performance score gap only widened further.

Man of the Match

Samuel Eto’o had a very good game for Chelsea, probably his best since he joined the club this summer. Not only did he press the opposition goal keeper well to force his first goal but he seemingly rolled back the years to net Chelsea’s second, with a great first touch and finish to ease pressure on the home side.

Key observations

John Obi Mikel came back into the fold for Chelsea and enjoyed a good game, using the ball well and controlling possession in a strong, yet unspectacular fashion:

Mikel completed 94% of his passes and was at the heart of Chelsea’s midfield game. Frank Lampard is a solid performer for Chelsea but with such an assured outing for Mikel, Jose Mourinho will have a selection headache on Saturday, regarding who will fill this role and partner Ramires in the middle.