The Breakdown: Shakhtar vs Chelsea

By Gabriel Tan

Both sides entered the game at the Donbass Arena level on four points from their opening two games, but it was the Ukrainian giants who got off to a flying start, taking the lead after just three minutes when Alex Teixeira clinically fired into the bottom corner.

Seven minutes after the break, Fernandinho doubled his side's lead with an emphatic strike to put them firmly in control, although the Blues did manage a late consolation when Oscar swept home a Branislav Ivanovic cross two minutes from time.

Here, ESPNSTAR.com takes a look at where the game was won and lost on Tuesday evening.

Shakhtar Donetsk

Defence

For 88 minutes, the hosts' defence didn't put a foot wrong, with each member knowing their role and executing it to perfection.

Andriy Pyatov in particular was outstanding with his sweeper-keeper style of play, rushing off his line to clear away any balls that were played in behind his backline. The 28-year-old also produced a number of good saves, most notably in the 79th minute when he stuck out a big boot to deny Eden Hazard in a one-on-one situation.

Shakhtar captain Darijo Srna was equally impressive with a tireless shift at right-back, and his energy was a reason Chelsea constantly found themselves on the back foot. Both Oleksandr Kucher and Yaroslav Rakitskiy were also impressive in the heart of defence, and kept their opponents very quiet.

Pyatov - 8 | Srna - 7.5 | Kucher - 7 | Rakitskiy - 7 | Rat - 6.5

Midfield

While the Shakhtar defence will get plenty of credit for the way they stifled their opponents, it all started in midfield, where the trio of Tomas Hubschmann, Fernandinho and Henrikh Mkhitaryan applied endless pressure on the visitors' ball-carriers.

Hubschmann was mainly restricted to providing a shield in front of his backline but did so to good effect, while Fernandinho covered plenty of ground and even popped up with what proved to be the winner in the 52nd minute.

Nonetheless, Mkhitaryan was the most impressive of the lot. The Armenia international was expected to be the most attacking of the trio and he did link up well with his attackers, but he was also never afraid to help out in defending and regularly won the ball back for the hosts with his tireless chasing.

Hubschmann - 7 | Fernandinho - 7.5 | Mkhitaryan - 8

Attack

Willian may not have been amongst the goals on the night, but he showed why Chelsea and Tottenham are both keen on bringing him to the Barclays Premier League. The 24-year-old not only has an incredible burst of pace that often leaves defenders in his wake, but also knows when to pass the ball on, something many skilful wingers struggle with.

On the opposite flank, Alex Teixeira struggled to get into the game but did well to open the scoring in the third minute, while manager Mircea Lucescu would have been pleased with the tireless shift Luiz Adriano put in as the focal point in attack.

Alex Teixeira (off 82') - 7 | Willian (off 88') - 8.5 | Luiz Adriano - 7

Substitutions

With things going well for Shakhtar, Lucescu didn't really have any need to change things up tactically, and the introductions of Ilsinho and Douglas Costa were both just to run the clock down.

Ilsinho (on 82') - N/A | Douglas Costa (on 88') - N/A

Chelsea

Defence

Had it not been for Petr Cech, the Blues might easily have found themselves on the end of a humbling defeat, given he made a series of fine saves to keep Shakhtar at bay.

Still, there was little he could do about the hosts' opener, which materialised after Ashley Cole dozed off and allowed Teixeira to drift into space, where he proceeded to rifle a shot into the bottom corner.

However, apart from that mistake, Cole did reasonably well but the same cannot be said for David Luiz, who is starting to prove a real liability at the back. The Brazilian regularly conceded needless fouls when Adriano was headed nowhere, and his lack of awareness was best exemplified when he gave away a corner with a nonchalant back-header that had Cech scrambling to keep it in.

Cech - 8 | Ivanovic - 7.5 | Luiz - 5 | Terry - 6.5 | Cole - 6

Midfield

It was a big blow for Chelsea to lose Frank Lampard to injury after just 18 minutes but Ramires stepped up to the task in his absence and was a real driving force in the middle of the park.

With an abundance of wingers at Stamford Bridge, it is unlikely the Brazilian will be asked to play in a wide role like he did last season, but he showed he can still be pretty useful in the engine room.

Jon Obi Mikel, who is so often made the scapegoat when things do not go Chelsea's way, quietly went about his business, and while there was nothing spectacular from the Nigerian, he certainly didn't make any major mistakes either.

Mikel - 6.5 | Lampard (off 18') - 6 | Ramires - 7.5

Attack

If there's one word to describe Fernando Torres' performance on the night, 'pathetic' would be it. It is baffling how someone who was once regarded as the world's most dangerous striker has now degenerated into a man who can't perform the most basic of skills.

Torres couldn't even trap the simplest of passes and to Di Matteo's credit, he was sensible to haul the misfiring Spaniard off with 20 minutes to go.

Torres' compatriot Mata didn't fare much better as he struggled to influence proceedings, although on the few occasions he got the ball, he did look like carving open the opposition defence.

Instead, it was Oscar who really gave Shakhtar something to worry about, and he got his reward for a spirited display in the 88th minute when he pulled one back with a tidy finish.

Oscar - 7.5 | Mata - 6.5 | Torres (off 70') - 4

Substitutions

Hazard (on 18') - 6.5 | Sturridge (on 70') - 7

It's not bad being able to bring a player like Eden Hazard on after Lampard limped off the pitch, and Hazard did have his opponents on their toes with his pace and quick feet.

However, this was one of those days where he just couldn't get the better of the double-teaming Shakhtar defenders, and to make it even worse, it was Hazard who lost possession in a dangerous area that allowed Fernandinho to storm forward and double his side's advantage.

Daniel Sturridge looked very lively after coming on, despite only having 20 minutes to impress, and if not for Di Matteo's blind faith in Torres, would surely start Sunday's crunch league game against Manchester United.

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