BERLIN, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- Chelsea seal the round of the last sixteen ahead of schedule with a 5-0 goal festival over Schalke in Champions League' s Group G on Tuesday.
Chelsea secured their berth for the last 16 ahead of schedule as Jose Morinho' s men cruised to a 5-0 win over hapless Schalke. The "Blues" from London smoothed the way for the victory with three first-half goals, as Schalke were unable to fight back on home soil.
The hosts suffered the worst possible start into the encounter as Chelsea opened the scoring with just two minutes on the clock. John Terry headed home Cesc Fabregas' corner from six meters into the top right corner.
Schalke were insecure and unable to keep Chelsea on the distance as Willian doubled the scores at the 29th minute when he utilized a one-two with Eden Hazard to slot home with a low shot from 13 meters into the near post corner.
Things went from bad to worse for the hosts just before the break. Cesc Fabregas crossed another corner into the box before Jan Kirchhoff tripled the lead by header with an own goal at the near post.
Schalke never gained a foothold into the game on top of that they lacked to put up some resistance. Thus, Chelsea kept it going and extended their lead when Fabregas' through ball found Willian, who teed up for Didier Drogba who tapped into the open goal at the 76th minute.
The visitors from London were not done with the scoring as Didier Droga assisted Ramires. The Brazilian midfielder had no problems to round off the 5-0 victory just two minutes later.
With the victory Chelsea clinched the first place in Group G with eleven points meanwhile Schalke sit on second place with five points, followed by Sporting Clube de Portugal with four points and Maribor with three points.
"If you concede one goal in the opening period things get very difficult. We showed too much respect for Chelsea. However, Chelsea demonstrated all their qualities," Schalke coach Roberto Di Matteo said.
Schalke manager Horst Heldt added: " We deservedly lost today. That was an embarrassing performance. I am very angry. How we lost is inacceptable" .