Chelsea, Costa set to heap more misery on Schalke

LONDON/ MADRID — The good news for Schalke 04’s defenders as they prepare to face Chelsea in their opening Champions League Group G match on Wednesday is that striker Diego Costa is nursing a slight hamstring injury.

The bad news is that even without being fully fit he has scored seven goals in his opening four matches for his new club since his £32.0 million ($52.03 million) transfer from Atletico Madrid.

Schalke will have plenty to fear if, as expected, he plays against them at Stamford Bridge.

Those goals, which included a hat-trick in Chelsea’s 4-2 win over previously unbeaten Swansea City on Saturday, have helped preserve Chelsea’s perfect start to the season, in contrast to winless Schalke’s start in the Bundesliga.

Chelsea are top of the Premier League with a maximum 12 points while Schalke are languishing near the foot of the German table with one point from their first three matches.

They know what to expect from Chelsea, too, after losing to them 3-0 both home and away in last season’s Champions League group stage, and on current early season form Chelsea look capable of beating them again by at least that margin.

After another impressive performance on Saturday, Costa, the first player since 1992 to score in his first four Premier League games, said despite his great start he had not yet settled down to life in London, but was settling in well at the club.

“I have not yet been out in London, but I am trying to get to know it and bit by bit adapt to London,” the Brazil-born naturalised Spain international said.

“To have an old teammate [Filipe Luis] here is very important. Ramires, Willian, Oscar, Cesc Fabregas and Cesar Azpilicueta have all helped me a lot. I am very happy.”

Fabregas, who joined Chelsea from Barcelona in the summer, has also made an excellent start at Stamford Bridge, with assists in every game he has played so far. 

Schalke crisis 

While Chelsea are on the crest of a wave, Schalke, who finished third in the Budesliga last season, are in a crisis.

The royal blues were crushed 4-1 by Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday and are two off the bottom with just one point and a goal difference of minus four. That point came from a 1-1 draw with champions Bayern Munich.

Schalke, who also lost 2-1 to third-tier Dynamo Dresden in the opening round of the German Cup a month ago, sought more consistency this season after last season’s rollercoaster ride.

But coach Jens Keller has yet to get the most out of a talented squad, with Kevin-Prince Boateng sluggish in midfield and attacking midfielder Julian Draxler and Dutch international striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar playing below par.

Keller’s cause has not been helped by a thigh injury to defender Felipe Santana, while other injured squad players are also out and restricting his options.

Lack of on-field chemistry 

One of the most disappointing aspects of Barcelona’s failure to win major silverware last season was the lack of on-field chemistry between Lionel Messi and Neymar.

Four-time World Player of the Year Messi and Brazil forward Neymar had injury troubles during 2013/14 but when they were fit, Barca fans, expecting the emergence of a lethal partnership scoring entertaining goals at will, were largely disappointed.

On the evidence of Saturday’s 2-0 La Liga win at home to Athletic Bilbao, however, this season may be a different story.

Neymar came off the bench for the final half hour at the Nou Camp and netted a clinical double from a pair of superb Messi assists to preserve Barca’s perfect start to the season with three wins in three matches and no goals conceded.

New coach Luis Enrique will be expecting more of the same when Barca host Cypriot side APOEL in their Champions League Group F opener on Wednesday.

A former Barca and Spain midfielder who had stints in charge at clubs including AS Roma and Celta Vigo, Luis Enrique took over from Gerardo Martino with a brief to improve on last term’s elimination in the quarter-finals by Atletico Madrid.

Barca spent heavily in the transfer window, bringing in Uruguay forward Luis Suarez, who is banned until the end of October, Croatia midfielder Ivan Rakitic and France centre back Jeremy Mathieu.

After a positive start, when the defensive weakness that wrecked last season appeared to have been ironed out, hopes are high the club can challenge for silverware again.

“Each year our goal is to get to the [Champions League] final and going out to Atletico last season was a shame,” forward Pedro told a news conference on Monday.

“We have a lot of desire and excitement about winning this title,” added the Spain international.

“The coach has told us to pressure very high up the pitch, steal the ball and keep it ourselves.

“We have done that very well and barely conceded any chances, but there is still room for improvement.” 

Daunting task

APOEL, competing in the group stage for the third time, reached the quarter-finals on their last Champions League appearance in 2011/12.

They have never played Barca and face a daunting task at the Nou Camp, where the Catalan giants have lost only one of their last 27 home games in Europe’s elite club competition.

“Barca are a team who are building up their armoury again but they have also managed to maintain their base,” APOEL’s Spanish-Belgian goalkeeper Urko Pardo said in an interview published on Barca’s website on Monday.

Ajax Amsterdam host Paris St. Germain in the other Group F game.