Two goals from Shakhtar Donetsk’s Brazilian forward Willian were not enough to win the game for the Ukrainian champions at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night as a late, late Victor Moses strike won the game for Chelsea.
Chelsea took the lead after just 6 minutes when Shakhtar goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov was given a weak back pass by defender Yaroslav Rakitskiy and Fernando Torres charged down the clearance to deflect the ball past the keeper and into the empty net.
However, Shakhtar struck back within 3 minutes. Midfielder Fernandinho skipped past Ramires and Bertrand to pull the ball back for Willian to finish past Petr Cech in the Chelsea goal.
Chelsea took the lead again on 40 minutes with a truly fantastic finish from Oscar. A ball over the top of the Shakhtar defence was headed clear by keeper Pyatov, who had come rushing out of his goal, straight to the former Internacional star. The playmaker took it down on his chest before smashing a volley into the empty net from 40 yards.
Chelsea led 2-1 at the break but it was soon 2-2 after the restart. Willian started the move by playing the ball to Fernandinho, who moved across the centre of the pitch, before sliding the ball in behind Bertrand for the full back Dario Srna. The Croat pulled the ball back for Willian to tap in his second of the game.
However, it would be Chelsea who would get the fifth and final goal of this absorbing contest. Victor Moses, on as a sub for Oscar, rose to meet Juan Mata’s corner in the dying seconds to win the game for the European Champions.
Chelsea: Petr Cech, Gary Cahill, David Luiz, Branislav Ivanovic, Ryan Bertrand, Oscar (Victor Moses, 81), John Obi Mikel, Ramires, Juan Mata, Fernando Torres (Daniel Sturridge, 90), Eden Hazard
Shakhtar Donetsk: Andriy Pyatov, Razvan Rat, Olexandr Kucher, Yaroslav Rakitskiy, Willian, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Fernandinho, Darijo Srna, Alex Teixeira (Ilsinho, 78), Tomás Hübschman, Luiz Adriano
