Chelsea lost their opening Champions League group stage match for the first time in their history this evening, falling to a shock 2-1 defeat at the hands of Basel.
Oscar opened the scoring for the hosts right on the stroke of half time as he fired an effort into the bottom corner having been found by Frank Lampard.
Basel equalised with just under 20 minutes left as Mohamed Salah curled an effort past Petr Cech after a fluid move from the visitors.
The Swiss side then completed their surprise comeback when Marco Streller glanced a header past Cech at the near post with under 10 minutes left.
You can read how an unsuccessful night of European football for Chelsea panned out with Sports Mole's live coverage below.
Good evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's match between Chelsea and Basel as the second round of first-week Champions League matches get underway. There were plenty of goals around Europe last night, so let's hope for something similar tonight.
Let's start by looking at our hosts tonight, and the return of the self-proclaimed 'Special One' has not exactly gone to plan so far. Jose Mourinho has by no means made a terrible start to life back in the Chelsea dugout, but just two wins from their opening five games in all competitions is not how he would have hoped to have begun his second coming.
The Blues will be looking to bounce back this evening after their last outing saw them fall to their first defeat - in normal time at least - of the season. Everton were their conquerors at the weekend, although Chelsea can feel slightly aggrieved at losing that match having dominated for large periods and spurned a number of good chances. Still, as Mourinho himself said after the game, if you can't score one of those chances, you deserve to lose.
The Everton match was the third game in a row that Chelsea have failed to win in all competitions. Before the game at the weekend they were beaten on penalties by Bayern Munich in the European Super Cup final, while they played out a dull goalless draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford last month.
It all started so well for Mourinho as well. His first game back in charge saw them sweep Hull aside, with the 2-0 scoreline not reflecting their utter dominance in the first half at least. As is often the case with Mourinho sides, they sat back once they had a two-goal cushion, but it could have been so much more. They backed that up with a 2-1 win over Aston Villa to continue their 100% start to the season before that draw against United.
That tally of seven points from their first four league games brings Mourinho a rather unwanted record. Of all the managers that Roman Abramovich has sifted through in his search of good, attractive and effective football, Mourinho's start this season is the worst of the lot. That won't weigh too heavy on the minds of either Abramovich and Mourinho just yet, but anything other than a fairly comfortable win tonight would exacerbate a situation which has the potential to turn sour quickly.
Interestingly, it is exactly six years to the day since that duo initially parted company. It was September 18, 2007 that Mourinho was sacked as manager of Chelsea by Abramovich, so tonight is a strange sort of anniversary for both men.
It is no secret that Abramovich sees the Champions League as the holy grail and, although his side won it in 2012 under the stewardship of Roberto di Matteo, his insatiable desire for continued trophies will mean that his hunger to win the competition again will be just as strong as it was pre-2012.
To do that, however, they will have to improve upon last season's fairly dismal showing. Chelsea became the first ever reigning European champions to be eliminated at the group stages of the following season's campaign. They did go on to claim some consolation by winning the Europa League - becoming the first team to win European football's two biggest trophies back-to-back, but that Champions League exit will still upset the always-ambitious Abramovich.
In Jose Mourinho, though, he may have the perfect manager to lead him to further glory in this competition. The Portuguese manager has won the Champions League twice already in his career, with Porto in 2004 and Inter Milan in 2010, and the fact that it was a surprise that he didn't win it with Real Madrid is testament to the high expectations Mourinho has built of himself. He led Chelsea to two semi-final appearances during his first spell in charge and, if he was to win the trophy this year, would become only the second manager in history to have won it three times, after the legendary Bob Paisley.
That is too far in the future to begin thinking about now, however, and first Chelsea will look to navigate a potential banana skin tonight. Basel come into this match in decent form, and they have begun to forge themselves a reputation as decent European competitors in recent years.
Their last outing saw them reach the quarter-finals of the Swiss Cup courtesy of a 1-0 win over Musingen, while their seven league matches so far this season has yielded them 12 points, which leaves them third in the table.
Those 12 points have come from three wins and three draws, while their sole defeat of the season so far came a few weeks ago against Zurich. Basel have gone into this season as favourites to win their domestic title, which comes as no surprise considering the fact that they have won it four times in a row.
They have been forced to work to reach the group stages this season, beating Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ludogorets in qualifying rounds before being entered into the draw for the Champions League proper. They overcame Maccabi 4-3 on aggregate, winning the first leg 1-0 before the second leg finished 3-3, while they cruised past Ludogorets 6-2 on aggregate.
They failed to make major headway in this competition last year, but the Europa League provided more fertile ground for the Swiss side. They reached the semi-finals, only to be beaten by tonight's opponents and eventual winners Chelsea 5-2 on aggregate.
TEAM NEWS: OK, we have some team news for you! The big story is that Willian makes his debut for the Blues tonight in a midfield that also includes, as promised, Lampard and Oscar as well as Hazard and Van Ginkel. Samuel Eto'o remains up front for Chelsea, while Cahill is preferred to Terry at the back. Full team news on the way.
CHELSEA STARTING XI: Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Luiz, Cole; Van Ginkel, Lampard; Hazard, Oscar, Willian; Eto’o
CHELSEA SUBS: Schwarzer, Azpilicueta, Terry, Mikel, De Bruyne, Mata, Ba
BASEL STARTING XI: Sommer; Voser, Schär, Ivanov, Safari; Frei; Salah, Diaz, Stocker, Sio; Streller
BASEL SUBS: P Degen, Ajeti, D Degen, Delgado, Vailati, Sauro, Xhaka
So, what can we make of those two lineups? Well, Mourinho was fairly forthcoming about what team he would pick during yesterday's news conference and he hasn't really sprung any surprises. Chelsea fans will finally get to see Willian in a blue shirt for the first time his he joined the club, and that trio of him, Oscar and Hazard is capable of unlocking any defence in world football. The fact that Mata only makes the bench is a scary thought.
Those three, along with the evergreen Frank Lampard, will create chances for themselves but should also craft plenty of opportunities for Eto'o, who will be hoping for a better match tonight than the one he had against Everton. Eto'o missed a few decent chances on his debut at the weekend, and he will be desperate to prove that he is still one of Europe's top marksmen tonight.
Chelsea are likely to hog the ball tonight, and that has been reflected in the defence that Mourinho has chosen. In Cahill and, more so, David Luiz, he has a couple of central defenders who are good on the ball and won't be afraid to venture up the pitch now and again. Luiz in particular likes to do that, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him have a few shots from range tonight. Cole and Ivanovic should be able to bomb up and down the flanks quite a bit this evening too.
As for Basel, their main dangerman this evening will be Marco Streller. He is in good scoring form already this season, netting four goals in five matches, and he is vastly experienced too. The Chelsea defence won't be expecting the busiest of nights tonight, but Streller is one player who could pose them plenty of problems should they lose focus at any point.
In addition to Streller, Mohamed Salah may cause problems for the hosts tonight. The winger has established himself as a good goalscoring midfielder at Basel and is arguably the visitors' most important player. He comes up against one of the best in the business in Ashley Cole tonight, however, so he will have to be on top form.
Basel will need to improve their Champions League away form if they are going to get anything out of today's match. Murat Yakin's side have only managed three wins on their travels in this competition, drawing five and losing eight of their 16 away matches overall.
Compare that to Chelsea home record in this competition and Basel's task tonight becomes even more daunting. The Blues have not lost any of their last 29 Champions League home games, winning 22 and drawing seven. Their last defeat at Stamford Bridge in this competition came just under a decade ago when Besiktas won here in October 2003.
PREDICTION: We are 10 minutes from kickoff at Stamford Bridge, which means that is about time I made a prediction for tonight's match. In truth, I can only really see the result going one way this evening. Basel will not be pushovers by any means, but they simply do not have the quality that Chelsea do. Add in the Blues' home advantage and the respective home and away records of both teams, and everything points to a Chelsea win. I'm not going to argue with that, and I'm going to go for a 2-0 win to Jose Mourinho's men.
These two teams have only met each other twice before - both of which came four months ago in the Europa League semi-finals. Chelsea won both matches, beating Basel 2-1 in Switzerland before finishing the job with a 3-1 win here at Stamford Bridge to book their place in the final.
There are, of course, plenty of other matches taking place in the Champions League tonight. The likes of Arsenal, Barcelona and Dortmund are all in action, and I will keep you updated with goals as and when they go in.
Alternatively, you can follow Sports Mole's other live commentaries from tonight's matches here.
Back to Stamford Bright, though, and the players are filtering out of the tunnel ahead of this match. There is always a special feel about Champions League matches and this one is no different. There is no doubt that the Chelsea fans are expecting to see a fairly comfortable win tonight, though.
KICKOFF: Basel gets us underway at Stamford Bridge as they look to spring a similar shock to the ones they have previously pulled off against Manchester United and Liverpool.
It has been three minutes into his Chelsea debut, but already the fans are warming to Willian. He wins the ball well in midfield before drawing the adulation of the thousands in attendance with a clever flick round the corner to Oscar. Nothing comes of the move, but it was a stylish piece of play from the new man.
Streller shoes a glimpse of what he can do with a clever back-heel into the path of an advancing midfielder. Van Ginkel makes a fine tackle to halt the move, but it was nice play from the Basel man.
Salah shows good pace to race away from Cole - who is no slouch himself - before beating another man and eventually being brought down by Van Ginkel, who missed the ball when trying an ambitious flick.
As expected, Chelsea have started the better here and are on control of the ball at the moment. They have had three corners already, all from the right flank as they continue to target that area.
Oscar and Willian look to have fairly free roles tonight as they have switched with each other a number of times already. Hazard has been less involved so far as most of the play has gone down the right, but it looks like Mourinho has given the trio license to roam.
Mourinho has never lost the opening match of a Champions League group stage in his entire time as manager. From the very early stages here, it doesn't look like they are in too much danger of losing tonight, but Mourinho will probably have wanted a quicker start from his side.
Eto'o has not been involved at all so far. Chelsea's attacks have been directed down the flanks and have gone through Hazard, Oscar and Willian, who have been unable to bring the Cameroonian striker into play yet.
CHANCE! Almost an absolute gift for Chelsea, but Basel are saved by the referee's whistle. Sommer fails to deal with a whipped corner as Eto'o makes a run just in front of the keeper. He drops the ball but, amidst a goalmouth scramble, the ref sees a foul on the keeper and awards the free kick.
Streller is being forced pretty deep to get the ball at the moment, and even when he drops to inside his own half David Luiz is in close attendance. Basel are struggling to find any sort of rhythm at the moment.
Chelsea have had 64% of the ball in the opening 20 minutes and they are certainly in control of this match at the moment, but they haven't really looked too dangerous going forward. The Basel defece has stayed firm and there just isn't a way through for the hosts at the moment.
UPDATE: The first Champions League goal of the night has gone in at the Nou Camp and, unsurprisingly, it has gone Barcelona's way. Even more unsurprising is the goalscorer as Lionel Messi has given his side a 1-0 lead over Ajax.
Hazard gets on the end of a long ball and beats his man with a brilliant first touch before going down under the challenge. The referee waves play away, much to the disgust of the Belgian, but it was probably the right decision. Hazard went down very easily there and he had no need to as he was in a very good position.
A rare shot goes Chelsea's way as Eto'o plays it out wide to Ivanovic, who plays a low pass along the edge of the box. Lampard is there to greet the loose ball and, such is his quality, that you almost expect him to whip it into the top corner first time. He uncharacteristically scuffs his shot wide of the post, though.
SHOT! Eto'o moves onto the left flank to pick up the ball before feeding it inside to Hazard. The Belgian's first touch isn't great but he gets away with it and unleashes a shot from the edge of the box that rises high over the bar. That was a decent opening for a player of Hazard's quality and he should have done better there.
SHOT! Nice, swift break from Basel as Salah is released down the right flank having got in behind Cole. He cuts inside onto his left and tries to bend his shot into the far corner but leans back and instead sends it over the bar. That is Basel's best moment of the match so far.
UPDATE: Goals have been few and far between around Europe so far, but Napoli have managed to get one against last season's beaten finalists Dortmund. Higuain got the goal there to give the Italian side a 1-0 lead.
Salah is certainly looking like Basel's most likely route to a goal. He has pace to burn and plenty of tricks to go along with it. This time he holds off the attentions of Lampard before slipping the ball through Cole's legs and going down under the challenge. The referee says no foul, and again it is the right decision.
Ivanovic is bombing down the right flank tirelessly at the moment, but his delivery has been lacking so far. He seems to be intent on drilling the ball in low, but each time it has been fairly comfortable for the defence.
Eto'o slips the ball to Oscar on the edge of the box and the Brazilian almost wriggles his way through three tackles into space, but he is eventually stopped by the last man. It just isn't happening for the hosts in the final third at the moment.
A good Chelsea moves breaks down when Hazard passes the ball to Willian in an offside position. The debutant knew he was off there, but he didn't work hard enough to try to get back onside. Lazy play from him.
UPDATE: Atletico Madrid have taken the lead in their match against Zenit St. Petersburg courtesy of a Miranda strike. It is 1-0 in the Spanish capital now.
YELLOW CARD! The first card of the day goes Chelsea's way as Marco van Ginkel makes a late and heavy tackle. He can have no complaints with the booking and in truth some referees may have considered a red there. He didn't make much contact but it could well have been seen as a two-footed challenge.
Cahill can be very dangerous in the opposition area and almost makes a nuisance of himself again when he connects with a volley following Oscar's blocked shot. The defender makes good contact with the ball, but he also sees his effort blocked and the ball bounces clear.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Basel (Oscar)
Chelsea get the breakthrough right on the stroke of half time! David Luiz comes forward from defence before giving the ball to Lampard, who in turns finds a diagonal run from Oscar with a lovely little through ball. The Brazilian still has a lot to do, but he does it with aplomb with a first-time low shot into the far corner. Very good finish.
HALF TIME: Chelsea 1-0 Basel
A rather flat first half ends on a high note for the hosts as Oscar gives them the lead with virtually the last kick of the half. The Blues were in control of the half for large periods but lacked incisiveness in the final third despite all of their possession.
Basel haven't exactly been much better in the final third. Salah is the only player who looks capable of creating something for the visitors and he has managed to escape the attentions of Cole on a number of occasions already. He has plenty of pace and has used that to create a couple of half-chances for himself.
For all of their possession in that first half, the overiding emotion for the fans before Oscar's goal would have been frustration. Chelsea didn't exactly give their fans much to shout about and Oscar's goal was actually the first shot on target of the game.
It is a bit strange that Chelsea have lacked anyone to create something in the final third considering how many creative players they have on the pitch. Hazard, Oscar and Willian have failed to break down a stubborn defence, and it was that old-timer Frank Lampard who finally found the killer pass.
I expect Mourinho to tell his side to start the second half at a much faster pace as he goes in search of a second goal. He may well choose to slow the tempo down if and when they get 2-0 up, but he had the look of an unhappy man even when Oscar's goal went in, which suggests that he is far from convinced by his side's performance so far.
It was a frustrating half for the hosts, but it ended on a high note. They will look to pick up where they left off at the start of the second half, with more images like this one to show for their hard work:
© Getty Images
As for Basel, Yakin will be telling his side that they are still very much in this match. Chelsea did not look too convincing in the first half and, so long as the gap stays at one goal, Basel could get something out of tonight's match. I don't see them scoring twice at Stamford Bridge, but there have certainly been enough signs that they are capable of getting one goal tonight.
UPDATE: No extra goals to bring you, but Dortmund's hopes of equalising against Napoli took a blow at the end of the first half after their keeper was sent off for handling the ball outside of his area. Manager Jurgen Klopp has also been sent from the touchline.
KICKOFF: Chelsea get us back underway as they look to give themselves a bit of breathing space in this match. Can they continue their proud record of never having lost their opening group game or will Basel come back to pull off a major shock?
It hasn't exactly been a blistering start to the half. The match has fallen into a familiar rhythm as Chelsea are enjoying more of the ball but not in the most dangerous areas of the pitch.
Promising play from Chelsea as the midfield knock the ball about just outside the Basel box. Eventually Lampard shifts it out to Willian on the right, but his dangerous low cross is well defended.
He may only cut a slight figure, but Oscar is certainly not one to shirk a challenge. He shows surprising strength to win the ball in midfield before holding off a second challenge until the referee correctly awards a free kick.
Great ball from Safari as Basel threaten the Chelsea goal for the first time in this half. It was a low cross right in the alley between the keeper and the defence, and Luiz was struggling to get there ahead of Streller before Cole bundled it behind for Basel's first corner of the night.
UPDATES: Lionel Messi continues to edge ever closer to Raul's Champions League goalscoring record as he has doubled his personal tally for the night, putting Barcelona 2-0 up against Ajax. Porto have also taken the lead in their match against Austria Vienna.
OFF THE BAR! Spectacular effort from Oscar as he whips a powerful and swerving shot towards the top right corner while almost running away from goal. The keeper is well and truly beaten, but it smashes off the top of the bar before Lampard is flagged for offide. Superb strike from the Brazilian.
Oscar goes for goal from an almost identical position, but this time the defence is out a little quicker and manage to get a block in to send the ball behind for a corner.
CHANCE! From the resulting corner, Ivanovic shows exactly why he is one of the most formidable players around in the air. He rises highest and gets a decent effort on goal, but it is straight at the keeper.
UPDATE: Zenit have equalised against Atletico Madrid in Spain, with Hulk getting the goal to make it 1-1.
CHANCE! Oscar is beginning to pull the strings in this match now. The Brazilian uses Lampard as a decoy runner on the edge of the box, instead slipping the ball to Hazard on the left of the area. The Belgian has time to line up his shot and pick his spot, but he lashes his effort well over when he should have done a lot better. This hasn't been Hazard's best performance so far.
YELLOW CARD! Diaz gets lined up one-on-one with Willian and the debutant beats the Basel man, who hauls him down and is shown a yellow card.
BASEL SUB: The first change of the day sees Sio replaced by Matias Delgado for the visitors. Can the Argentine make a difference here?
CHANCE! Decent chance for Ivanovic as he again wins a header in the opposition box, but his effort goes wide with the help of a deflection.
CHELSEA SUB: This isn't a bad option to have on the bench! Juan Mata enters the field to a massive cheer from the home fans, who are obviously keen to show their support for the out-of-favour playmaker. Willian's debut is over as he is the man who makes way.
UPDATE: Atletico Madrid have now regained the lead against Zenit, while Schalke have gone 1-0 up against Steaua Bucharest in the other match in this group. Arsenal have moved into the lead in France against Marseille through Theo Walcott, while Gerard Pique has added a third goal for Barcelona agaist Ajax - it is 3-0 to the Spanish giants now.
There are just under 20 minutes left in this one now, and it remains just 1-0. Chelsea will want a second as soon as possible as Basel are still in this match. It just takes on mistake for them to get an equaliser.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-1 Basel (Mohamed Salah)
My word, what was I just saying?! It is a lovely piece of play from Basel on the edge of the box as a long ball is played to Streller, who in turn tees up Salah with a first-time pass. Salah does not need a second invitation to shoot as he curls his effort into the bottom corner past a helpless Petr Cech. We have a real game on our hands now.
Salah has been Basel's best player tonight, and it is no surprise that he got the goal. Chelsea, meanwhile, need to chase this match now so it will be interesting to see what Mourinho does. He has the players capable of getting a winner both on the field and on the bench, so we could see a couple of changes soon.
CHELSEA SUBS: Here is the move from Mourinho. He makes a double change as Van Ginkel makes way for John Obi Mikel, while the attacking switch sees Demba Ba replace Lampard for his Champions League debut.
UPDATES: Napoli are now 2-0 up against 10-man Dortmund - what a result that would be for the Italians in what is a very tough group. Messi has also matched Ronaldo's achievements from last night in scoring a hat-trick to make it 4-0 to Barcelona against Ajax. Schalke have doubled their lead against Steaua in the other match in this group.
Basel are certainly not playing for the draw here. They are committing more and more men forward, and are arguably playing more attacking football now than they were when trailing. Chelsea need to push for a win here, but they also need to make sure that they don't lose this match.
Ba whips an inviting cross into the box that almost tempts the keeper out of goal. There are no blue shirts to add the finishing touch, however, and a very good cross rolls harmlessly out for a goal kick.
CHANCE! It must be said that Basel are looking the most likely to score at the moment. Salah again finds space down the wing and squares it to Streller, who sees his shot blocked and go behind for a corner.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-2 Basel (Marco Streller)
Oh my word, having controlled the ball for much of the match, Chelsea find themselves behind with less than 10 minutes to play! Streller gets away from Cahill in the box and steals in in front of Eto'o to glance a header in at the near post. Cech gets two hands to it but can only palm the ball into his own net as Basel take a shock lead.
CHANCE! Basel still aren't sitting back! Some lovely football sets up a good chance for Delgado, who chooses to lay it off for Diaz instead of going for goal himself, but the shot from the edge of the box is blocked by Mikel.
UPDATES: Aaron Ramsey has continued his fine scoring form by doubling Arsenal's lead against Marseille, while AC Milan have moved into a 2-0 lead over Celtic. Schalke have also made it 3-0 against Steaua in the other Group E match tonight.
BASEL SUB: Salah has certainly played his part this evening and he goes off having potentially helped his side to a famous victory. On comes Taulant Xhaka in his place.
Chelsea will have four minutes of added time to prevent themselves from falling to a shock defeat here. Can they do it?
CHANCE! Mata slips a good pass into Eto'o inside the box but his first touch makes his job a little harder. He still manages to get a shot away, but under heavy pressure and from a tight angle it doesn't unduly worry the keeper.
UPDATES: Dortmund have pulled a goal back against Napoli to make it 2-1, while Marseille have also got a goal against Arsenal to make it 2-1 in France too.
FULL TIME: Chelsea 1-2 Basel
It is a hugely disappointing result for Chelsea as the referee brings an end to the match. Basel greet the final whistle with delirium and delight, and the players' reactions are emulated in the stands from the travelling fans. It is a famous win for the Swiss side, but Chelsea's inauspicious start to the new Mourinho era has just gone from bad to worse. Who saw this result coming?
Chelsea looked fairly comfortable for much of the match but they lacked the killer pass in the final third throughout. Eden Hazard had a particularly poor game, and only Oscar of the Chelsea midfield gave a decent showing tonight. It was him who got the goal, while he also hit the bar in the second half.
Basel, meanwhile, will not have expected this result at all. They barely threatened at all in the first half, but they second half performance was a lot better. As soon as they equalised they cranked up the tempo and always looked like the most likely team to go on and get a winner. They were rewarded for that adventurous play and can be delighted at pulling off a famous victory.
Right, that is it from me tonight. Thank you for joining Sports Mole for what was a shocking night of Champions League football as Basel pulled off the win against Chelsea. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for analysis which will be up in around half an hour. There will also be plenty of reaction to come, while we have lots more live commentary for you from the Europa League tomorrow. Until then, though, it's goodbye!
Written by
Barney Corkhill
Barney Corkhill
