Chelsea FC fans need to stop overlooking Shakhtar Donetsk

After the international break ends, Chelsea have a pair of very big games in the Premier League against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United. Sandwiched between those games is a very important Champions League tie with Shakhtar Donetsk, a game which many fans seem to be overlooking.

On November 23, 2011, Shakhtar Donetsk lost to FC Porto in a game that saw them surprisingly eliminated from the Champions League. Since that game, they've been in better form than any other team on the planet. Here are the results of every single real game the Ukrainian club have played since the loss to Porto:

• November 27, 2011 Karpaty 0 - 5 Shakhtar Donetsk
• December 2, 2011 Shakhtar Donetsk 5 - 0 Arsenal Kyiv
• December 6, 2011 APOEL 0 - 2 Shakhtar Donetsk
• December 11, 2011 Kryvbas 0 - 4 Shakhtar Donetsk
• March 4, 2012 Shakhtar Donetsk 1 - 1 Dnipro Dniprop
• March 10, 2012 Illichivets' 1 - 2 Shakhtar Donetsk
• March 17, 2012 Shakhtar Donetsk 4 - 0 Chornomorets
• March 23, 2012 Volyn 1 - 2 Shakhtar Donetsk
• April 1, 2012 Vorskla 0 - 2 Shakhtar Donetsk
• April 7, 2012 Shakhtar Donetsk 2 - 0 Dynamo Kyiv
• April 11, 2012 CUP Metalurh Zapor… 0 - 1 Shakhtar Donetsk
• April 16, 2012 Zorya 1 - 5 Shakhtar Donetsk
• April 21, 2012 Shakhtar Donetsk 3 - 1 Tavriya
• April 27, 2012 Volyn 3 - 4 Shakhtar Donetsk
• May 2, 2012 Metalist 1 - 2 Shakhtar Donetsk
• May 6, 2012 Metalurh Donetsk 1 - 2 Shakhtar Donetsk
• May 10, 2012 Shakhtar Donetsk 3 - 0 Oleksandria
• July 10, 2012 Metalurh Donetsk 0 - 2 Shakhtar Donetsk
• July 15, 2012 Shakhtar Donetsk 6 - 0 Arsenal Kyiv
• July 21, 2012 Hoverla-Zakarp… 1 - 3 Shakhtar Donetsk
• July 29, 2012 Shakhtar Donetsk 1 - 0 Kryvbas
• August 6, 2012 Volyn 0 - 4 Shakhtar Donetsk
• August 12, 2012 Shakhtar Donetsk 4 - 1 Vorskla
• August 19, 2012 Chornomorets 1 - 5 Shakhtar Donetsk
• August 26, 2012 Shakhtar Donetsk 3 - 0 Karpaty
• September 2, 2012 Shakhtar Donetsk 3 - 1 Dynamo Kyiv
• September 15, 2012 Zorya 0 - 3 Shakhtar Donetsk
• September 19, 2012 Shakhtar Donetsk 2 - 0 Nordsjælland
• September 23, 2012 Shakhtar Donetsk 4 - 1 Dynamo Kyiv
• September 28, 2012 Shakhtar Donetsk 2 - 1 Dnipro Dniprop
• October 2, 2012 Juventus 1 - 1 Shakhtar Donetsk
• October 7, 2012 Metalist 0 - 2 Shakhtar Donetsk

For those of you that didn't pay close attention, that's 30 wins, two draws, and zero losses since the game against Porto. The first of those two draws happened to come in the club's first game after their three month winter break. The second draw came against Juventus in Italy. Between those two draws, Shakhtar ran off a run of 25 consecutive wins, an absolutely incredible feat.

Those of you overlooking Shakhtar as a bit of a pushover need to take a closer look. This is a very, very good club that has been in absolutely blistering form for the last ten months, and a trip to the Donbass Arena to face them is just as difficult a test as we'll be facing when we travel to White Hart Lane after the international break ends. Obviously we'd all like to see a win from that game, but leaving the Ukraine with a point would be a very acceptable result. Don't underestimate Shakhtar, because they've done enough to warrant your respect.