Nigerian internationals Victor Moses and Mikel Obi were among the heroes when European Champions League champions Chelsea of England resurrected their title defence hopes with a dramatic 3-2 victory over stubborn Shaktar Donetsk of Russia.
Chelsea, who have struggled to recreate the form that made them champions last season, were being torn to shreds by the visitors but Super Eagles Mikel and Moses came to the rescue. While Mikel, who was on throughout the duration of the game, gave a good account of himself, even scoring a disallowed goal, it was Moses who ensured victory with a late header that decided the game played at Stamford Bridge.
Though outclassed by Shaktar, the Blues went ahead twice, first through Fernando Torres in the sixth minute and again through Oscar in the 40th. The visitors however replied through Willian in the ninth and 47th minutes.
Chelsea, who lost the first leg 1-2 last fortnight, had their campaign hanging on the balance before Moses (shown in photo), who came on in the 80th minute, headed in a Juan Mata corner on the last minute of the game.
If Chelsea had lost, they would have needed to beat Juventus away in their next game to keep alive their campaign. Last night’s victory however saw them tieing at seven points with Shaktar, who however, lead the group on account of the head to head rule.
All the results
TUESDAY
Dinamo Kiev 0-0 FC Porto
PSG 4-0 Dinamo Zagreb
Olympiakos 3-1 Montpellier
Schalke 04 2-2 Arsenal
AC Milan 1-1 Malaga
Anderlecht 1-0 Zenit St Petersburg
Man City 2-2 Ajax
Real Madrid 2-2 Borussia Dortmund
WEDNESDAY
Chelsea 3 - 2 Shakhtar Donetsk
Bayern Munich 6 - 1 Lille
Benfica 2 - 0 Spartak Moscow
Braga 1 - 3 Man Utd
Celtic 2 - 1 Barcelona
CFR Cluj-Napoca 1 - 3 Galatasaray
Juventus 4 - 0 Nordsjaelland
Valencia 4 - 2 BATE Borisov
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