Only Victory Will Do as Chelsea Seek UCL Redemption Against Basel

Clive Rose/Getty Images

Talk about coming back to down to earth with a thud.

Defeat at Stamford Bridge for Chelsea against Basel on Matchday 1 of this season's Champions League was a massive reality check, if the Blues ever needed one.

It was Jose Mourinho's return to European football with the club, and the feeling among supporters was that this season was going to be unlike the previous six that had passed in his absence.
Upsets against so-called lesser teams were certainly not on the agenda—this Chelsea team was going to be as dominant as the one Mourinho guided to back-to-back Premier League titles.


It looked like proving quite the opposite, though, as his new-look Chelsea fell at the first hurdle on their journey to European domination, suffering a 2-1 defeat to Basel and compounding a miserable night in the process.

Ian Walton/Getty Images

They've since recovered by emphatically winning their last three Champions League games—twice defeating Schalke 3-0—but it's Chelsea's trip to Switzerland this week for their showdown with FCB that will really let us know where they are.
Are the same problems there, or have the Blues truly turned the corner?
Talk of a revenge mission on Tuesday evening at St. Jakob-Park is perhaps overcooking it, but Chelsea will need to seek some form of redemption—set the record straight, as it were.
If they achieve that goal, Mourinho's men will not only book their place in the next round of the Champions League, they will show that they are beginning to grow into an outfit more akin to what we're used to when it comes to teams led by the Portuguese.

Indeed, it’s an insult to Basel to suggest their victory way back in September was a fluke. Chelsea may have been caught napping, sure, but the Swiss champions had enough about to ensure they paid the ultimate price.
It cannot happen again, though.
Whereas Chelsea could plead naivety that night, that they were still adjusting to life under yet another manager, this time they will not be able to hide behind such convictions.
It’s two months on, and Mourinho’s Chelsea have had a further 13 games in that time to adjust to his methods. They should resemble a solid team more than ever now, and victory in Switzerland will prove that fact.

How will Basel vs. Chelsea end?

Basel victory Draw Chelsea victory Submit Vote vote to see results

Beating opposition such as Basel—like they did rather comfortably in the semifinal of the Europa League last term—is a must for teams of Chelsea’s ilk, teams who believe themselves to be among the elite challengers for silverware.

The Blues have turned things around in Group E since that opening defeat, they’ve “cleaned out the garbage,” Mourinho enthused, as per BBC Sport, following their convincing Matchday 3 display against Schalke.
If they truly have, nothing but victory on Tuesday will do.