After doing so well since the start of the season, Chelsea are finally held without a win, drawing 1-1 with Schalke, equalizing through Klaas-Jan Huntelaar after an opener from Cesc Fabregas which should have been disallowed. Barcelona didn’t look very impressive once again, but one goal from Gerard Pique in the first half was enough for a 1-0 win over APOEL Nicosia.
Chelsea scored their opening goal in the 11th minute. Cesc Fabregas slid in hard on a Schalke player to win the ball without a foul being called, which led to Eden Hazard doing some excellent build up and putting Fabregas in a one on one situation with a no look pass, which the Spaniard managed to put past Ralf Fahrmann who put a touch on the ball.
Sometimes there’s justice or karma in the world of football. Klaas Jan-Huntelaar managed to dispatch Cesc Fabregas with a soft foul that set out Schalke on a counter attack, and Julian Draxler set the Dutch striker for an equalizing goal in a deserved away draw, which Jose Mourinho felt was in the air.
At the Camp Nou, a stadium Mourinho has no love for, Barcelona looked dull and slightly bored themselves against an opponent that wasn’t planning on opening up and allowing them to use the full width of the huge pitch.
Still, with all of the defensive approach and parking the bus, which is understandable considering the differences in talents and budgets, one set piece and a cross from Lionel Messi (who else) found Gerard Pique of all people to score the one and only goal in the match.
Barcelona were obviously the dominant team with 14 shots at goal compared to just three by APOEL, as Barcelona once again allowed a lot of young players to fill their lineup: Munir El Haddadi, Ter Stegen, Sergi Roberto and Sergi Samper. When you can keep on winning with these kind of names filling your lineup, you’re in a good situation, despite the less-than-formidable win.
