Didier Drogba struck his first Chelsea goal on return in the manner in which he struck his last in his first stint with the club – from the penalty spot – as Chelsea found their goalscoring mojo once more in a 6-0 thumping of NK Maribor in the Champions League.
Maribor manager Ante Simundza looked a little resigned after the defeat, saying Chelsea were title contenders for this season's Champions League, and the English Premier League pace-setters certainly looked like it at Stamford Bridge, really finding their groove for the first time this season in Europe's elite competition.
Loic Remy, starting for the injured Diego Costa, opened the scoring for Chelsea in the 13th minute springing clear off a nice pass from John Terry, before cutting in and stroking the ball into the bottom corner.
However, the France international seemed to injure himself while scoring the goal and that was the cue for Drogba to get on the pitch. The Chelsea legend made his presence felt on 23 minutes, easing a penalty into the bottom corner to give the home team a Maribor-are-never-coming-back-from-this 2-0 lead.
From there it was just a matter of how many, as Terry got himself on the scoresheet just after the half hour, before an own goal from Mitija Viler, with an Eden Hazard strike rebounding off him and into the net, made it 4-0 for Chelsea early in the second period.
Maribor, who missed a penalty in the second half, were broken by then and Hazard added to their misery by firing in a couple of goals late in the game, one from the penalty spot, as Chelsea took a proper grip of Group G.
"It's hard to know what to say," Simundza told UEFA's official website. "It's obvious this Chelsea side are serious contenders to win this year's Champions League. The quality of their play and their players was out of reach for us.
"It's very difficult for a team to come from the Slovenian league and play against an outfit from the Premier League. There is a big difference.
"Before I came here I knew the home match would be tough because Chelsea are a really good team – but maybe in the home game we will have a few more chances and start to believe. I know we can be better as a team, but it will be very tough.
"Chelsea have great individual quality and maybe make you look a little bit lost on the pitch. We conceded three goals from counterattacks and in that respect we may have been a bit naive. But Chelsea had an exceptional day."
All goals & Highlights ~ Chelsea 6-0 Maribor 21... by noname229617
