Norway's Tippeligaen is far from the most popular European league among foreign football fans, but much of the talk before Chelsea's Uefa Champions League group stage encounter with Maccabi Tel Aviv on Wednesday focused on the division's current leaders, Rosenborg.
Back in September 2007, Rosenborg were the visitors to Stamford Bridge at the same stage of the competition. Chelsea, who had made a poor start to the domestic season, stuttered to a 1-1 draw against their unfancied Scandinavian opponents; less than two days later, Jose Mourinho — who had grown increasingly irritable and critical of the club’s hierarchy in the weeks previous — left his position as Chelsea manager by mutual consent.
The parallels heading into Wednesday’s game were clear for all to see, but Chelsea staved off further talk of a crisis with a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv.
While this was by no means the sort of perfect performance to eradicate all of the doubts that have emerged in recent weeks, it was a step in the right direction.
Chelsea’s improvement can in part be attributed to the strength of their opponents on the night: Maccabi, a team of willing runners who were committed in the challenge, simply could not match the quality of their illustrious adversaries.
A relatively conservative 4-5-1 setup — with lone striker Eran Zahavi isolated up front for long periods — ensured Chelsea dominated possession and did not have too much to worry about at the back.
There were, however, flickers of the vim and vigour that have been so sorely lacking in the lethargic, anaemic displays in their first five Premier League encounters.
It will be interesting to see if the individual performances of some of Mourinho’s players will influence his team selection going forward. The Portuguese made six changes to the XI that lost at Everton on Saturday, with many of the newcomers to the side impressing.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek, the 19-year-old academy product, provided drive and dynamism to a midfield that has been overrun too often this season. The youngster was involved right from the off, harshly booked for a foul on Eitan Tibi in the opening minute, with his willingness to burst forward with the ball at his feet something that has been missing from Chelsea’s stodgy showings so far.
Willian, who opened the scoring with a free-kick that evaded everyone and nestled in the bottom corner, was another positive, providing a useful blend of speed and skill before being withdrawn through injury after 22 minutes.
The returning Oscar, who has been absent since the opening day, also showed his quality, while left-back Baba Rahman looked accomplished on his debut and, even more significantly, allowed the excellent Cesar Azpilicueta to assume his more natural position on the right-hand side of the back four, a role monopolised by Branislav Ivanovic since Mourinho returned to the club in 2013.
If there were clear plus points in the displays of some of the fringe members of the champions’ squad, Eden Hazard’s ongoing struggles will be a concern for Mourinho.
The Belgian was again largely unrecognisable from the tricky, inventive playmaker who was crowed Player of the Year last season, with his awful early penalty — Hazard blazed the ball high over the crossbar after Willian was brought down by Maccabi goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic — illustrative of a player devoid of confidence. Hazard is too good a footballer not to bounce back, but his loss of form is as puzzling as it is perturbing.
This win relieves some of the pressure surrounding Chelsea, who avoided a repeat of the Rosenborg fiasco of eight years ago to become the only English team to win in the Uefa Champions League this week.
The real test will come on Saturday, though, when Arsenal — and Mourinho’s good friend Arsene Wenger — come to town. Chelsea’s revival has only just begun.
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