Nordsjaelland 0 Chelsea 4: Late gains calm defending champions' jitters
The scoreboard may have read 4-0 to Chelsea but that was not the full story —and if the European champions knew little about Nordsjaelland before Tuesday night, they certainly do now.The Danes made life hugely uncomfortable for Chelsea on a night when the visitors were expected to win comfortably. In the end they did so, thanks to a flurry of late goals from David Luiz, Juan Mata and Ramires.
But those strikes put gloss on a less-than-emphatic Chelsea performance.
Mata of fact: The Spaniard scored two for Chelsea as the holders edged past the Danes
This was only Nordsjaelland’s second outing among Europe’s elite — their first ending in a 2-0 defeat by Shakhtar Donetsk.
Nordsjaelland, who were only founded in 1991, pay their players on average £150,000 a year — enough for seven days of service from Chelsea skipper John Terry.
And Roberto Di Matteo saw fit to leave his captain out of his starting line-up as David Luiz and Gary Cahill began in the heart of defence, while Victor Moses was handed his Champions League debut in place of Eden Hazard.
Di Matteo knew only victory at Parken Stadium would be good enough, particularly after the 2-2 home draw against Juventus on match-day one. But a record of one win in eight away Champions League clashes must have been a worrying distraction for the Chelsea manager.
The biggest night in Nordsjaelland’s history almost got off to the worst possible start as a sloppy throw-in from left back Patrick Mtilinga on three minutes handed the returning Frank Lampard space on the edge of the box to pick out Brazilian starlet Oscar.
Brace yourself: Mata scored two on the night as Chelsea secured their first win in the competition this year
Mancini: We can win Champions League... but we must not repeat Madrid mistakes
Roberto Mancini was given every opportunity to ease the almost intolerable pressure on himself and his side ahead of the encounter with Borussia Dortmund.
He was encouraged to concede that, for all the skill he has displayed in winning domestic championships, he is still striving to master the unique demands of the Champions League.
He was asked if it was unfair to expect too much of Manchester City when this is only their eighth game in the competition; in their second seasons both Manchester United and Arsenal failed to progress from the group stage.
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Training day: Edin Dzeko, Samir Nasri, Aleksander Kolarov and Mario Balotelli prepare for the visit of German champions Dortmund
On the ball: David Silva get to work at Carrington ahead of City's next Champions League clash
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