MATCH REPORT: CHELSEA 3 SHAKHTAR DONETSK 2
SummaryA stunning last-gasp header by substitute Victor Moses secured a much-needed 3-2 win which leaves us tied at the top of Group E with our beaten opponents.
Fernando Torres had given us the lead inside the opening five minutes, but only three minutes later the highly-coveted Willian equalised for the visitors when he converted a Fernandinho cross.
Shakhtar, in truth, had been the better team for the majority of the first half, but it was the Blues who went in ahead at the break thanks to a stunning Oscar lob six minutes before half time.
All the hard work, however, was undone two minutes after the restart when Willian scored an almost identical goal to his first one to draw Shakhtar level once more.
As the Blues huffed and puffed with time running out, it looked as though the game was slipping away, but with virtually the last action of the match, Mata swung in a corner from the right, and Moses, one of the smallest players on the pitch, rose highest to head into the top corner and seal a famous win, sending the home supporters delirious.
Drama is seldom in short supply on European nights at the Bridge, and while we will now need to secure another big result away in Juventus in a fortnight's time, our immediate attention turns towards a massive test in the Premier League on Sunday when we welcome Liverpool to west London.
Team newsThe big news with regards to team selection was that John Terry, available again, started on the bench with David Luiz, who missed the weekend draw at Swansea with an ankle problem, coming back into the side to partner Gary Cahill in the centre of defence. Branislav Ivanovic reverted to a more familiar right-back role, while Cesar Azpilicuetadropped down to the bench. With Ashley Cole unavailable due to a hamstring injury, Ryan Bertrand started his first Champions League game since the final in Munich last May. In the other changes from Saturday, Ramires came in at the expense of Oriol Romeu to play alongside John Mikel Obi in midfield, while goalscorer Moses made way for the returning Juan Mata. Petr Cech once again captained the side in the absence of both Terry and Frank Lampard.
Shakhtar were unchanged from the first match between the sides.
First halfRoberto Di Matteo had spoken in the pre-match press conference about the importance of starting the game well, and the players appeared to have heeded his words when we took the lead inside the opening five minutes.
Oscar showed a deft piece of skill wide on the right to evade his marker, and as he attempted to pick out Torres with his cross, Andriy Pyatov, the Shakhtar goalkeeper, was allowed to gather.
After rolling the ball out to Yaroslav Rakitskiy, the left-back, under pressure from Torres, played it straight back to the 'keeper, and as he hesitated in clearing, the Spaniard had made up enough ground to charge down his kick and break the deadlock
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