Chelsea have secured a 1-0 win away at Sporting Lisbon in this evening's Champions League Group G clash, courtesy of Nemanja Matic's first-half goal at the Estadio Jose Alvalade.
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Jose Mourinho's charges nearly found themselves ahead within the first two minutes, as Cesc Fabregas played Diego Costa clean through.
Despite having plenty of time on the ball to contemplate his next move, the Spaniard found his shot saved by Rui Patricio.
Moments later, Gary Cahill had the chance to head Chelsea in front, but more lack of composure from the Blues saw this effort also wasted.
In the 20th minute, Sporting threatened through Islam Slimani, the Algerian slipping in between John Terry and Filipe Luis, but his subsequent header proved too weak to trouble Thibaut Courtois.
Following this effort, Chelsea resumed their onslaught on the home side's goal, as Andre Schurrle wasted a multitude of good chances midway through the first half.
Eventually, the deadlock was broken by the Blues as Matic, who previously played for Sporting's rivals Benfica, latched on to Fabregas's looping cross to head home and put his side into a deserved lead.
Ex-Manchester United winger Nani nearly scored an equaliser from around 30 yards out early in the second half, but his effort proceeded to curl wide and out as it approached the far corner.
Just before the hour, both sides came close to adding to the game's goal tally as Patricio pulled off a smart save to deny Oscar, while at the other end, Nani smashed the ball into the side-netting.
The game found itself getting more and more physical as a spate of players found themselves booked for rash challenges, but Chelsea were able to see the game through after keeping up the pressure in Sporting's final third.
The result means that the Blues now top Group G on four points.
Giuseppe Labellarte
