Summary In midfield, Ruben Loftus-Cheek started instead of Mikel and Oscar replaced Matic
LONDON (AFP) - John Terry and Diego Costa were among six stars dropped by Jose Mourinho as the Chelsea manager made major changes to his spluttering side for Wednesday s Champions League clash with Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Mourinho admitted after Saturday s 3-1 loss at Everton that he would have to axe several players in a bid to freshen up a team that has won only one of their first five Premier League matches in their worst start to a season since 1988.
And he was true to his word as Blues captain Terry, Spain striker Costa, Serbia right-back Branislav Ivanovic, Serbia midfielder Nemanja Matic, Spain winger Pedro Rodriguez and Nigeria midfielder John Obi Mikel were all left out of Chelsea s Group G opener at Stamford Bridge.
Gary Cahill replaced Terry in central defence, while Ghana left-back Baba Rahman came in for his debut in place of Ivanovic.
In midfield, Ruben Loftus-Cheek started instead of Mikel and Oscar replaced Matic.
France forward Loic Remy led the attack instead of Costa as Chelsea looked to start their Champions League campaign with a much-needed victory over the Israeli club.
