Atletico Madrid 1 Chelsea 2: Eden Hazard steals the show as visitors send message to Europe

The deliciousness; the absolute lip-smacking delight of this for Chelsea who not only dominated and defeated one of Europe’s big beasts on their own turf but did so with goals from Alvaro Morata and Michy Batshuayi. With Diego Costa in the stands, having completed his acrimonious return to  Atlético  Madrid after going on strike at Chelsea, it was the man who was signed to replace him and the man deemed not good enough to replace him who won it for Antonio Conte’s side.

It is only what Uefa term match day two of the Champions League but this is the kind of result that reverberates around Europe. The kind of result that shows, after a season’s absence from this competition, that Chelsea are back. That Conte is back. And that Chelsea can come back because they turned this around from a goal deficit against a team who do not surrender such advantages.

In fact it is hard to recall when before Chelsea have commanded a game so comprehensively away from home against one of Europe’s big clubs, a club who have reached two of the last four Champions League finals. Chelsea did not do it even when they won the Champions League in 2012 while it is simply a given that Atlético do not lose at home (this is only their second loss in 24 Champions League games and it feels more formidable than that). It was also the first time that Atlético have ever lost at home to an English club.

Diego Simeone’s side are in a new stadium, of course, having left the crumbling, chaotic but charismatic power of the Vicente Calderon after 51 years to move to the imposing grandeur of the Estadio Metropolitano but they have taken their daunting atmosphere with them and had won their previous two games here without conceding a goal. It did not feel like the new stadium was a factor.

But Chelsea were. From the moment the team-sheets were delivered and Cesc Fabregas was included it appeared Conte had arrived with intent. There was also a superb performance from Eden Hazard, who needs to light up this competition, and who was playing his first Champions League tie since Chelsea lost in the last-16 to Paris Saint-Germain in March 2016.

And there was Morata. The 24-year-old is not only Chelsea’s record signing – and the man who previously held that record also eventually took the pitch when Atlético brought on Fernando Torres – but is also a former Real Madrid striker. His name led to a chorus of whistles when it was read out pre-match and those whistles were even louder and angrier when he was substituted late on. They would have been music to the Madridista’s ears as Costa watched on. The King (Kong) is dead. Long live the Prince.

Morata scored his seventh goal in seven games for Chelsea to draw them level after David Luiz had foolishly conceded a penalty when he grabbed hold – and would not let go – of Lucas Hernández’s shirt at a corner. He was booked and Antoine Griezmann, who otherwise was disappointing, thumped the penalty past Thibaut Courtois. That was just before half-time and it could have been quickly followed by ‘game-over’ as Courtois beat out Koke’s powerful low shot with Saùl Niguez then firing the rebound wide when surely a player of his calibre had to score.

But it was rough enough on Chelsea who also felt they should have had a penalty when Marcos Alonso was man-handled by Juanfran. They had dominated, they had come close with Jan Oblak tipping over Morata’s header and were unfortunate when Hazard’s quick feet creates space 25 yards out only for his shot to take a slight deflection and thump back off the post with the goalkeeper beaten.

Chelsea continued to show courage and continued to dominate and they got their reward when Luiz picked out Hazard who, out on the left, swung the ball in for Morata to deftly glance his header across Oblak and into the net. Atlético  were rocking and Chelsea should have scored again when Hazard tidied up a goalmouth scramble to square to Fabregas who could not move his feet quickly enough and scuffed his shot wide.

Simeone sensed his side had to try and win this but it was Morata who again went close as he brilliantly out-stripped Hernández on a counter-attack only to stab his right foot shot across goal and wide. There was pressure from Atlético and they maybe could have had another penalty when Tiemoue Bakayoko appeared to trip Torres.

Then deep into injury-time Chelsea won a free-kick and worked the ball from one side of the pitch to the other, patiently looking for an opening, until Alonso crossed low and Batshuayi side-footed home from close-range. It was the last kick of the match and even the Atlético  hardcore were stunned into silence.

“We want to see where we are,” Conte had said in the build-up and it was a game which is usually the preserve of March or onwards when the Champions League becomes serious and only the serious players with serious aspirations are left. For Chelsea that was almost as important as the points as they took control of Group C.