Summary
Fernando Torres scored his 17th and 18th goals of
the season with Victor Moses netting his seventh to give the Blues a lead to
take to Russia next week.
The Spaniard opened the scoring, scrambling the
ball in from close range and headed in the third goal in the second half after
a good move. Moses had made it 2-0 in the opening period with the goal of the
night but Rubin Kazan pulled one back from the penalty spot before the
interval. For most of the game though, it had been a solid Chelsea defence with
the Blues on top across the park.
Team news
There were six changes to the side that began the
win over Man United with John Terry and Ryan Bertrand coming into defence,
Frank Lampard back in midfield and Fernando Torres in attack with Demba Ba
cup-tied.
Yossi Benayoun began wide of Juan Mata with
Victor Moses another player returning to the starting line-up on the other
flank. David Luiz played the 50th European game of his career.
Rubin Kazan changed their shape from their
last-round win over Levante, from 4-2-3-1 to 4-4-1-1 -Roman Eremenko supporting
centre-forward Vladmir Dyadyun.
First half
The message had been clear before the game,
Chelsea wanted goals and a good lead to take into a never-easy second leg in
Moscow.
Benayoun, in his start since the first leg away
in Bucharest last round, was the first to show enterprise but his dribble into
the box came to a halt before any end product.
Mata showed similar good control on 10 minutes to
get through a crowd inside the area but when he squared, a flick off a Rubin
shin diverted the ball from danger. Torres turned his marker soon after as he
chested a Lampard pass from halfway but bobbled a shot wide.
The quick long pass up front appeared to be a
clear tactic tonight, testing the Rubin central defence regularly, and 15
minutes Torres made them pay.
David Luiz sent the missile forward and although
Torres's initial control left him, the ball and the defender together on the
floor, it was the Spaniard who reacted quicker to stab the ball home from just
a couple of yards out.
Chelsea v Rubin
Cech made his first save, from a speculative
strike from Natcho, before Chelsea attacked again and this time it was Bertrand
who from his own half snaked his way through. It was a thrilling run but the
left-back's angled shot was cleared inside the six-yard area.
The game was steadily becoming one of constant
Chelsea pressure and it was a sustained attack just past the half-hour mark
that led to Moses doubling the lead.
The Russians had more than one chance to clear
properly but they failed to do so. Azpilicueta 's cross led to a blocked Torres
shot that spun up to Moses. His bouncing header was clawed wide by the keeper
but a Torres cross was deflected back into Moses's path on the edge if the
area. He fired into the top corner in style.
Chelsea v Rubin
Rubin pulled a goal back five minutes before
half-time and given the balance of the game at that stage, from possibly the
only route available to them. Ansaldi fired the ball in the direction of the
goal and it hit the arm of Terry which was pretty much down by his side. That
was enough for the referee to point to the spot and book our skipper. Natcho
converted the penalty.
The 30 or so Rubin Kazan fans present were very
pleased with that away strike, as they would have been with the single-goal
deficit at half-time given Chelsea's superiority.
Second half
Rubin Kazan swapped centre-forwards for the
restart - the tall Venezuelan Jose Rondon replacing Dyadyun.
With four minutes of the half gone, it needed a
full-stretch save from the keeper to keep out Moses's shot, a quick switch of
play having created space. Moses touched the ball into the Chelsea topscorer's
path after a David Luiz cross. The ball ran loose after the save but it was
cleared before Terry could snap it up.
There was a rare moment when Cech went for but
didn't claim a corner which served to emphasise the need for more goals.
Just before the hour Torres hit a good cross to
the far post which won a corner. Mata was not far from serving that up
perfectly for Terry but the header cleared the bar.
The next chance worryingly was Rubin's and had
Rondon not hit it straight at Cech then we would have been in trouble. Benitez
brought on Hazard for Moses soon after.
The reassuring third goal came from a swift
counter-attack down the left. Benayoun released Torres and although the striker
was initially held up by a group of defenders, he involved Lampard in the move
who in turn found Mata peeling away to the flank. The cross was floated in and
Torres made no mistake with his head. There were 69 minutes played.
Chelsea v Rubin
Benayoun was booked for sliding in on Ansaldi
moments before the second Chelsea substitution. It was time for Mata to rest,
Oscar coming on. Marin then followed for Benayoun who came off to good
applause. It had been his third start of the season.
The final shot was a long-range dig from Ramires
which was a worthy effort, the Brazilian having just been fouled to earn Orbiaz
a booking. Marin also received a late yellow card.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Terry (c), Bertrand; Ramires, Lampard;
Moses (Hazard 65), Mata (Oscar 77), Benayoun (Marin 82); Torres.
Unused subs Turnbull, Ferreira, Ivanovic, Mikel.
Scorers Torres 16, 69, Moses 32.
Booked Terry 40, Benayoun 77, Marin 90+2.
Rubin Kazan (4-4-1-1): Ryzhikov; Kaleshin, Sharonov (c), Navas, Ansaldi; Kuzmin (Kasaev 82),
Orbaiz, Natcho, Karadeniz; Eremenko; Dyadyun (Rondón h-t).
Unused subs: Arlauskis, Marcano, Ryazantsev,
Kislyak, Tore.
Scorer Natcho 41 pen.
Booked Orbaiz 86
Referee Gianluca Rocchi from Italy.
Crowd 32,994.
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