Half-time: Chelsea 2 Maccabi Tel Aviv 0

Willian’s fortuitous free-kick and an Oscar penalty put Chelsea in command in their Champions League opener.

Eden Hazard had missed a spot-kick in the first five minutes, blazing over the bar after Willian had been sent sprawling by Maccabi keeper Predrag Rajkovic.

But the Brazilian spared his teammate’s blushes when his overhit free-kick evaded Gary Cahill’s outstretched boot but still found its way past Rajkovic.

That was to be Willian’s last meaningful contribution as he was replaced midway through the half due to injury.

His replacement Diego Costa had been left out of the starting line-up, along with captain John Terry, Nemanja Matic and Branislav Ivanovic.

But when he came on he added a physical presence to a Chelsea front-line that dominated territory and possession but was struggling to create scoring opportunities.

At the other end, Maccabi’s sole efforts on goal came from captain Eran Zahavi, who nodded over from a free-kick and beat the crossbar with a shot late on.

And Costa’s presence helped Chelsea win another penalty in first-half injury time, which Oscar converted with the final kick.

Chelsea: Begovic; Azpilicueta, Zouma, Cahill (c), Baba; Loftus-Cheek, Fabregas; Willian (Costa 22), Oscar, Hazard; Remy.
Subs: Blackman, Terry, Ivanovic, Ramires, Matic, Traore.