Chelsea overcome the chills to beat Spartak Moscow by two goals to nil
Despite having to make an array of saves in the second half, Chelsea held on to the considerable lead that they earned in the first half. The discipline and tactical awareness along with the in team coordination that Chelsea
showed in the second half, helped them return with all three points from a more than tricky and testing trip to Russia.
Chelsea added Ramires to their injury worries before the match as the player was ruled out after being declared injured in the team’s weekend Premier League clash. However what this meant was that Yuri Zhirkov would be making
a rare debut for the Chelsea side in the game.
The game was going to be a far bigger game than most people expected it to be, for the reason that Chelsea were returning to the same stadium where they could have potentially won the Champions League. However due to a late
slip by the team’s captain John Terry during the penalty shootout the team failed to achieve that goal.
Once the game started though, it didn't look like Chelsea were feeling any added mental stress or pressure. The team was playing some brilliant football and was looking to break through the resilient home side.
After a series of back and forth exchanges between the two sides the first goal on the night came as a result of a wonder strike, by none other than Zhirkov. The player who was brought in to fill in for the missing Ramires
went on to strike a thunder bolt of a shot from twenty five yards out. A ball was cleared by the Spartak defence but only as far as the path of the on rushing Chelsea player, who waited for the ball to bounce before striking it on the half volley and giving
Chelsea the lead.
The next goal came courtesy of Nicolas Anelka. The French forward lashed onto a brilliant through ball, before cutting back to beat a defender near the goal kick line, the player then went on to curl a grounded shot underneath
the legs of an opposing player and beyond the reach of the keeper, to give Chelsea the two goal advantage before the half time interval.
In the second half, Spartak came out with all guns blazing and were looking to get an early goal, to try and bring the tie back to life. However they just couldn't seem to get past a Chelsea side that was in no mood of losing
the game or dropping any points. The game eventually ended with the score being two nil in favour of Chelsea.
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