Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Chelsea 1-2 Basel

Salah and Streller stun Stamford Bridge!!!

Jose Mourinho loses his second match on the trot as the Swiss side grew in the second half to beat the Premier League outfit after Oscar broke the deadline just before half-time.Jose Mourinho endured frustration on his return to Champions League action with Chelsea as Basel came from a goal down to win 2-1.Six years to the day after a 1-1 draw with Rosenborg that represented the final game of Mourinho's first spell in charge at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea were stunned by second-half goals from Mohamed Salah and Marco Streller.
UEFA Champions League_Chelsea v FC Basel, Mohamed Salah
Oscar fired the hosts ahead in the 45th minute in the Group E clash with his sixth goal in seven Champions League outings and the Brazilian also hit the bar prior to Salah’s classy left-footed leveller.

That goal prompted Chelsea to throw men forward, yet it was Basel - always dangerous on the break - who struck again when Streller beat Petr Cech with a near-post header from a corner.

Willian was handed his Chelsea debut and Marco van Ginkel a first start as Mourinho made five changes from the side beaten 1-0 by Everton at the weekend.

Basel recalled a host of players after fielding a weakened side for their Schweizer Pokal victory against Munsingen.

Mourinho's men unsurprisingly started the game on the front foot, albeit without creating any clear-cut opportunities.

There was a scare for Basel goalkeeper Yann Sommer in the 15th minute when he fumbled a corner from the left, but a free-kick was swiftly awarded in his favour.

The pacey Salah - a scorer at Stamford Bridge in last season's Europa League semi-final between the two sides - represented the main threat when Basel launched occasional attacks.

After Eden Hazard had spurned a rare clear sighting of goal for Chelsea following good work from Samuel Eto'o, Salah also proved wasteful when cutting in from the right and curling a shot over the bar.

Despite dominating possession and the corner count, the hosts remained frustrated as half-time approached.

However, Chelsea were lifted on the stroke of the interval as Oscar popped up with a timely goal.

David Luiz set the attack in motion by stepping into midfield and Oscar latched on to a delicate throughball from Frank Lampard to find the bottom-left corner with a first-time shot on the turn.

Streller was close to connecting with a left-wing cross early in the second half before Oscar struck the bar at the other end with a tremendous effort from just outside the area.

Hazard failed to hit the target once again either side of Branislav Ivanovic twice threatening from set-pieces.

Chelsea were then punished for not extending their lead when a cross from the left broke via Streller to Salah, who emulated Oscar by only requiring one touch to find the net.

Although Chelsea poured forward in search of a late winner, it was Basel who finished the stronger and their encouraging play gained reward as Streller shocked the home crowd.

AC Milan 2-0 Celtic

Neil Lennon's men spurned more than their fair share of chances and were eventually punished when the hosts rallied in the final minutes of their Champions League opener.Emilio Izaguirre's own goal and a Sulley Muntari effort gave AC Milan a 2-0 Champions League win over Celtic at San Siro on Wednesday.Cristian Zapata's strike deflected off the Bhoys defender to put the hosts ahead after 82 minutes and, with the visitors pushing for a way back into the game, the Ghanaian doubled the Italian side's lead three minutes later to get the Rossoneri off to a winning start in Group H.
Cristian Zapata, Giorgos Samaras Milan Celtic Champions League

The well-documented Milan injury list meant that Massimiliano Allegri was forced into a number of changes, with Stephan El Shaarawy, Kaka, Giampaolo Pazzini, Riccardo Montolivo and Ignazio Abate among the absentees.

Slovenia international Valter Birsa made his debut for the club while Antonio Nocerino partnered Nigel de Jong in midfield for the clash.

Celtic had injuries of their own to contend with and were unable to name James Forrest or Joe Ledley in their matchday squad, although Adam Matthews shook off an ankle problem to start.

Mario Balotelli was quickly among the action, volleying an effort at Fraser Forster after three minutes, but the Celtic goalkeeper was equal to the task as he palmed the strike away.

Celtic's first chance came from a indirect free kick inside the area following a backpass but Charlie Mulgrew saw his shot deflected over the crossbar.

Alessandro Matri's header then forced another good save from Forster before Nocerino fired narrowly over just after the half-hour mark.

Balotelli again threatened a minute from the break when his low, swerving effort almost deflected into the far corner of Forster's goal.

Giorgos Samaras had the first opportunity of the second half for Celtic, with the Greek firing just past Christian Abbiati's post while Muntari headed just over for the hosts a minute after the hour mark.

After a lengthy period of Milan pressure, Anthony Stokes crashed a free kick against the crossbar for the visitors 10 minutes from time with Abbiati beaten.

However, two minutes later, Milan had their lead courtesy of a Zapata effort from outside the area that deflected off Izaguirre and in.

Muntari was then on hand three minutes later to make it two, bundling home from close-range after Balotelli's free kick had come back off the post to ensure that Milan came away with the three points.