Chelsea shared an entertaining 2-2 draw with Apoel Nicosia to qualify unbeaten from UEFA Champions League Group D.
Cypriots net early and late goals to deny Ancelotti's side victory
Chelsea shared an entertaining 2-2 draw with Apoel Nicosia to qualify unbeaten from UEFA Champions League Group D.
The Cypriots took a shock lead in the sixth minute at Stamford Bridge when Constantinos Charalambides fed the ball from the left through to Marcin Zewlakow who slotted home at the near post, although John Terry appealed in vain for offside.
Chelsea then thought they had replied in the 12th minute when Joe Cole nodded home Florent Malouda's cross but the Chelsea player was given offside, again by the narrowest of margins.
But Michael Essien made no mistake seven minutes later with a powerful swerving effort from 25 yards, although the Ghanaian then had to go off injured soon after.
Didier Drogba then added a second on 26 minutes after a flowing Chelsea move which saw Gael Kakuta find Yuri Zhirkov on the left who crossed for the Ivorian to score.
In the second period, Ross Turnbull had to dive down well to his left to keep out Nuno Morais' deflected long range effort, while Cole hit the bar with a cross in the 70th minute before Terry had a goal disallowed late on for offside.
Substitute Nenad Mirosavljuevic then stole onto John Obi Mikel's pass before running on goal and netting with three minutes to go to earn Apoel an unlikely draw, although they missed out on a place in the Europa League.
Chelsea have now failed to win in three games and Carlo Ancelotti made seven changes from the side that lost to Manchester City in the Premier League on Saturday.
Ancelotti is clearly not afraid to bruise reputations as he rested goalkeeper Petr Cech and England midfielder Frank Lampard began the night among the substitutes.
Lampard was forced into the action moments after Drogba had put the Blues in front in the 26th minute, as their other goalscorer, Essien, had collected a hamstring injury before the second goal and had to leave the field.
Scrutiny
Chelsea's defence has come under much scrutiny in the last week and another lapse in concentration allowed Apoel to become only the second team this season to score at Stamford Bridge.
Not since Hull's goal on the opening day of the English domestic season had an opposing side managed to trouble the score sheet.
But captain Terry was caught napping when Charalambides crossed for Zewlakow to fire past goalkeeper Turnbull.
It was another wake-up call for Ancelotti's side who, with Group D already won, could have been forgiven for taking it easy.
But the expected response was not long in arriving. Cole had a header cruelly ruled out for offside in the 12th minute but Essien restored parity seven minutes later with a thunderous shot from the edge of the penalty area.
The Ghanaian midfielder collected a pass from Malouda and despatched a swerving shot that completely deceived Dionisios Chiotis in the Apoel goal.
But it was Essien's last contribution as he collected a knee injury moments later and was replaced.
The change had no effect on Chelsea's fluent passing game with Zhirkov and Kakuta, making his first start for the Blues, particularly impressive.
Combined superbly
The pair combined superbly for Chelsea's second in the 26th minute. Kakuta delivered a precision pass inside the full-back and Zhirkov's cross was swept home by Drogba from eight yards.
Kakuta, who at 18 is now the youngest player to have started a Champions League game for the English side, then provided another slide-rule pass for Cole.
But the England midfielder hesitated sufficiently enough for the Apoel defence to deal with the danger.
Chelsea's class was all too evident as the half-time whistle approached and Lampard was unlucky to see a left-footed drive flash the wrong side of an upright.
Chelsea served up much of the same fare after the re-start. Drogba, relishing time and space in attack, was inches wide with a 25-yard free-kick in the 56th minute, while Cole's cross hit the crossbar.
Malouda tried go one better in the 72nd minute but he was a yard wide of the target.
Chelsea replaced Kakuta with Fabio Borini moments later and the teenager received warm applause for a performance that belied his years.
It was also a further demonstration of the potential that prompted Chelsea to bring Kakuta to England from Lens two years ago.
Terry had a goal ruled out for offside with four minutes remaining and seconds later they paid a hefty price for not putting the game beyond the visitors.
Chelsea's defensive woes continued in horrific fashion when Mikel gave the ball straight to substitute Mirosavljevic.
The Apoel striker ran on to slide the ball into the net through the legs of Turnbull to clinch an unlikely point for the Cypriot side and provide Ancelotti with more food for thought.
| Chelsea |
Team Statistics |
Apoel Nicosia |
| 2 |
Goals |
2 |
| 2 |
1st Half Goals |
1 |
| 5 |
Shots on Target |
4 |
| 14 |
Shots off Target |
1 |
| 8 |
Blocked Shots |
1 |
| 8 |
Corners |
3 |
| 13 |
Fouls |
7 |
| 4 |
Offsides |
3 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
1 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 86.9 |
Passing Success |
72.2 |
| 21 |
Tackles |
21 |
| 61.9 |
Tackles Success |
52.4 |
| 62.7 |
Possession |
37.3 |
| 59.6 |
Territorial Advantage |
40.4 |
|
