• Sporting Lisbon 0-1 Chelsea, Champions League

Matic magic gives dominant Chelsea victory

Nemanja Matic jumps highest to head Chelsea into the lead in the first half © Getty Images

Enlarge

Chelsea moved to the top of Group G with their first victory of this Champions League campaign as former Benfica midfielder Nemanja Matic haunted old rivals Sporting in Lisbon.

Chelsea were on the front foot from the off and should have been ahead in the opening 90 seconds when Oscar set Diego Costa through on goal only for Rui Patricio to deny the striker with a fine stop.

Match Analysis

• Man of the Match: Chelsea were dominant from the very start but Rui Patricio in the Sporting Lisbon goal was superb. Only a perfect header from Nemanja Matic could beat him.
• Villain: Look, I don't want to pick on referees all the time, but sometimes they do themselves no favours. Spanish ref Antonio Mateu Lahoz managed to book Mauricio while he was being stretchered off with a brutal-looking eye injury, summing up a woeful performance, especially towards the home side.
• Key Moment: Oscar setting Diego Costa through on goal in the second minute set the tone - a Sporting offside trap that was pitifully executed and Chelsea denied by Rui Patricio's brilliance.
• Steven Saunders

Andre Schurrle then spurned two glorious opportunities before Matic showed the forward men how it was done, peeling away at the back post to meet a Cesc Fabregas free-kick with a looping header that left Patricio grasping thin air. His celebrations were met with vociferous boos, partly due to his Benfica past but also due to the crowd's dissatisfaction with the free-kick award.

The chances continued to come in the second half with first Diego Costa and then Oscar missing one-on-one opportunities against Patricio, before Nani - on loan at Sporting from Manchester United - became increasingly involved at the other end. His best chance came when set up on the left of the six-yard box but Thibaut Courtois did a terrific job of closing down the angle, forcing the Portuguese winger to hit into the side-netting.

Diego Costa thumped a shot into the side-netting with 10 minutes to go as Chelsea sought to hit on the break. Filipe Luis was then teed up by Willian on the left of the box but dragged his shot harmlessly across goal. Moments later, Nani almost curled in a stunning equaliser with a left-footed shot that left Courtois stranded.

There was still time for Rui Patricio to make one more one-on-one block, this time at the feet of substitute Mohamed Salah.

WIth Schalke, who drew at Stamford Bridge on Matchday 1, being held at home by Maribor, Chelsea now hold a two-point lead at the top of Group G with back-to-back matches against Maribor up next.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd