Chelsea put their domestic woes behind them with a 4-0 victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv in their Champions League Group G encounter at Stamford Bridge this evening.

The hosts' poor form looked to have followed them into Europe when Eden Hazard uncharacteristically blazed over from the spot after six minutes, but Willian's free kick found its way in less than 10 minutes later to give them the lead.

Chelsea were awarded another spot kick on the stroke of half time which Oscar dispatched, and a fine volley from Diego Costa put the match beyond doubt before Cesc Fabregas added gloss to the score with a fourth.

Here, Sports Mole looks at whether Jose Mourinho's side deserved to emerge such comprehensive winners.

Match statistics

CHELSEA
Shots: 15
On target: 5
Possession: 62%
Corners: 8
Fouls: 15

MACCABI
Shots: 7
On target: 1
Possession: 38%
Corners: 2
Fouls: 16

Was the result fair?

Absolutely. There was only ever one team in this match tonight, and the four-goal scoreline does not flatter Chelsea at all. The hosts didn't create a glut of chances, but they could have won by even more had Hazard stuck away his early penalty and even a five or six-goal triumph would not have been unjust tonight. It was one-way traffic for the vast majority of the match, with Chelsea dominating possession and dictating the tempo of the game, more often than not inside the Maccabi half.

The visitors simply couldn't keep hold of the ball well enough to get a foothold in the game. They spent the bulk of the 90 mins penned back into their own half and, while their goal never really came under siege over the course of the game, there is no doubt that they were comfortably second best here tonight. They only managed 38% of the ball, and most of that would have come inside their own half, with only one or two small patches of pressure on the Chelsea defence.

The quality gap between these two sides was clear for all to see tonight. Maccabi would have felt that this was as good a time as any to play Chelsea, but they never made a game of it. The first goal was a touch unfortunate as Willian's free kick, intended as a cross, found the back of the net, but from that point on there was only ever going to be one winner. The visitors didn't necessarily have a shocker, as is often the case with such a comprehensive victory, but they were well beaten by a much better team.

Chelsea's performance

Very little has gone right for Chelsea so far this season, and when Hazard - usually a dead cert from 12 yards - blazed his penalty high over the crossbar after six minutes, Mourinho could have been forgiven for thinking that the Gods were against him once again. It quickly became evident that this was never a match that Chelsea were going to lose, though. There were sweeping changes to the hosts' starting XI, with established starters like John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic and Costa being dropped to the bench, and that wake-up call seemed to have a positive impact on the team.

It was by no means a perfect display, however. They looked like a side short of confidence for much of the game and again the likes of Hazard, Fabregas and Costa - the latter of whom came on as a first-half sub - struggled to replicate their best form for the most part. However, each of those grew into the contest as it progressed and, the more goals they scored, the more of last season's swagger they seemed to recover. The second goal in particular right on the stroke of half time was important as it all but ended the game as a contest.

Mourinho will know that his side still have a way to go to reach last season's heights, and this result should be taken with a pinch of salt considering the quality of opposition, but it is at least a step in the right direction. A first clean sheet of the season, four goals and an encouraging performance is exactly what Chelsea needed from tonight's match, and it should give them a good foundation on which to build on now. Much tougher tests will come, starting with Arsenal on Saturday, and domestically the damage may have already been done, but there does now appear to be some light at the end of the tunnel for Chelsea.

Maccabi's performance

Slavisa Jokanovic and his players may have arrived in West London dreaming of a famous scalp considering how poor Chelsea have been so far this season, and their triumph over Basel in the Champions League playoffs suggested that they may be able to cause a few problems for the hosts' fragile defence. That was never the case today, however, with Maccabi being soundly beaten by a much better team on the night. They must dread to think what the score might have been had Chelsea been on top form.

The visitors' main issue this evening was their ball retention. They very rarely actually saw the ball but, when they did, they did not protect it anywhere near as well as they needed to. On the vast majority of occasions Chelsea were able to win it back within seconds, often inside the Maccabi half. In addition to preventing them from establishing themselves as an attacking force in the game, it also ensured that the pressure on their defence was almost relentless.

There were one or two spells when Maccabi looked dangerous, and they can point to chances for Eran Zahavi and especially Nosa Igiebor that should have been taken, but their only shot on target was a tame effort from a tight angle late on. They could have played until Christmas without scoring here, such was their lack of threat in the final third. It was, of course, a tough assignment for the team on their first taste of the Champions League proper for 11 years, but Jokanovic would have wanted his side to put up more of a fight against his former club.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Ruben Loftus-Cheek: He may not have got his name amongst the scorers, but Ruben Loftus-Cheek put in a fine display in the middle of the park today. He picked up a yellow card inside the opening minute, but from that point on barely put a foot wrong to help Chelsea control the game. He should have done enough to keep his place against Arsenal at the weekend.

Biggest gaffe

There was a terrible miss from Igiebor at the back post late on, but the biggest gaffe tonight has to go to Hazard for his penalty. The Belgian has a magnificent record from the spot, but his lack of confidence was clear to see as he lined up for this one tonight, blazing it well over the crossbar. It was no surprise to see him replaced as the taker when a second spot kick was awarded.

Referee performance

Felix Zwayer had a fairly busy night on his Champions League proper debut, awarding two penalties and dishing out four yellow cards - the first of which came in the opening minute. The first spot kick was a stone-waller as Predrag Rajkovic felled Willian having raced off his line, with the only real decision being whether to send the keeper off or not. By the letter of the law it should have been a red, and Chelsea will feel aggrieved that it wasn't, but perhaps the German official showed a bit of sympathy to a young keeper who had made a genuine attempt for the ball having been landed in a tricky situation by a defensive error.

The second penalty was less straightforward, with Tal Ben Haim getting the faintest of touches on the ball when sliding in on Costa. The former Chelsea man will argue that he made a clean challenge, but Costa still would have got to the ball before the keeper had he not subsequently been taken out by Ben Haim, so it is clear to see why the referee gave it. It must also be said that, in normal time, it looked like a penalty.

What next?

Chelsea: Mourinho's men must now look to return to form domestically when they host London rivals Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday.

Maccabi: Maccabi, meanwhile, will aim to keep up their unbeaten start to the new league season at home to Hapoel Ra'anana.