28 September 2006, by Mark Simpson

Drogba hatrick leaves Chelsea sitting pretty

Levski Sofia 1-3 Chelsea

A first ever hatrick in the Champions League for Chelsea courtesy of Didier Drogba signalled a comfortable away win in Bulgaria for the English champions.

Mikel was to make a full debut for Chelsea, Ballack played in midfield and captain John Terry was back in the centre of defence alongside Carvalho with Ferreira moving across to right back.

A day of rain could not keep the supporters from turning out for this Champions League tie. The ground was packed to the rafters over an hour before kick off.

The wet and slick pitch played its part early on with a few players finding it hard to keep their feet, Bardon looked lively for Sofia but was stopped in his tracks by a sliding Carvalho early on.

Partisan crowd

Shevchenko was to receive a cut to the cheekbone but no action was taken over the flaying arm of the defender. Patience was the name of the game for Chelsea with every bit of possession being booed and jeered by an extremely partisan home support.

A Mikel effort eventually fell to Drogba in the box, where a swivel, turn and shot came back off of the underside of the bar. The woodwork shuddered again moments later when a Ballack power drive was finger tipped on to the post.

Levski created chances of their own in this first half to show that they were a far better team than had been beaten 5-0 two weeks ago in the Nou Camp. It needed resolute defending from Bridge, Terry, Carvalho, Ferreira and Cech to keep the Bulgarians at bay.

In the 39th minute Chelsea’s patience paid off when a Mikel shot was parried by the keeper into the path of Drogba, whose instantaneous volley was planted into the back of the net to give Chelsea the advantage at half time.

Drogba magic

After scoring six minutes before the break, six minutes after it Drogba grabbed his second goal of the game. A long ball forward from Bridge picked out Drogba who showed brilliant control on his chest before breaking into the box and hitting a first time left footed shot angled across the keeper into the corner of the net for a 2-0 lead.

In the 68th minute Drogba completed his hatrick. A shot from the edge of the box by Lampard looked to be going wide, but Drogba somehow managed to deflect the ball through his own legs and past the keeper to wrap the game up for Chelsea.

A slip from Carvalho then allowed Yorov in on goal and it would take a triple save from Cech to keep the ball out.

The lively match produced late chances for Terry and Robben but the noisiest moment in the stadium came in the 88th minute when a brilliant flick over Carvalho’s head put Ognyanov in the clear and his first time shot from just inside the box beat a static Cech to score the first ever goal for a Bulgarian club in the Champions league and he celebrated as if he had scored the wining goal.

When the final whistle went Chelsea were to find themselves on top of Group A courtesy of a draw between Werder Bremen and Barcelona.

Levski Sofia:
Petkov, Milanov, Topuzakov, Tomasic, Wagner, Borimirov (Koprivarov 79), Eromoigbe, Telkiiski (Ivanov 66), Angelov, Bardon (Ognyanov 71), Yovov

Chelsea:
Cech, Ferreira, Terry, Carvalho, Bidge, Mikel (Kalou 63), Essien, Ballack, Lampard, Shevchenko (Wright-Phillips 82), Drogba (Robben 70)

Goals:
[0-1] Drogba, 39
[0-2] Drogba, 52
[0-3] Drogba, 68
[1-3] Ognyanov 89