Share

Wasteful Chelsea progress

London - Chelsea booked their place in the Champions League quarter-finals despite wasting a host of chances in Wednesday's 0-0 draw against Copenhagen in the last 16 second leg match at Stamford Bridge.

Carlo Ancelotti's side went through 2-0 on aggregate and their first leg victory in Denmark meant they were never likely to rue some woeful finishing.

But far sterner tests lie in wait on the road to Wembley and there will have to be a significant improvement if the Blues are to reach the final.

After three successive wins, Ancelotti must be concerned that his team returned to the kind of flawed display that has been the hallmark of Chelsea's inconsistent campaign.

Ancelotti did not seem at all concerned that his strikers have scored just twice in the six matches since signing Fernando Torres for £50million.

"We didn't need to score tonight in any case as we had already won 2-0," said the Italian.

"We had a lot of opportunities, I think it was 24 shots, and didn't take them but I am not worried."

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech said that he believed the side were back on track after a worrying dip in form earlier in the season.

"All we were missing tonight were goals," said the Czech Republic star.

"But the job was done and we kept a clean sheet.

"We are in a good position now, we are in the quarter-finals and we are confident as we have a lot of experience.

"We have come through our difficult period and I think we are stronger for that."

Nicolas Anelka's brace in the first leg had put Chelsea within touching distance of the last eight and Ancelotti clearly felt the job was all but done as he left Torres, Michael Essien and Florent Malouda on the bench.

Chelsea had lost just one of their previous 25 home matches in the Champions League, so it was hardly surprising that Copenhagen coach Stale Solbakken admitted his side would need a miracle to go through.

The only miracle in the first half was how Chelsea failed to put the tie completely beyond Copenhagen's reach.

Fabio Capello's move to reappoint John Terry as England skipper in place of Rio Ferdinand was given a resounding endorsement from the Chelsea fans who hailed their defender with chants of "there's only one England captain".

But Terry had few chances to show his leadership qualities as Copenhagen's bright pink shirts left more of an impression than the players wearing it.

Ancelotti's side created and then squandered chances from the start, with Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole both shooting wide when they should have at least tested Copenhagen goalkeeper Johan Wiland.

Yuri Zhirkov had an even better chance to open the scoring after Didier Drogba's clever back-heel and Cole's pass carved open the Copenhagen defence, but the Russian winger curled his shot wide.

After spending 25 minutes penned into their own half, Copenhagen were agonisingly close to taking a shock lead when Dame N'Doye's whipped free-kick caught Cech moving the wrong way and cannoned to safety off a post.

The Danish defence was pierced moments later but Zhirkov was having a night to forget in front of goal and he was off-target from close-range after Anelka crossed from the touch-line.

John Obi Mikel had Chelsea's closest effort when he hit the crossbar after Terry and Anelka flicked on Lampard's corner.

But Chelsea's profligacy spread to Anelka, who was twice played in by Drogba, only to dwell on the ball and give Copenhagen time to clear the danger.

Torres, who had failed to score in five appearances since his move from Liverpool, was finally sent on to replace Anelka with 20 minutes to play.

The Spaniard nearly made an immediate impact with a deflected shot that looped just wide.

Torres also burst into the penalty area and forced Wiland into action with a rising drive, but his wait for a goal continues.
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
loading... Live
Sekhukhune United FC 0
Cape Town Spurs FC 0
loading... Live
Orlando Pirates 0
AmaZulu 0
loading... Live
Sheffield United 1
Burnley 3
loading... Live
Luton Town 0
Brentford 2
loading... Live
Bulls 0
Munster 0
Voting Booth
How much would you be prepared to pay for a ticket to watch the Springboks play against the All Blacks at Ellis Park or Cape Town Stadium this year?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
R0 - R200
33% - 1819 votes
R200 - R500
32% - 1781 votes
R500 - R800
19% - 1084 votes
R800 - R1500
8% - 461 votes
R1500 - R2500
3% - 187 votes
I'd pay anything! It's the Boks v All Blacks!
5% - 254 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE