Match Report: Chelsea 0 – Copenhagen 0
0-0 was enough to secure us a place in the quarter finals of the Champions League
In a game bereft of highlights, except the strikingly fuchsia shirts of Copenhagen, we went through with a routine, and rather drab goalless draw at Stamford Bridge.
The Danish side offered little in true attacking threat and really we never got out of second gear in a game which had little in entertainment value.
With us neatly placed in the tie, the need for more goals was not a worry. But this didn’t prevent us from showing moments of attacking football. A routine looking move down the left instigated by Yuri Zhirkov, was directed towards Didier Drogba. His deft back heel to Ashley Cole was played through. This pass allowed Zhirkov a shot which was only narrowly wide of Johan Wiland’s left hand post.
Such a sequence deserved a goal, but it was not forthcoming.
We continued in a comfortable and measured manner until a finely struck free-kick from Dame N’Doye shook the Chelsea goal. Petr Cech was motionless as the ball flew perilously close to the net. It sent a warning shot to let us know that the Danish side were not going to let the score line impede their progress to get back into the tie.
Ancelotti wasn’t looking too concerned with the pattern of play. He seemed easy with the fact that the hard work was completed in the first leg and a display such as this wasn’t going to dismantle that.
After the break and we once again missed goal scoring chances with both Drogba and Nicolas Anelka guilty of not putting the tie to bed. It almost seemed we were trying to do too much and unable to show a clinical finish.
With little under 25 minutes left in the game, Ancelotti introduced Torres into the game for Anelka. Still keen to score his first Chelsea goal he enlivened things around the Bridge and got off to an excellent start when a deflected shot from the edge of the area almost looped into the net.
Sadly for Torres it dropped wide and so he and Chelsea fans still have to wait.
More changes were made as Flourent Malouda was given a run out with Zhirkov making way and Michael Essien replacing John Obi Mikel.
Had Copenhagen scored early then the game might have played out very differently, but in truth, the Danes never showed that this was a possibility.
We had done what we needed to do in Denmark and so this game proved no more than a pre-cursor to the far more testing and crucial Premier League game against Manchester City on Sunday.
Gill Reeves – disabled rep CSG
Chelsea
• 01 Cech
• 02 Ivanovic
• 03 A Cole
• 17 Bosingwa
• 26 Terry
• 07 Ramires
• 08 Lampard
• 12 Mikel (Essien 83)
• 18 Zhirkov (Malouda 75)
• 11 Drogba – yellow card
• 39 Anelka (Torres 68)
Substitutes
• 22 Turnbull,
• 19 Ferreira,
• 05 Essien,
• 15 Malouda,
• 46 McEachran,
• 09 Torres,
• 21 Kalou
FC Copenhagen
• 21 Wiland
• 15 Antonsson
• 17 Wendt
• 25 Jorgensen
• 03 Bengtsson (Zohore 61)
• 06 Claudemir – yellow card
• 08 Kvist
• 10 Gronkjaer
• 20 Vingaard (Santin 74)
• 30 Bolanos – yellow card (Kristensen 89)
• 14 Ndoye
Substitutes
• 01 Christensen,
• 24 Hooiveld,
• 07 Martin Bergvold,
• 16 Kristensen,
• 27 Delaney,
• 11 Santin,
• 18 Zohore
Ref: Oddvar Moen
Att: 36,454