Match Report: Willian Downs Dynamo in Another Impressive Display

The clouds loomed large above Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night as Chelsea prepared to take on Dynamo Kiev in their Champions League clash. After a scoreless draw in the reverse fixture, Chelsea remained third in Group G, a point behind Dynamo.

Chelsea’s struggles this season, on and off the pitch, have been extensively documented to the point of exhaustion. The question marks about Jose Mourinho’s future at Chelsea have dominated column inches and have become the accepted and expected narrative ahead of each game now. With just a single win over a struggling Aston Villa side in their 8 games leading up to this match, Chelsea have done little to try and re-write their season’s story to this point.

Claims remain unsubstantiated that a Chelsea player said he would rather lose than win for Jose Mourinho. While it’s unlikely that any professional footballer would risk their own reputation because of a personality clash, it hasn't stopped the speculation. Beyond their current form, rumours like this have heaped even more scrutiny on Chelsea’s starting XI.

After Saturday’s shocking loss to Liverpool, Mourinho changed his team once again as Gary Cahill was given a rest and allowed Kurt Zouma to move back to his natural position. Baba Rahman was given a rare start on the left. While Nemanja Matic was brought back in to the side to offer more going forward than John Obi Mikel. Of course the most noteable change to their lineup was the glaring omission of Eden Hazard.

While Cahill and Hazard didn’t exactly cover themselves in glory against Liverpool last weekend, they certainly weren’t the sole reason for the loss. Their position on the bench last night may have been less to do with tactics or pseudo punishments than it did with actual rest. Mourinho received a great deal of criticism for not rotating his Premier League winning side last season. The sluggish displays this season could be a direct result to the mental and phsyical strain of last season. Only Gary Cahill (1324 mins) had played more minutes than Eden Hazard (1293) for Chelsea in all competitions this season and will likely be needed for Stoke this weekend.

While it was not a classic performance from the home side in any sense of the word, they did well to contain the tenacity of their opponents. While they gained confidence after going ahead thanks to a Aleksandar Dragovic own goal, it almost evaporated the moment he scored at the other end for Dynamo. In that second, there was a sinking feeling that Chelsea would again be punished for a brief lapse in concentration.

Mourinho did not wait for heads to drop and immediately gave Chelsea a creative boost by bringing on Eden Hazard and Pedro. The ponderous pace was turned on its head and within minutes of the Belgian's arrival he had won a free-kick in optimal Willian territory. Amidst the celebrations, as the ball hit the back of the net, a sense of relief enveloped Stamford Bridge.

As the clock ticked down in injury time, Mourinho enabled Willian to receive a rapturous reception when he was substituted in the 91st minute. Willian has been the bright spark in Chelsea’s season so far. His boundless energy has been coupled with impressive finishing this season. There have been just 4 goals scored from direct free-kicks in the Champions League this season and Willian has scored 3 of them. He was more than deserving of his standing ovation for being the man who might just save Chelsea’s season.

After the match, the manager heaped further praise on the Brazilian. “It was an unbelievable goal which many players deserved, because they’ve put in good performances, but he deserved more than anyone. Everyone worked hard, but it is fair to pick out Willian because of his work-rate, quality on the ball, participation in the first goal and quality of the second.”