Chelsea Bounces Back With Schalke 04

Perhaps someone stirred the spirit of Peter Osgood, the legendary striker who died seven years ago and is buried beneath the penalty spot at the Shed End.
Is Ossie back to help in a time of need? Certainly something is spooking the goalkeepers in that penalty area.

First there was Cardiff's David Marshall, robbed of the ball by Samuel Eto'o in a Barclays Premier League game as he bounced it and prepared for to kick from his hands, an intervention that was illegal but somehow allowed to stand.

Then there was Joe Hart's rush of blood and communication breakdown, which presented Chelsea a late win in the Premier League and cost the England goalkeeper his place in the Manchester City team and today we add to that list Timo Hildebrand, Schalke keeper and German international, who was also outfoxed by Eto'o and, unlike Marshall, without the law on his side, he can blame no-one but himself.

Just over half an hour had passed and Chelsea had been misfiring in possession when Hildebrand rolled the ball out before him and surveyed the 21 other players on the pitch. Or at least some of them. He failed to notice to Eto'o, lurking to his right, crouching and ready to explode in a sprint for the ball as Hildebrand continued to dither.

The Cameroonian striker arrived just as the goalkeeper finally got around to swinging his right leg but the attempted clearance crashed into Eto'o and rebounded as if remote controlled into the net. With it, Chelsea were taking control of Group E and closing in on the knockout stages, which would cleanse them of the ignominy of this time last year, when they became the first champions to go out at the group stage.

It also helped them over the anxiety generated by Saturday's defeat at Newcastle. The pressure lifted a little and poor Hildebrand became a figure of fun for the crowd to toy with for the rest of the evening. It was a bizarre goal but it was vital and Eto'o struck again, nine minutes after the break, this time a more orthodox and clinical finish after excellent footwork and a pass from Willian.

              

Cool finish: Eto'o grabs his second goal of the night by neatly slotting the ball past Hildebrand.