Chelsea were held to a shock 1-1 draw in their Group B game against Norwegian side Rosenborg.
The Blues squandered several decent opportunities
Chelsea were held to a shock 1-1 draw in their UEFA Champions League Group B game against Norwegian side Rosenborg.
Rosenborg stunned Chelsea on 24 minutes, when an excellent Marek Sapara free-kick was deftly flicked past Petr Cech by centre-back Miika Koppinen.
Jose Mourinho's men laboured for much of the first half, while they dominated possession, their attacks were somewhat toothless.
Eight minutes into the second half Chelsea levelled. The impressive Florent Malouda bent in a superb cross and Andrei Shevchenko rose to head home.
The Blues continued to throw everything at Rosenborg, but the Norwegian side rode their luck as both Salomon Kalou and Malouda saw shots cannon off the woodwork.
Mourinho moved John Terry up front in an attempt to batter through Rosenborg's defence, but the tempo of the game petered out and Chelsea were held to a frustrating draw.
Chelsea began brightly enough and they should have taken the lead in the ninth minute but Kalou headed Joe Cole's inswinging cross onto the top of the goal instead of into the net.
Caught out
Two minutes later Michael Essien blasted wide after Shevchenko's neat header had put the Ghanaian through on goal.
Perhaps it was the half-empty Stamford Bridge which had put the Blues off their stride but they were caught out when Sapara's free-kick was volleyed home by Koppinen.
In the 32nd minute a cleverly worked corner saw Alex head a cross from Malouda just wide of the target.
Two minutes later Joe Cole fed the sprinting Kalou with a delightful pass but the Ivorian striker, short on confidence, fired his angled drive beyond the far post.
In the 38th minute it was Shevchenko's turn to fire a left-foot shot the wrong side of the upright as the English side tried to get themselves back into the game.
The attendance of 24,973 was the worst for Chelsea for four years and they had a lucky escape in the 51st minute when Alexander Tettey fired high over the crossbar from 18 yards.
It was a costly miss for the Norwegians as Chelsea finally found the net in the 53rd minute when Shevchenko headed a cross from Malouda over Lars Hirschfeld and into the net for the equaliser.
Warning
Cech was then quickly forced into a flying save to deny Yssouf Kone and it was just the warning Chelsea required as the home side increased the pace of the game almost immediately.
Chelsea almost cracked it in the 61st minute when Shevchenko and Malouda combined superbly only for the France winger to see his shot cannon back off a post.
Chelsea were now camped in Rosenborg's half and in the 64th minute a cross from Ashley Cole almost found its way into the path of Shevchenko but the Ukrainian striker failed to connect with the loose ball.
In the 75th minute, Kalou shaved an upright with a curling shot after Shevchenko had found him with a simple pass.
Chelsea tried everything to find the winner, even throwing defender Terry into attack. But Rosenborg held on to take a point and the home side were greeted with more booing on the final whistle.
| Chelsea |
Team Statistics |
Rosenborg |
|
| 1 |
Goals |
1 |
|
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
1 |
|
| 5 |
Shots on Target |
3 |
|
| 18 |
Shots off Target |
4 |
|
| 6 |
Blocked Shots |
1 |
|
| 8 |
Corners |
2 |
|
| 18 |
Fouls |
18 |
|
| 4 |
Offsides |
1 |
|
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
2 |
|
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
|
| 86.4 |
Passing Success |
68.2 |
|
| 17 |
Tackles |
18 |
|
| 64.7 |
Tackles Success |
61.1 |
|
| 70.1 |
Possession |
29.9 |
|
| 63.2 |
Territorial Advantage |
36 |
|
|
