Steaua Bucharest 0 Chelsea 4

Relief was short-lived for Fernando Torres. No sooner had he escaped an FA charge for violent conduct than he limped off with an injured knee, the only blemish on an excellent night for Chelsea in Europe.

Ramires scored twice, either side of an own goal, and Frank Lampard added a fourth in stoppage time as Jose Mourinho’s side cleansed the Basle defeat from their system.

For Mourinho, it was the calm after the strop. He was grumpy ahead of the game but all smiles as his team were applauded from the pitch by Steaua Bucharest supporters.

At the double: Ramires celebrates his second goal of the night to make it 3-0 to Chelsea

Match facts

STEAUA: Tatarusanu 5; Georgievski 4 (Varela 71), Szukala 5, Gardos 5, Latovlevici 6; Bouceanu 4, Filip 5; Popa 4 (Kapetanos HT), Stanciu 4, Tanase 5; Piovaccari 5 (Tatu HT).
Subs: Nita, Prepelita, Cristea, Neagu.
Manager: Laurentiu Reghecampf 5.
CHELSEA: Cech 7; Ivanovic 7, Terry 6, Luiz 6, Cole 7; Ramires 8, Lampard 7; Oscar 6 (Azpilicueta 78), Mata 6 (Willian 80), Schurrle 8; Torres (Eto'o 11, 6)
Subs: Schwarzer, Mikel, Cahill, Ba.
Bookings: Lampard, Cole
Manager: Jose Mourinho 7.
Man of the Match: Andre Schurrle
Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo (Spain) 6

Steaua were poor and may turn Group E into a three-team race. Last year, Nordsjaelland claimed only one point and Chelsea finished third with 10, plunging them into the Europa League.

‘Everything depends on the next two matches,’ said Mourinho, still wary. But last night, for the first time since he returned, his team had balance: strong, quick and decisive going forward.

‘Normally my feelings never betray me and from the first minute my feelings were positive,’ he said. ‘We defended very well and the team was solid. We kept control. We didn’t give the initiative away. We played a complete game.’

Ramires was clinical, Andre Schurrle excelled on the left and Juan Mata continued to reverse his manager’s opinion. ‘He played very well with the ball as he always does and very well without the ball as he never did,’ said Mourinho.

The only setback was for Torres, whose injury struck about four hours after news from Wembley that he would face no further action for scratching Jan Vertonghen.

Poetic justice, some might say. The cat got the cream and then got crocked and it had that innocuous feel serious ligament injuries sometimes have. 

FIne finish: Ramires fires home his second of the night in a comfortable win for Chelsea

Sidelined: Fernando Torres limped off with a knee injury after just 11inutes to be replaced by Samuel Eto'o

Torres seemed to suffer the injury as he made a tackle after only 37 seconds. Ten minutes later, he dropped to his haunches by the touchline. The medical team examined his left knee and the dejected striker mimed a twisting motion with his good leg to suggest a medial ligament problem.

Torres tried to continue but was unable to fully flex his left leg. Off he trudged again, head bowed this time and straight down the tunnel. A second successive game ended prematurely and in disappointment.

Samuel Eto’o came on and was involved in the opener, a move started and finished by Ramires, and featuring Schurrle, who gave Steaua right-back Daniel Georgievski a torrid night. It was the first time Chelsea fans saw why the German winger had commanded an £18million fee in the summer.

His delivery was sometimes a little awry but on this occasion his low cross found Eto’o, who miscued so completely that his volley at goal turned into the perfect pass to Ramires. The Brazil midfielder charged through the centre of the penalty area to prod the ball past goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu from close range.

Poacher's effort: Ramires pokes home to break the deadlock before celebrating with Juan Mata (below)

Striker's touch: Chelsea's Samuel Eto'o shoots before the ball is put into the net for an own goal 

Salt in the wounds: Frank Lampard (left) celebrates his injury-time goal to make it 4-0

Chelsea’s second was another sweeping move. Ashley Cole sprang out of defence with the ball after clearing a Steaua corner and tucked a pass infield to Mata, who eased it effortlessly into the feet of Eto’o. 

The striker took it past one defender and fired low. Tatarusanu saved but pushed it towards defender Georgievski, who booted it straight into his own net.

Two half-time changes by Steaua manager Laurentiu Reghecampf lifted the home team a little but did not alter the pattern of the game.

Lampard missed a decent chance but Ramires lashed in his second after a neat pass from Oscar and more great work by Schurrle. Mata hit a post before Lampard swept in the fourth from the edge of the box. 

Flying through: Chelsea's David Luiz (right) goes past Steaua's Federico Piovaccari

Winging it: Daniel Georgievski (left) of Steaua loses out to Chelsea wideman Andre Schurrle 

Mourinho is still waiting for one of his strikers to score but the European campaign is rolling. He said: ‘I put that pressure on them because we have to do everything we can to keep Chelsea playing in the Champions League because it is our competition. It’s the way they can grow up faster, to be faced with that pressure.

‘If I tell them that because it’s a new team, I’m a new manager, a new style of football, then it’s no problem if we finish 20 points behind in the Premier League and no one will care. Or we go into the Europa League because that’s fine for us, they won’t grow up.

‘Sometimes you need bigger challenges. They coped very well, so I’m happy, and we played very good football and were beautiful in attacking areas at times.’

Thanks: Luiz, Schurrle, Branislav Ivanovic and John Terry (left-right) applaud the travelling Chelsea fans

Handing it over: Chelsea keeper Petr Cech goes full stretch to tip a Bucharest effort over the bar

Not your day: Steaua Bucharest's Daniel Georgievski puts his boot back on after scoring an own goal

Incredible moment hundreds of wildebeest

Thirsty work: The wildebeest quench their thirst before heading up the bank. A group of zebra appear to have joined the throng. In the background, a hippo has a nap

A vast cloud of dust is thrown up as millions of hooves stampede down the banks of the Mara River in the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya.

One by one the charging wildebeest throw themselves into the boiling river as they make the annual pilgrimage from Serengeti National Park in neighbouring Tanzania to greener pastures.

The river crossing is fraught with danger. Crocodiles lie in wait just a few yards in, hoping to snatch the younger or weaker creatures for an easy meal.

Journey: Every year 1.5 million wildebeest make the journey from Serengeti National Park in Tanzania to the Maasai Mara in neighbouring Kenya

Stampede: As the herd heads down the steep bank and into the water, one wildebeest throws himself into the boiling river 

Dramatic: A huge cloud of dust is thrown up for the banks of the Mara River as a herd of wildebeest risk their lives and plunge in

Leap of faith: All too aware of the dangers that lie ahead, two migrating wildebeest jump into the Mara River in Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya, regardless

Incline: A breakaway group forge a new path down the steep bank before diving into the water. Out front, a pair of adults appear to be shepherding a calf across 

Orderly: Having made their way to the edge of the river, this group form a queue before stepping into the abyss which is littered with danger for them

If that does not get them, they have to fight strong currents as they bid to make it across to the other side.

These dramatic images, taken by Moscow-based photographer Sergey Agapov, show one of natures most magnificent migrations.
Up to 1.5 million wildebeest are believed to make the journey every year.

 

Mr Agapov, a retired Presidential Security Service officer who turned his attentions to photography four years ago, said: 'Watching the wildebeest I feel excitement and respect because of their bravery in the face of risk, said Mr Agapov.

'These animals know that deadly danger awaits them in the river, yet thousands of them readily jump into death's face. This cannot leave anyone indifferent.'

Pastures new: The rib cage of the wildebeest at the back of the queue show why the herd is so keen to make it to the lush plains of Kenya

Magnificent: Former security officer Sergey Agapov captured the dramatic images during a trip to Kenya

Annual event: Every year wildebeest cross the Mara River into Kenya. Here a small group plunge into the treacherous waters in spite of the dangers that lay ahead

Jostling: The magnificent creatures clamber over each other at significant risk to their well-being as they venture out into the river 

Head of steam: The sheer power of the herd is captured perfectly here as the wildebeest out front forges a path across the fast-flowing Mara

Power: Water is thrown up into the air, which has already been filled with the dust from more than four million wildebeest hooves

Finding their rhythm: As the horned-beasts make their way into deeper water, they start to swim across the lethal Mara

The migration takes place between July and October each year, but the mass exodus peaks in the month of August. 

Photographers from all over the world flock to Kenya at this time, with Mr Agapov admitting he had to start planning his trip eight months ahead.

He added: 'The most interesting part of photographing the migration is capturing them during the jump from the precipice into the river and during their run through the dust clouds.'

'You need to pick the right station and to be very lucky and patient to make a perfect snap.'

Safety: Having successfully navigated their way across the Mara, this group of Wildebeest battle their way through a narrow opening in the rocks

Onward: Back on dry land, another huge cloud of dust is kicked up as the wildebeest once again stampede towards the lush pastures of the Maasai Mara

Exhausted: The wildebeest are soaked to the skin and out of breath, but they make their way in single file back onto dry land

Pilgrimage: Every year about 1.5 million wildebeest cross into Kenya in the migration season between July and October