Eden Hazard wins Man of the Match despite missing game-winning penalty kick vs. Maribor

And the Hazard-Oscar dynamic duo show rolls on as the Belgian equals the Brazilian on four Man of the Match vote wins for the season to jointly lead the team.  Between the two of them, they've now won the vote in eight of our last 12 matches.

As usual, the one thing missing from making it a perfect night for Hazard (and a better overall one for Chelsea) was finishing.  It used to be shooting, but at least he's taking shots.  Just like against Manchester United, another easy chance (and I mean EASY chance) went begging.  While it's not realistic to expect 100% clear cut chance conversion from any player, key chances in key situations must be taken with regularity to reach that hallowed next level.  We know this, he knows this; hopefully it'll happen one day soon.

Oh, and take your time with the penalty kick next time like you usually do, Dearest of the Hazards.

In Chelsea's lowest-rated match of the season so far, Matić continued his consistently excellent showings.  After starting the season slightly out of sorts, the big Serbian has quietly rebuilt his claim as one of the world's premier midfield generals.  It's an especially welcome development since Cesc Fàbregas's form has taken a minor dip (in three of his last four matches, he's been rated below the team average).

For the second straight European away night, Matić even grabbed himself a goal!  And at one point he almost hurdled a Maribor player.  I guess that's technically a foul, but I laughed.

Oscar had started nine straight prior to this one -- the longest active streak on the team -- so Mourinho tried to give him a rest.  Alas, Schürrle's continuing incompetence and Willian's somewhat harsh half-time substitution changed those plans.  So Oscar came on to do his Oscar thing for 45 minutes.

And it was nice.

Should've won a penalty, too, but the referee was being silly.