Chelsea are quietly lethal. The victory over Spartak Moscow that clinches their place in the last 16 of the Champions League was comprehensive, yet the drubbing was methodical rather than ferocious. Despite all the attention paid to the club under Roman Abramovich's ownership, it is low-key expertise that makes his side such a force.
Goals mount up almost as an inevitability. There have been a dozen of them for Chelsea so far in Group F, and there were moments here when it seemed they could summon them at will. After the Spartak substitute Nikita Bazhenov had knocked in a low ball from Welliton with four minutes remaining, there was still a riposte as Branislav Ivanovic slammed home his second goal of the evening, in stoppage time.
It will mean little to Spartak but their goal was the first Petr Cech has conceded on this ground in 956 minutes – since Aston Villa scored against him in March. Chelsea were to be breached here, but they had never intended to be at their absolute peak.
