APOEL Nicosia 0 Chelsea 1: match report

30 September 2009 21:37
Chelsea are dominating Group D without Didi. Or, at least, according to the table they are. Once again they, just about, coped with the loss of Didier Drogba, to suspension, with Nicolas Anelka, so long in the shadows of the powerful, talismanic striker stepping up to the plate to score a decisive goal. [LNB]But just as against Porto in the previous Champions League fixture, Chelsea were far from their fluent best. Against Apoel they were, at times, rotten. [LNB] Related ArticlesChampions League actionChampions League tablesChampions League fixturesThere are worrying signs. Lack of concentration, sloppiness, errors. Chelsea suffered the lot. And all this against the most limited of opponents as it became unnecessarily edgy. It's not exactly a slide but its looking a little slippery at the top. It will be a concern for manager Carlo Ancelotti although there will be relief, also. Two matches, two goals for Anelka and six points. Europe truly is Ancelotti's domain. [LNB]Drogba's suspension has one more match to run, at home to Atlético Madrid, but Anelka's contribution has helped ease that loss even if he is not the frightening marauder that Drogba is. The France international, however, has calmed jangled nerves ahead of Sunday's vital Premier League meeting with Liverpool. [LNB]Beating Liverpool last season, at Anfield, was Chelsea's last away victory in Europe although the last time, before this encounter, they collected the points outside of the United Kingdom was way back in December 2007, in the days of Avram Grant, against Rosenborg. [LNB]For the Cypriots this was, probably, the biggest night of European football that this club had delivered and there had been an unprecedented anticipation about the fixture. Tickets were at a premium, cars and mopeds were strewn on the roads around the GSP stadium and a wall of noise greeted the arrival of the teams with each touch by a Chelsea player met with sustained whistling. Just what such games are meant to deliver. Each foul made that noise ever angrier while Apoel's supporters, a mix of their traditional orange and the yellow strip commissioned by the club for this competition, worked their way through a repertoire of chants. [LNB]The noise level grew. Not that Chelsea, who were bolstered by their own 1,400-strong support, many making a holiday of the trip, were remotely fazed. With injuries and suspensions biting, Ancelotti decided to opt for the Christmas tree formation that he has used sporadically and hoped that this would deliver the present of a victory, needed after that weekend loss to Wigan Athletic that has led to questioning and introspection. He also used Ashley Cole even though the left-back had been an injury doubt. [LNB]And it was Chelsea who threatened first with Frank Lampard's whipped in cross reached by Branislav Ivanovic, but he couldn't direct his header. Moments later and Anelka, who had drawn the foul for the free-kick, slipped a pass to Salomon Kalou who steered his shot wide from the area's edge. With their next meaningful attack, Chelsea struck. Juliano Belletti darted down the right and towards the by-line and pulled the ball back. Anelka, just inside the area, was unmarked and stroked a first-time, right-footed shot across goalkeeper Dionisios Chiotis and into the net. Interestingly it was the first time Chelsea had scored inside the opening half hour of a match this season. Ancelotti punched the air although, immediately, Apoel almost hit back with the ball dropping to Constantinos Charalambides who screwed it over the bar. [LNB]But the goal settled Chelsea into a rhythm, not that they had been struggling, of rapid counter-attack and both Ashley Cole and Florent Malouda spurned opportunities. Apoel were struggling and, by now, their support, bar the hard-core self-styled Apoel Ultras behind Petr Cech's goal, were muted. They were roused by two breakaways, both prompted by Chelsea mistakes, with Michael Essien surrendering possession, but both times passes were over-hit and the danger abated. A near post header by Christos Kontis provided some hope for Apoel but Chelsea's only real opponent was complacency and some curious decision-making by Kalou. [LNB]Maybe it had, indeed, been too easy for Chelsea because they started the second-half carelessly. Ricardo Carvalho, awfully, passed waywardly and Nectarios Alexandrou crossed only for Ashley Cole to scamper back and concede the corner. It got worse. Malouda erred and suddenly Savvas Poursaitides had a gilt-edged chance. He shot but Cech parried with his feet and the ball was scuffed away. From the corner Nenad Mirosavljevic headed across goal and wide. Finally Apoel had some momentum and Ashley Cole had to head another cross clear before Cech pounced on a low centre. Once again Chelsea lost the ball this time Ashley Cole and once again Apoel failed to capitalise with John Terry intercepting as Mirosavljevic waited to meet the cross. [LNB]Malouda should have settled nerves but shot weakly at Chiotis and Chelsea had to endure a difficult final few minutes with Charalambides heading over. He should have scored. [LNB]EmailPrint .at15t_email {display:none !important;}Share|tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/chelsea/6247595/APOEL-Nicosia-0-Chelsea-1-match-report.html';tweetmeme_style = 'compact';tweetmeme_source = 'TelegraphNews';Email|Printhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/chelsea/6247595/APOEL-Nicosia-0-Chelsea-1-match-report.htmlTelegraphNews Chelsea 

Source: Telegraph