Reaction: Harder Than Expected

In the end it seemed like just another day in the office, but Chelsea were made to work hard by a spirited Nordsjaelland side who actually controlled the game better than Chelsea at times. Juan Mata made it 1-0 in the first half and it stayed that way till the 79th minute when David Luiz scored from a free-kick. However, the period between the first and second goal was a tense one for Chelsea fans as Nordsjaelland looked likely to score. But the floodgates opened once Luiz scored and both Mata and Ramires scored in quick succession to ensure all 3 points for Chelsea.

Robbie didn’t expect the game to be a stroll in the park. “I expected a difficult game. No matter what, they try to play their football, but it’s not easy. There are no pushovers, you see that from other results, the Champions League is difficult.

The most important aspect for us was to win, the fact we scored four and kept a clean sheet means it was an excellent result for us. Every game is different, it’s a difficult competition and away from home it’s not easy.”

He was full of praise for our opponents. “With every game they (Nordsjaelland) play they will learn, and I’m sure they will get some points. The way Kasper (Hjulmand) sees football is good for the club and they have a bright future.

‘They won the first title in their history and have some young, inexperienced players. It’s a question of time, but it’s good to see that they want to play football, he’s doing a very good job.”

On our qualification hopes, he said, “As I said before, it’s a difficult group, Shakhtar are a very good team and I imagine it will be a contest between the three sides.”

The trip to Denmark proved to be a little harder than expected. Nordsjaelland actually played a lot better than most people expected them to and even looked like getting an equalizer at one point. But once Luiz scored the match was as good as over. Goals from Mata and Ramires put the result beyond any doubt and Chelsea are now top of Group E with 4 points (Juventus and Shakhtar drew). While the result was definitely a positive one, the same cannot be said about the performance. While we started the game well enough, we seemed to lose the plot a bit as the game went on. Nordsjaelland didn’t make things any easier on us by playing an attacking brand of football. All in all, one can say that the result was a satisfactory one. Next up in the Champions League: a double header against Shakhtar Donetsk. Bring it on.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KK2yY1GfreY?list=UURynz5rbnuP7MhR2j6O1w-w&hl=en_US]
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