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Superb Eden Hazard leads Chelsea to record win against Maribor

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Chelsea scored their biggest Champions League win when they crushed Maribor 6-0 in a one-sided Group G match on Tuesday, with Eden Hazard scoring twice and Didier Drogba and John Terry back among the goals.

Belgian midfielder Hazard played a pivotal role in a superb performance with two goals, one from the spot, as Jose Mourinho's men stretched their unbeaten run from the start of the season to 12 matches.

Veterans Drogba, 36, who also scored a penalty, and skipper Terry, 33, both scored in the first half, along with Loic Remy. An own goal and Hazard's two came after the break.

The night's results left Chelsea top of the group with seven points, followed by Schalke 04 on five, Maribor on two and Sporting Lisbon on one.

Maribor had no answer to Chelsea or Hazard, who capped his fine performance with a beautifully executed sixth in stoppage time to seal Chelsea's masterful performance.

Despite what followed, the Slovenian side had the first scoring chance at Stamford Bridge, when Damjan Bohar headed over the bar after five minutes. But although Maribor came searching for goals with an attacking lineup, it was Chelsea who scored them.

Remy made the breakthrough when he collected a neat pass from Terry, cut inside past two defenders and curled home with his left foot, but he injured his groin in the process.

Three minutes later Drogba replaced him to loud applause from the Chelsea fans and seven minutes after that he gave them even more to cheer about after Willian's cross was handled by defender Ales Mertelj.

Dutch referee Danny Makkelie pointed to the spot and Drogba, who returned to Chelsea this season after two years away, scored his first goal for the club since the equaliser in the 2012 Champions League final by sending goalkeeper Jasmin Handanovic the wrong way with his penalty under the huge banner at the Shed End that reads "Drogba Legend".


NICE SYMMETRY

Drogba's last kick in a Chelsea shirt in his first spell at the club came with the winning penalty in the shootout when they won the 2012 final against Bayern Munich, and he recalled that when he spoke to the media afterwards.

"To finish (my first time at Chelsea) with a penalty and start again with a penalty was a nice symmetry," he told Sky Sports.

"I am really happy because of the way we played today. We scored one, then two and didn't stop, we continued to play. I wanted to score that goal. I asked him (Eden Hazard) and he said it was OK. This is the spirit we have in this team. We share goals and we are happy when everyone is scoring and it will help me for my confidence."

If the match was nearly over as a contest by then it was definitely all over eight minutes later.

Terry, marauding upfield, also scored his first Champions League goal since 2012 when he crashed the ball over the line from close range after a cross from Cesc Fabregas in a counter-attack that started when Chelsea cleared a Maribor corner and featured a mazy 60-metre run from Hazard.

Chelsea did not have long to wait after the break for their fourth, when Hazard's shot was deflected over the line by Maribor left-back Mitja Viler.

Then the visitors wasted a clear chance that would at least have given them a consolation goal, as Ibraimi missed from a penalty that he fired against Petr Cech's left-hand post after Nemanja Matic had bulldozed into him in the box.

Willian went close to a fifth when he smacked a 20-metre shot against the bar after 75 minutes, but two minutes later the fifth goal arrived when Marko Suler fouled Branislav Ivanovic to concede another penalty.

Hazard resumed his penalty-taking responsibility for this one, and scored with a sweet shot that left Handanovic crumpled in despair.

Maribor, all thoroughly crumpled by this stage, went into damage limitation mode, but were breached again when Hazard, collecting the ball from substitute Nathan Ake, twisted this way and that for a brilliant sixth.

 

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