Football.co.uk Web
skip to content
FULL-TIME: LEVSKI SOFIA 1-3 CHELSEA
Three minutes of time will be added
The home side have deserved that for their continued efforts but Chelsea have been dominant especially in the second half
LEVSKI SOFIA 1-3 CHELSEA: Ognyanov is allowed to run through the middle and latch on to a simple pass before drilling the ball beyond Cech for a consolation effort
To Levski Sofia's credit they are still having a go as we enter the final minutes but they've been well beaten tonight
Chelsea have been well worth the three points here and Drogba has been a real handful for the Levski defence
Kalou gets to the byline and delivers a cross at pace which Robben heads over an open goal from a matter of yards - that should have been a Chelsea fourth
Shevchenko is replaced by Shaun Wright-Phillips as Chelsea make a late change
Bridge flicks the ball away from Koprivarov on the back post after a scuffed cross finds its way through to the substitute
Borimirov is replaced by Milan Koprivarov as Levski make another change
Terry meets a back post corner with a looping header but that's easy for the keeper who holds confidently
Chelsea are spraying the ball around midfield happy to play out time here it seems
Ivanov is next to test the Chelsea keeper with a low drive from 18 yards and after palming the ball away he blasts his defence for temporarily switching off
Carvalho slips and lets in Yoyov but Cech produces a superb triple save - that's quality goalkeeping after having nothing to do all night
Arjen Robben is sent on by Chelsea with hat-trick hero Drogba immediately withdrawn
LEVSKI SOFIA 0-3 CHELSEA: Lampard is allowed to run and shoot from the edge of the box but Drogba sticks out a leg and diverts the ball beyond the diving keeper for his hat-trick
Georgi Ivanov comes on for Telkijski as the home side make a change
Kalou breaks into acres of space down the right flank but his first touch is woeful and a great chance for a Chelsea counter goes begging
Mikel is replaced by Salomon Kalou as Chelsea make a first change
Drogba lofts over a deep cross looking for Shevchenko who controls on his chest but the referee blows for a handball
Levski are still seeing plenty of the ball but lack the guile in the final third to open up Chelsea
Angelov is booked for the home side to level up the yellow card count
Drogba almost plays in Lampard with a superb angled pass but the ball hits the legs of the midfielder and Levski recover to clear
Mikel is the first name in the book tonight for a late tackle
LEVSKI SOFIA 0-2 CHELSEA: Bridge lofts a ball over the top and Drogba gives his marker the slip before finding the back of the net via the underside of the keeper's body
Mikel and Shevchenko combine well down the right but Lampard is beaten to the cross on the penalty spot and the ball is cleared
Carvalho has to be alert to cut out a long ball looking for the run of Yoyov in behind the defence
Chelsea begin the second half a goal to the good
HALF-TIME: LEVSKI SOFIA 0-1 CHELSEA
Two minutes of time will be added to this first period
Essien dives into a strong looking challenge and is perhaps a little fortunate to escape a caution for his complaints to the referee after the whistle blows
Yoyov rises to meet a Telkijski cross but diverts his header over the bar from 10 yards with Cech confidently watching on
On the balance of play Chelsea deserve their lead but it has definitely been a workmanlike performance so far
LEVSKI SOFIA 0-1 CHELSEA: The keeper saves a powerful close-range strike from Mikel and the ball falls to Drogba who strokes it home high into the net
Drogba plays in Shevchenko on the edge of the box but he mis-controls and Levski recover - that was poor from the £30million man
Mikel goes for goal from an acute angle following a corner and lifts a right-foot shot well over the top when a pass back into the danger area was probably the better option
Petkov at the other end adjusts his feet well to pluck a deflected Paulo Ferreira cross out of the air virtually on the goalline
Cech has to make a late move to push a bouncing free-kick around his far post - that's probably the first piece of work he's had to do tonight
Drogba goes for goal but appears to catch the boot of a defender with his swinging leg but after some treatment looks okay to continue
Levski are happy to keep possession of the ball and but for the final pass could well have caused Chelsea more problems so far in this match
Lampard tries to poke a first-time shot goalwards from the edge of the six-yard box but he doesn't make clean contact and the ball is cleared
Petkov gets lucky as he palms a thunderbolt of a 30-yard drive from Michael Ballack on to the post and the ball deflects away from the danger area
Terry has to be alert to flick a pin-point cross away from the lurking Yoyov on the penalty spot
Keeper Petkov makes a hash of claiming a corner but luckily for Levski the ball deflects wide of the mark and is cleared - Chelsea are getting closer
Drogba clatters the bar with a half volley on the turn from 10 yards as Chelsea come within a whisker of breaking the deadlock
Telkijski and Yoyov combine well and almost open up Chelsea with a quick one-two on the edge of the box
Andriy Shevchenko quite rightly looks aggrieved as the referee fails to spot an elbow in his face and the Chelsea striker needs attention from the medics to clean up a facial wound
Yoyov again makes an intelligent run in behind the defence but the pass goes astray - Levski certainly aren't just here to make up the numbers
Georgi Petkov slides out to clear Mikel's early cross looking for the run of Didier Drogba but the striker is flagged offside anyway
Frank Lampard is given time and space 25 yards out and lashes a shot just inches over the bar with the keeper well beaten - Levski can't give the England man that much space
Slips are already a big feature of this match as persistent rain over the past couple of hours have resulted in a greasy pitch
Mikel catches Richard Eromoigbe with a poor tackle in the centre circle and is lucky to escape a caution
Carvalho slips and almost lets an attacker in but recovers in the nick of time - not the best of starts by the Portuguese defender
Ricardo Carvalho flicks a header back to his keeper which almost lets Hristo Yoyov in but Petr Cech is alive to the danger
Levski Sofia get the game underway inside what is Bulgaria's national stadium
At the back skipper John Terry is fit to return after sitting out the last match with a back injury
Blues boss Jose Mourinho has made a couple of surprise moves with Wayne Bridge preferred to leaving Ashley Cole at left-back, while John Obi Mikel is named in midfield in place of Claude Makelele
Chelsea travel to Bulgaria tonight to take on Levski Sofia in the second round of matches in Champions League Group A
Didier Drogba's hat-trick maintained Chelsea's 100 per cent start in the Champions League as they coasted to a 3-1 victory over Levski Sofia. The Blues defeated Werder Bremen 2-0 at Stamford Bridge two weeks ago and, after claiming three points in Bulgaria, the odds are now firmly on the Premiership champions qualifying alongside Barcelona with ease from Group A. Drogba's opening strike six minutes before the interval capped an unspectacular first-half display as the Ivory Coast striker followed up with a simple tap-in after Georgi Petkov had acrobatically tipped away a close-range shot from John Obi Mikel . The goal was Drogba's fifth in seven games, but the lively frontman should have given Chelsea a 16th-minute lead when he crashed a half-volley from 10 yards against the crossbar. Michael Ballack was next to test the home goal as he dispatched a powerful 30-yard drive only to see his effort palmed on to the post by the athletic Petkov. Levski enjoyed plenty of possession but rarely threatened Petr Cech in the Chelsea goal and their failure to impress in the final third was punished seven minutes into the second half. Wayne Bridge lofted a long ball down the centre and, after giving his marker the slip and prodding a low shot goalwards, Drogba watched nervously as Petkov got his body to the ball but could not stop it trickling over the line. Fifteen minutes later Drogba completed the scoring for the visitors with a neat flick past the stranded Petkov after the home defence had allowed Frank Lampard time and space to shoot from the edge of the box. Cech proved his class late on with a series of saves from Hristo Yoyov, but he was beaten in the final minute when substitute Mariyan Ognyanov was allowed to run through the middle and latch on to a simple pass before drilling the ball home from 15 yards for a consolation effort. But, despite the late disappointment, it was a comfortable night for Chelsea and one they are unlikely to experience in the next few weeks with back-to-back clashes against Champions League adversaries Barcelona to come.
Corners
Fouls
Goal attempts
Shots off target
Offsides
advertisement
football.co.uk
Leagues & CompetitionsLeagues & CompetitionsPremier LeagueFootball League ChampionshipFootball League OneFootball League TwoScottish Premier DivisionInternational
TeamsTeamsPremier LeagueArsenalAston VillaBlackburn RoversBolton WanderersChelseaEvertonFulhamHull CityLiverpoolManchester CityManchester UnitedMiddlesbroughNewcastle UnitedPortsmouthStoke CitySunderlandTottenham HotspurWest Bromwich AlbionWest Ham UnitedWigan AthleticFootball League ChampionshipBarnsleyBirmingham CityBlackpoolBristol CityBurnleyCardiff CityCharlton AthleticCoventry CityCrystal PalaceDerby CountyDoncaster RoversIpswich TownNorwich CityNottingham ForestPlymouth ArgylePreston North EndQueens Park RangersReadingSheffield UnitedSheffield WednesdaySouthamptonSwansea CityWatfordWolverhampton WanderersFootball League OneBrighton and Hove AlbionBristol RoversCarlisle UnitedCheltenham TownColchester UnitedCrewe AlexandraHartlepool UnitedHereford UnitedHuddersfield TownLeeds UnitedLeicester CityLeyton OrientMillwallMilton Keynes DonsNorthampton TownOldham AthleticPeterborough UnitedScunthorpe UnitedSouthend UnitedStockport CountySwindon TownTranmere RoversWalsallYeovil TownFootball League TwoAccrington StanleyAldershot TownBarnetBournemouthBradford CityBrentfordBuryChester CityChesterfieldDagenham RedbridgeDarlingtonExeter CityGillinghamGrimsby TownLincoln CityLuton TownMacclesfield TownMorecambeNotts CountyPort ValeRochdaleRotherham UnitedShrewsbury TownWycombe Wanderers