Chelsea 5-0 Genk: Match Report

19 October 2011 22:05

Fernando Torres doubled his goal tally for the season by scoring a brace to help Chelsea thrash Belgian champions Genk 5-0 in a hugely one-sided Champions League Group E game at Stamford Bridge.

The Spaniard, who has missed Chelsea's last two games due to a three-match domestic ban, calmly stroked past Genk stopper Laszlo Koteles in the 11th minute after Raul Meireles had opened the scoring with a 25-yard strike - his first for the club.

Torres headed home his second from a Meireles cross before Branislav Ivanovic and Salomon Kalou completed the rout to help the Londoners consolidate their place at the top of the table at the halfway point of the group stages.

They Genk support certainly enjoyed watching Torres somehow poke Nicolas Anelka's seventh-minute chip forward against the post, which briefly suggested another turbulent outing for the striker on his first appearance at Stamford Bridge since his moment of madness against Swansea.

Meireles spared his former Liverpool team-mate's blushes a minute later, the midfielder given an age to line up a shot from 25 yards which found the bottom corner. However, Torres did not have to wait long to make amends for his miss either, Frank Lampard drifting all too easily into space and threading in the Spaniard, who calmly stroked the ball home.

Florent Malouda should have made it 3-0 midway through the first-half but he sidefooted Torres' cutback wide with his weaker right foot.

Torres was also a constant menace and he duly bagged his first double for Chelsea in the 27th minute when he got in front of his marker to glance Meireles' cross beyond Laszlo Koteles.

Lampard missed a glorious chance from Torres' cross as the Blues put together their best football of the half, with Nicolas Anelka also drilling wide.

The fourth goal duly arrived three minutes before the break, more shocking marking allowing Ivanovic to head in Malouda's free-kick from the right.

Jose Bosingwa, Meireles and Kalou both sent long-range drives too close to Koteles before the latter made it 5-0 18 minutes from time. It should have been Torres' hat-trick but Koteles saved from point-blank range, with Kalou coolly converting the rebound.

Source: PA