Maribor weren't expected to provide much opposition for Chelsea on Tuesday, and they didn't spring any surprises. The Blues were ahead inside the first 15 minutes and had no problem coasting to a 6-0 victory.
Loic Remy scored the opener in the 13th minute, finishing off a fast counter. Chelsea capitalized on a Maribor turnover, with John Terry playing an excellent long through-ball toward Remy to set up the chance. He made some space for himself on the edge of the box, then placed a great shot to the far post.
Unfortunately for Chelsea, Remy pulled up lame after scoring and had to be substituted immediately. He was replaced by Didier Drogba.
The Chelsea legend was only on the pitch for seven minutes before he scored from the spot. Ales Mertelj was called for a handball on a Willian cross attempt in the 22nd minute, and Drogba stepped up to take the penalty and score.
UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
It got even worse for Maribor in the 31st minute, when they were destroyed on the counter again, and Terry got another chance to be involved. Eden Hazard did most of the work to set it up, going on a brilliant run through the center of the pitch with the ball before he laid off for Cesc Fabregas. He hit a cross toward the back post, and Terry was there to score at the end of a long run.
While Chelsea toned down their efforts from there, they still managed to score a couple more times. In the 56th minute, Felipe Luiz made a brilliant run down the left and crossed for Eden Hazard, who saw his pass hit off Mitja Viler and bounce into the back of the net.
Maribor had a chance to get a goal back in the 63rd minute when Nemanja Matic was caught barging down Agim Ibraimi in the box, but Ibraimi missed from the spot. The referee gave Chelsea a penalty of their own in the 77th minute, after Marko Suler was caught fouling Branislav Ivanovic. Not yet on the scoreboard, Hazard stepped up and scored, adding a goal to their tally. He capped off the scoring as well, netting a stunner off a long ball in stoppage time.
Chelsea: Cech, Felipe, Terry, Zouma, Ivanovic, Matic, Fabregas (Ake 60'), Hazard, Oscar (Solanke 73'), Willian, Remy (Drogba 16')
Goals: Remy (13'), Drogba (pen 23'), Terry (31'), Viler (OG 56'), Hazard (pen 79', 90')
Maribor: Handanovic, Viler (Vrsic 57'), Suler, Racjeciv, Stojanovic, Bohar, Filipovic, Mertelj, Mejac, Tavares (Mendy 72'), Ibraimi (Zahovic 68')
Goals: None.
3 things
1. Eden Hazard is just here to have fun - Hazard tried a rabona cross in the first half and appeared to get his feet tangled up while trying to score a rabona in the second half. This is definitely preferred to more simple techniques. We applaud him.
2. Maribor aren't good - Since Schalke were able to get a draw against Chelsea, it's not obvious how they managed to only draw this Maribor team. The Slovenians are pretty clearly a class below Schalke and Sporting, and two or three below Chelsea.
3. Chelsea just got paper thin at striker - Loic Remy, starting because of an injury to Diego Costa, had to leave the match with a groin injury after scoring his goal. The man who replaced him, Didier Drogba, looked fine for the rest of the match, but has been dealing with some injury problems of his own. Winger Andre Schürrle, Chelsea's emergency striker, is hobbled as well. For the next month or so, the Blues are going to be very thin up top.