Chelsea were pegged back by Klaas-Jan Huntelaar after Cesc Fábregas scored early on at Stamford Bridge
9.38pm BST
And what a result that was for Schalke. They may be struggling to keep up in the Bundesliga but they were worthy of their point tonight against a Chelsea side that threw away a host of chances. Thanks for all your emails and Tweets and comments. Speak soon. Bye!
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And that is that.
9.35pm BST
90 + 2 mins Chelsea are putting Schalke under some severe pressure here but the Germans are coping very well. A point is almost theirs. Theyll deserve it too.
9.34pm BST
90 mins There are three more minutes for Chelsea to find a winner. Speaking of winners ...
9.33pm BST
89 mins Corner to Chelsea. Is this it? It is not. Ivanovic deflects it off a Schalke body for another corner. Is the second one it? It is not. Höger clears.
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88 mins Chelsea are on the attack, passing their way around the Schalke half. Matic eventually loses possession near the corner flag on the left and the Germans clear the danger for a moment or two.
9.30pm BST
87 mins Höger gets a yellow card for time wasting at a throw.
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85 mins Corner to Chelsea and sub to Schalke. Draxler goes, Obasi comes. Fábregas takes and Fährmann comes and collects with ease.
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82 mins And Chelsea waste yet another chance. The ball is put into the box and the shoulder of Costa pops it up into the air. It lands in just the right spot for Hazard to volley it home. However, under a touch of pressure, he does one miles wide over the bar. It was a tight angle but he is better than that.
9.23pm BST
80 mins Its attack after attack after attack right now, from both sides. The game is more open than a window in summer.
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78 mins Another Schalke sub. Barnetta is in and Sam is out.
9.21pm BST
76 mins Chelsea get a free-kick wide on the left, near the corner of the box. Fábregas whips it in and Fährmann scuffs his effort to punch it clear. At the back post it lands at the foot of Rémy. He controls it and hammers the ball towards the back of the net. It looks to be a certain goal only for Neustädter to head it off the line.
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74 mins A couple of subs for you. Costa and Rémy come on and Willian and Drogba go off. As for Schalke, Choupo-Moting comes in and Meyer goes out.
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72 mins ... could being the operative word. It is launched long to the back post and Chelsea soon whack it away.
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70 mins A great cross-field pass from Draxler finds Höger. Schalke pass it back to the other side but their move breaks down near the corner flag on the left. Moments later, Draxler stings Courtois hands with a rasping drive from about 25 yards out and just after that Willian gives away a free-kick on the edge of the box on the left for a foul on Fuchs. (He got a yellow card of that challenge, by the way.) Back to the free-kick. This could be dangerous ...
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68 mins Still no goals in Germany.
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66 mins Right before that goal, by the way, Drogba missed another great opportunity to double his sides lead with his reverse shot going this wide after a decent through ball from Hazard. Meanwhile, Oscar has replaced Ramires.
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Huntelaar it was who started this and Huntelaar is was who ended this. Fábregas dithered on the ball mid-way inside the Schalke half and got robbed of possession by the forward. He played the ball to Draxler who galloped forward, ghosting past a load of Chelsea players before returning the ball to the Dutchman, located wide on the left. On the edge of the area, he was only going to do one thing. Cut inside. He did just that and the Chelsea defence backed off so Huntelaar shoved the ball through the legs of Cahill and in the bottom left corner of the net.
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Game. On.
9.04pm BST
59 mins Chelsea attack and soon lose possession. Thats not too interesting but what happened afterwards was. Huntelaar tried to walk the ball out of his half and Terry came steaming in, taking the ball away by illegal means. The whistle went for a free-kick but seconds later the captain thumped the ball into the net from quite a way out. The referee then flashed a yellow at him. Silly boy. Terry that is. Not the referee. He was just doing his job.
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57 mins Holy Cow #2!
GOAL! Porto 4-0 BATE (Brahimi 57) #UCL
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56 mins Who doesnt love some nice pictures of Champions League action? Boateng, by the way, has tested Courtois from long-range once more. The keeper did what you would expect him to do.
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54 mins A lovely long ball from Fábregas finds Hazard free deep in Schalke territory. He plays a quick one-two with Drogba, getting the ball back on the edge of the box. The Belgian dithers for a moment or two before cutting inside and whacking the ball over the bar.
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53 mins Holy cow!
GOAL! Roma 5-0 CSKA (Ignashevich 50) #UCL
5 - Roma have scored five goals in a Champions League game for the first time. Imperial.
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51 mins Chelsea attack down the left before working the ball to the opposite flank. Ramires gives it to Willian and he tries to give it to Drogba. The cross is good but once again, Drogba is too slow to react and Ayhan hoofs the ball clear.
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49 mins And that should have been goal number two for Chelsea. Hazard strode forward and picked out Willian on the right. The Brazilian worked his way into the box and put a quick cross across the front of goal. Drogba was in there but his reactions were not quick enough and by the time he had swung his leg the chance and the ball had gone.
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47 mins Schalke pass it about a bit for the opening moments, switching the play around the back from left to right. They eventually work their way forward a bit. Boateng swings a Hollywood out to Höger on the right. He tries to control it on his chest but fails to do so and Chelsea have the ball for the first time in this half.
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45 mins And we are back. No subs to tell you about just yet.
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Some half-time scores for you (check out Roma!):
Goals galore in Rome and Porto! All the half-time scores from around the grounds... #UCL pic.twitter.com/MwGlHqMyZq
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Thats your lot for now. Back in a few minutes.
8.31pm BST
45 mins Oh my. This was very close for Schalke. Draxler gets the ball at his feet and runs and weaves his way towards the Chelsea goal. The three Chelsea players surrounding him back off and back off and eventually the German lets a shot off. It goes across Courtois and misses the back of the net by inches.
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43 mins Under no pressure and from a weak-ish pass, Drogba first-touches the ball right out of play. He curses loudly in French.
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42 mins We can all relate to this, no?
Schalke GK Fahrmann - just outside his six-yard box - tries to clear a cross with a stretched foot...
... it was like a lad who hates playing in nets temporarily forced to go in goal for five-a-side.
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41 mins In defence of Drogba 2.0 and his terrible first touch, defends Michael Hunt, I remember clearly that outstanding as he was, throughout Drogba 1.0s first season or two, his second touch was always with his head. Luckily when youre a towering outhouse of a man you tend to hold the advantage in that battle.
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39 mins Meanwhile, down at the other end of the pitch, Schalke have a corner after Courtois was forced into palming one away from a decent strike from Boateng. Drogba clears the danger.
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37 mins Oh my. What. A. Miss. Ramires has the ball outside the box. He does one of those delicious dinkers over the high-lined defence. Ivanoivc runs on to it and near the end line, he cuts it back. His pass falls at the feet of Fábregas (who has set up shop around the penalty spot) and somehow from a few yards out with the goal at his mercy, the Spain international manages to put the ball over the bar. José dont look happy.
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36 mins Its still 0-0 in southern Germany by the way.
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34 mins Another Filipe Luis curling cross (this time after the defender jinked his way past not one but two Schalke defenders). Ivanovic is on the end of this one. He heads wide from a decent way out but it wouldnt have counted anyway as he was (incorrectly) deemed offside.
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32 mins Filipe Luis pops up with the ball in some space wide on the left. He whips one in and Drogba rises above two defenders to connect with a thumper of a header that, unfortunately for him, is aimed right at Fährmann.
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30 mins Schalke get a throw deep in the Chelsea half on the left. They move the ball backwards and Chelsea press. Eventually, the Germans thump it long and Chelsea regain possession. That doesnt last for long, however, and Schalke counterattack. Huntelaar gets the ball on the corner of the box. This could be dangerous. Or not. His shot is blocked and Chelsea clear the danger soon enough.
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28 mins I dont have any thoughts specifically about Fabregas and Drogba hooking up (oo-er missus, and all that...), says Matt Dony, but I do enjoy how instantly successful Fabregas has been. Creating, scoring, working hard, the whole shebang. And, as much as I dont want to see Chelsea doing well, knowing that Arsenal instead have the hilariously underperforming Özil warms the cockles of my heart. Jose must love coming in to work. You have to feel a bit sorry for Özil though, no? Being played out of position like that.
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26 mins Hazard was about to skip his way up the pitch but KP Boateng has other ideas. He basically stands in front of the Chelsea player and body-checks him to the ground. Unsurprisingly, he gets the games second yellow card.
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24 mins Dante Danger is not so positive about Drogbas return. I know its early days , but Drogba looks a shadow of the player he was. Poor first touch and barely been in the game.
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21 mins Its now Draxlers turn to try his luck. He is fed the ball on the left-hand corner of the box but his shot troubles the corner flag on the right more than it does Courtois.
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19 mins Any striker who couldnt click with Cesc isnt worth mentioning and the striker in question is Didi Drogba states John Mc Enerney. Of course theyll connect Drogba gives u a lot more options than you think great movement & strength, over the top or on the deck no problem for DD to latch on to any type of pass that Cesc will give him! Meanwhile, Sam has managed to get a shot on target for Schalke. Its too straight though and Courtois saves easily enough.
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17 mins Chelsea get the first corner of the game. Fábregas takes and Cahill rises like a salmon only to see his effort be cleared off the line. Tis only a matter of time before Chelsea get their second of the match.
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15 mins Chelsea counter with speed. This time it is Hazard on the ball. Inside the box, he cuts inside and shoots. Schalke deflect the ball away and survive. Just about.
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14 mins In the aftermath of that goal, Huntelaar got a yellow card for protesting too much.
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The Schalke players are not happy and they have a point. Neustädter played the ball out of the back to Meyer. His touch was heavier than an over-weight elephant and possession was lost. Meyer tried to atone for his mistake by running to poke the ball away from the on-rushing Fábregas. The Schalke man got there before Fábregas but the Spaniard took him down for what should have been a free-kick. The ball broke to Hazard and he strode into the box. Fábregas ran on the outside of him, got the ball and poked it under the keeper.
7.56pm BST
Oh Schalke.
7.55pm BST
8 mins And there goes Chelseas best effort of the game so far. Ramires got the ball a bit outside the box. He cut a pass to Drogba who had pulled out wide on the left. The striker looked up and crossed one into the box. A host of players missed it and the ball fell to Ramires. He took it on his knee, sold a dummy to the defender and with the space created and the hard work done, he scuffed his shot.
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6 mins Twill be interesting to see how Fábregas and Drogba hook up tonight, no? I ask that like there is someone out there reading who might have an opinion on the subject when I know full well there aint. Ho hum. As for the match, Schalke actually get on the ball for a moment or two but the nice move forward which is punctuated by some pretty passing is ruined by Sam who wallops one miles wide from a ridiculous angle.
7.49pm BST
4 mins And now it is Ramires turn to, eh, turn and run at the Schalke defence. He tries to slip the ball into the box and into the path of Drogba but Fährmann is quick off his line and collects the ball.
7.48pm BST
2 mins Chelsea keep the ball for the opening minutes of the game. Willian gets it at his feet, runs and brushes past a few Schalke players. He sweeps the ball out to Hazard on the wing. The Belgian gets it caught under his feet and the ball soon trundles out for a goal-kick to the Germans.
7.45pm BST
1 min Peeeeeeeeeep goes the whistle of the Croatian referee and it is off we go. Chelsea are rocking their traditional blue number and they are playing right to left. Schalke are decked in green. It is the home side who kick-off. The referee and his line-running chums are wearing that same awful number as the lads in Liverpool wore last night.
7.41pm BST
Were you wondering what Peter Lovenkrands is up to tonight? Wonder no more.
Gonna watch my old team @s04 against Chelsea tonight! Bayern vs Man City will be a cracker as well, keep my eye on that to. #ChampionsLeague
7.39pm BST
By the way, folks, Paul Doyle has the latest news from Manchester Citys 2-0 defeat to Bayern Munich. In case you are interested in that, which you arent because you want some hot! hot! hot! action involving Chelsea and Schalke, right? RIGHT?
7.35pm BST
A touch of Chelsea news ahead of tonights game. José Mourinho has claimed Eden Hazard can establish himself as one of the greats of his generation with Chelsea confident they will agree a new long-term contract with the Belgian.
Hazard was one of the London clubs most consistent performers last season with Mourinho pointing to the steady progress made by the 23-year-old in terms of developing tactical awareness and accepting defensive duties over his first year working with the player. Yet that education is far from complete and the manager had been publicly critical of the Belgians failure to track back and check a run by Atlético Madrids Juanfran in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final in April, an error which cost his team an equaliser.
That was a reminder that this is a long-term process as Mourinho prepares to throw Hazard back into the competition in Wednesdays opening Group G fixture against Schalke. Eden means a lot to us because hes a fantastic player, said the manager. We are feeling day by day his motivation to work hard and improve. We have big hopes that he will go from the top player he is at this moment and will reach higher levels to become one of the best. Even last season his was a big evolution from the Hazard I met in Thailand [pre-season] when I arrived. He was a kid always living on his amazing natural talent.
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Who is the best manager of the Champions League era? This video has the answer:
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Remember the 2007/08 season? Or has age done something terrible to your memory bank? Well if you are one of the chosen few who have been blessed with such powers of recall it then you should be able to remember the group stages of this very competition and the time that these two teams came together at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea, then under the watchful eye of Avram Grant, won 2-0. One Florent Malouda got the first and one Didier Drogba got the second. Who could have predicted that seven years and a stint in Turkey later, that very same Drogba would be lining up to face Schalke in the colours of Chelsea once more. Yes. You read that right. Drogba starts tonight, ahead of Costa and ahead of Rémy. Mourinho must be quite confident. In other news Filipe Luís also gets a full debut after his move from Madrid and rumours of Cech getting a run out have been greatly exaggerated. One things about the Schalke line-up. Kaan Ayhan, who is playing at the heart of defence and who will be going up against a forward who will be looking to score in the Champions League for the 12th season in a row, has only one previous Champions League appearance to his name. What could go wrong, eh? Those teams in full then are as follows:
Chelsea: Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Filipe Luis; Matic, Fábregas; Ramires, Willian, Hazard; Drogba. Subs: Cech, Zouma, Azpilicueta, Oscar, Mikel, Rémy, Costa.
6.45pm BST
What is your greatest fear? The one that keeps you up into the wee small hours of the morning long after your other half has stolen the duvet, left you to shiver in the September cold and answered your pleas for its return with a cacophony of snores that are not unlike the sound emitted by a rhino when giving birth. For Andre Agassi it was public humiliation. Before a match he would pray: not for victory, but that my hairpiece would not fall off. I imagine millions of spectators move closer to their TV sets, their eyes widening and, in dozens of dialects and languages, ask how Andre Agassis hair has fallen from his head.
For many it is something more mundane, like the thoughts of being stuck in a lift with a bunch of Breaking Bad fans who keep on talking about how great Breaking Bad is and how awesome Breaking Bad is and how incredible Breaking Bad is and how amazing Breaking Bad is. For millions and millions of others, it is idea of waking up in the morning, having a nice warm shower after a relaxing lie-in, which is then followed by a breakfast of breadcrumbed poached egg on hashbrown stack with chorizo, smokey aubergine puree and a mint and cucumber yoghurt dressing, a flat white and a chat with friends, only to find that when you switch on your computer to play some music the whole year has been ruined by U2 creeping into your library over night and depositing their trash. (And not for the first time either.)
In the pre-match presser, no one asked the Schalke coach, Jens Keller, what his was but if they had have, his reply might well have been having to play Chelsea at this moment in time. Things could not be much worse for Schalke right now. They have picked up just one point from their opening three games (a home draw and two away defeats) and only the slimmest goal difference keeps them from claiming the bottom spot in the Bundesliga. Last weekend, they took on Borussia Mönchengladbach, a team who had only drawn their opening two league games and they were trashed 4-1. It was a pretty terrible performance all around. They were hammered on the counter and up front they looked as blunt as something you generally see hanging from Snoop Lions mouth. In fact, if you include being knocked out of the German Cup by Dynamo Dresden youve never heard of them because they play in Germanys third tier then Schalke have failed to win any of their first four competitive games of a new season for the first time in 46 years. The players confidence cannot be high and neither can the confidence in Keller. Speaking after that Mönchengladbach defeat, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar said it was time we changed some things this season. What on earth could he mean, eh?
In mitigation, the squad are rife with injuries. As my colleague, Dominic Fifield, has pointed out: At Mönchengladbach on Saturday Keller found himself without eight senior players Felipe Santana, Sead Kolasinac, Joël Matip, Jan Kirchhoff, Jefferson Farfán, Atsuto Uchida, Leon Goretzka, Marcel Sobottka through injury. Julian Draxler and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who had been suffering from flu for a fortnight, were only able to contribute as second-half substitutes, while another youngster suffering from sickness, Max Meyer, was unused. You can also add the clubs captain and World Cup winner, Benedikt Höwedes, to that list after he picked up a partial tear of a tendon in his groin. Also, as you may or may not know, Schalke earned but a solitary point from their opening three league games last season before recovering to record their third top-three finish in five seasons. A win (or even a point) at Stamford Bridge would certainly boost the players belief that history could be repeated but doing so looks tougher than trying to chew a three-day old pork chop with your false teeth upstairs in the glass of water beside the bed. And heres why.
Chelsea have been imperious so far this season. Four games played, four games won. It is early days yet but they already lead the rest of the teams in the Premier League in terms of both points gained and goals scored and their new singings have slotted in with all the ease of Lucas Bartons hand into the Power Glove (anyone else remember The Wizard?), especially Diego Costa and Cesc Fábregas. The former is only the second player in Premier League history to score in each of his first four games while the latter is the first player since the dawn of the same league to assist a goal in six consecutive games. But they are not quite perfect just yet, especially at the back where they have been unusually generous for a José Mourinho trained side they have conceded five goals in their last two games. That back four will almost certainly improve over the season (especially when they get used to the new man behind them) but Schalkes second best hope for tonight is aforementioned Chelsea back-line have the sort of stinker that makes a fancy, French perfume smell like sour socks. Their first best hope is, or course, that the entire Chelsea first team get kidnapped by aliens and flown to another planet for unspeakable medical procedures, forcing Mourinho to play a team made up of the ballboys, burger sellers and a couple of fat blokes from the crowd who reckon they had a shot at being a professional when they wer younger.
At the same stage of the competition last season, the London Blues beat the Royal Blues by three goals both home and away. That victory last November extended Chelseas home record against German sides to seven games without defeat and means that they have never lost at Stamford Bridge to a Bundesliga club. Speaking of defeats and Stamford Bridge, Chelsea have lost just one of their last 30 home league games. It would be foolish of us to expect anything other than a Chelsea win, right? Team news is on its way.
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