Monitoring Desk
LONDON, England
(TheSportsNEXT) November 8, 2012: Victor Moses came off the bench to score
an incredible last-gasp winner tonight as Chelsea somehow survived a Shakhtar
Donetsk onslaught to keep their UEFA Champions League fate in their own hands,
the official FIFA website reported.
The Blues were in danger of being the first holders to crash
out of the competition before Christmas as former target Willian twice cancelled
out almighty howlers from goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov which gifted goals to
Fernando Torres and Oscar, the latter's fourth in as many Champions League
games. But late substitute Moses nodded home Mata's 94th minute corner to steal
a barely-believable victory that put Chelsea level on points with their
opponents at the top of Group E with two games remaining.
"We've got a crucial three points. It was crucial for
us to win this tough home game," Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo told
Sky Sports. "They are a very good side. Now it's probably going to go down
to the last kick of the last game in this group. The spirit that my group
showed again to keep going to the end - we knew we had to score at the end, and
we did so."
Di Matteo refused to shy away from the importance of
tonight's game from the moment the final whistle went in the reverse fixture -
which Chelsea lost two weeks ago - branding it must-win. As if to drive home
the point to his players, the following fortnight saw him dub the match
Chelsea's biggest since the May's final and claim his side needed to produce a
"perfect" performance to succeed.
That made his decision to leave John Terry on the bench -
albeit for match-fitness reasons - a massive gamble, with the holders having
shipped ten goals in the four games their captain had missed during his
domestic ban. The Blues were also without Ashley Cole against a team who had
not lost for almost 12 months and had won an astonishing 19 of their 20 matches
this term.
That included the reverse fixture, in which Shakhtar never
looked back after racing into an early lead. But they saw the tables turned
tonight thanks to Pyatov, whose attempted clearance from Yaroslav Rakitskiy's
backpass was closed down by Torres and careered into the net.
The visitors should have equalised when Luiz Adriano
produced an airshot but they were level in the ninth minute when Willian fired
home Fernandinho's cutback after a crucial slip by Ryan Bertrand. Cole's
understudy, playing his biggest match since the Champions League final, was
having an absolute nightmare, making a succession of basic errors that
threatened to cost Chelsea.
Petr Cech prevented him diverting a corner into his own net
before making an acrobatic save from Fernandinho's long-ranger. At least Torres
was looking more interested than he had in the defeat in Donetsk. He twice went
close to nodding in brilliant Branislav Ivanovic crosses but, otherwise,
Shakhtar were in complete control, popping the ball about as if they were the
home side.
A breathtaking one-touch move almost saw them take the lead
in the 32nd minute when Alex Teixeira shaved the post from 18 yards. Chelsea
fans began calling for Terry but they were soon celebrating their side going
ahead completely against the run of play thanks to the madness of Pyatov and
genius of Oscar.
Pyatov came charging out to head Juan Mata's harmless
40th-minute cross clear but the ball fell straight to Oscar, who produced a
sublime 40-yard half-volley that sailed over the goalkeeper and into the net.
Eden Hazard also forced a good fingertip save from the beleaguered stopper
before a frenetic half was out.
Stung by the injustice of being behind, Shakhtar took less
than two minutes to equalise again after the restart with another stunning
move, Fernandinho's defence-splitting pass and Darijo Srna's cross allowing
Willian to stroke home.
Cech got away with a Pyatov-like clearance and Razvan Rat's
first-time half-volley clattered the post from 25 yards out before Torres
wasted a great chance to turn in Hazard's free-kick after Teixeira was booked
for tripping the Belgian. Pyatov almost gifted Oscar another clearance and
Tomas Hubschman brought down Torres for a free-kick which John Obi Mikel
powered home from Mata's cross. But the midfielder was rightly denied his first
goal for five years by an offside flag.
Chelsea, who were now on top, had genuine cause for
complaint 16 minutes from time when a flying Ramires was convinced he had been
bundled over in the box by Srna but referee Carlos Velasco Carballo was
unmoved. Teixeira was replaced by Ilsinho before Oscar was denied by a
desperate Rat tackle and Mikel volleyed Pyatov's punch narrowly wide.
Moses came on for Oscar and Willian cleared Gary Cahill's
dangerous header as Chelsea poured forward but they were almost caught out on
the break, leading Luiz was booking late on and nearly a winner for Henrik
Mkhitaryan. But in the 94th minute, Chelsea won a corner which an unmarked Moses
nodded in seconds before the final whistle.
"We dominated the match and had lots of opportunities
to score, and I think we were better than Chelsea," said Shakhtar coach
Mircea Lucescu. "It was a pity that in the last minutes we went forward to
score the third goal, because we left some spaces behind and we made a big
mistake."
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