[Player Ratings] Steaua Bucharest 0-4 Chelsea: Blues Batter Bucharest

Chelsea found the perfect response to their opening Champions League defeat two weeks ago by hammering Steaua Bucharest 4-0 in Romania.

Ramires bagged a brace either side of a Daniel Georgievski own-goal and Frank Lampard completed the rout with a fourth in the 90th minute. Juan Mata started the game after his cameo against Tottenham at the weekend and the Spaniard was in top form, pulling back for Andre Schurrle who had an early shot on goal.

But the German took part in the opening goal, beating his man down the left and squaring for Samuel Eto’o, an 11th minute substitute for the injured Fernando Torres. Eto’o’s shot was tame but Ramires was at hand to stab the ball home. Mata slid Eto’o through for the second goal, and despite the Cameroonian’s shot being well saved by keeper Ciprian Tatarusanu, the ball rebounded off Georgievski  and into the net.

Schurrle enjoyed his best game in a Chelsea shirt to date and was involved in the third goal on 55 minutes when his cross was helped on by Oscar before Ramires grabbed his second. And with the points all but secured, Lampard struck from 20 yards to help the Blues make a real statement of intent in Group E.

Chelsea Player Ratings

Cech- 7– rarely troubled but was reliable when called into action

Cole- 6- was dependable in defence but never really looked interested in getting forward.

Terry- 7- a solid performance from the Blues skipper. Snuffed out potential attacks before they had chance to progress

Luiz- 6- an average performance from the Brazilian, but his relationship with Terry seems to be improving

Ivanovich- 6- formed part of a strong defence and will be proud of the clean sheet under tricky conditions

Lampard- 7- a decent game from the midfielder. Composed in possession and struck beautifully for his goal

Ramires- 9- dominated the midfield. Seemed to be all over the pitch, full of running and tough in the tackle. Also scored two fine goals

Oscar- 6- played some tidy football and looked good in parts alongside Mata, but not as influential as were used to seeing

Mata- 7- showed exactly why he thinks he should be a regular starter with some defence splitting passes. Attacking threat and helped bring about the second goal

Schurrle- 8- by far his best showing in a Blue shirt. Was a constant menace on the left side of midfield and gave the Bucharest full-back a torrid time

Torres- N/A- the Spaniard was replaced by Eto’o after 11 minutes through injury.

 Subs

Eto’o- 7- cannot fault the striker for effort and he was involved in the opening two goals. Better from him

Azpilicueta- 6- came on for Oscar after 78 minutes and played well

Willian- 6- on for Mata on 80 minutes and looked lively for the last 10.

Man of the Match- Ramires

You can watch watch all the goals from the game here

How would you mate Mourinho’s men in Romania? How did Mata fare on his return to the first team? Would you play him in the Blues’ next game? What did you think of Ramires’ goals and performance? Please leave your comments below…