Chelsea extended their unbeaten run to 13 games as they thrashed Norwegian side Rosenborg last night at Trondheim. The Blues emerged 4-0 winners on the night, and the margin of victory might have been more, and deservedly so.

In an earlier round of fixtures, Rosenborg had held Chelsea to a remarkable draw, a result that probably caused the Blues’ manager, Jose Mourinho, to lose his job. However, the Norwegian side were made to pay back heavily last night. The atmosphere was chilly (with temperatures dropping to minus five degrees) as Chelsea turned on the heat.

The current Chelsea manager, Avram Grant, resembling a mafia don in his black turtleneck sweater and long overcoat, showed that he is nicely getting into the groove of management, as his side put on a ruthless performance, right out of the old ‘Mourinho school of magic’. Satisfied with his team’s efforts, Grant said,

I had to wear the jacket because it was freezing in the second half, but the performance warmed me up.

The rout started with two first half goals from powerhouse forward Didier Drogba. Defender Alex scored five minutes before the break and Joe Cole completed the scoring in the second half. This result ensured Chelsea’s passage to the knockout stages of the tournament, with a league game to spare, reducing their visit to Valencia next month to a dead rubber. The Blues are indeed in a rich vein of form and have an opportunity to throw in the likes of Hilario, Claudio Pizzaro and maybe Andriy Shevchenko in the match against the Spanish side.

Regarding the club’s objectives, manager Avram Grant said: ‘It’s a long way until May but reaching the final is one of our targets, maybe even the main target. We want to be considered as a ‘big’ club and to do it we have to reach the final. Hopefully, we can do it this season.’ With Chelsea looking in imperious form, their reaching the final is surely a possibility.

On the night, Drogba, who could have put Chelsea ahead after only 58 seconds, scored his first goal after 8 minutes. Joe Cole shrugged off the challenges of four Rosenborg players before choosing to shoot. Rosenborg goalkeeper Lars Hirschfield, who had been the hero when these two clubs last met, could only parry his shot and Drogba cashed in on the rebound.

Shaun Wright-Phillips had a large role in Chelsea’s second goal, as he battled his way past the Rosenborg defence, and slipped a pass to Michael Essien. Essien found Drogba, who had timed his run perfectly, and the Ivory Coast striker made no mistake.

A third goal was always in the offing and it proved to be a classic one. Alex scored with his 35-yard free-kick which found its way past the Rosenborg defence. Joe Cole socred in the 73rd minute to complete the rout in a sweeping move that saw Essien’s effort being blocked, Cole lashing home the rebound. Essien missed yet another gilt-edged opportunity while Wright-Phillips also hit the post.

The Norwegian domestic season ( in which Rosenborg had finished fifth) finished only two weeks ago. As a result, the Rosenborg players appeared leggy, lethargic and lazy. The electric Chelsea wingers, flashing one way or the other, took full toll. The gap between the two sides was huge, and within a matter of minutes, the fixture turned out to be a mismatch.

Drogba put on a really impressive show on the night, and illuminated this one-sided game with his performance. He was denied his hat-trick when Hirschfield foiled Drogba’s attempt to chip him for a third goal. Drogba was the pivot at the head of Chelsea’s strike force, holding off Rosenborg’s defenders with an arrogant swagger, and making repeated forays in the Rosenberg territory. Appreciating Drogba, Avram Grant said,

Didier is a very good striker. We won without him at Derby last week but it is easier for us when he is in the side. We will lose four very important players in January when they go to the African Nations Cup. It won’t be easy but we cannot change it.

Chelsea did not score any more goals ( their best result in the competition is a 5-0 thrashing of Galatasaray in 1999), but were in truly fine mettle throughout the match. Their form would certainly cause plenty of worries for their next opponent, West Ham United.

Source: dailymail140257