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| Thursday, 26 November 2009 00:17 |
Chelsea edge past Porto at DragaoFC Porto 0-1 Chelsea Portuguese champions FC Porto will head into the knockout phase of the Champions League as runners-up in Group D, after Nicolas Anelka’s second-half goal gave Chelsea victory at the Dragao.
As was the case on Matchday 1, it was a single goal from French striker Anelka which separated the already qualified sides, as Jesualdo Ferreira used the match to give some of his squad players a taste of European action. As well as handing a starting berth to Silvestre Varela in attack in place of Hulk, Ferreira also opted to give Beto his first Champions League appearance in goal. The former Leixoes ‘keeper was given an early test by Anelka’s stinging long-range strike, and the Chelsea forward would prove a troublesome opponent for the Porto defence throughout. For the hosts, who took time to grow into the game, Argentine midfielder Fernando Belluschi caught the eye in the first half with some dangerous shooting from distance. Following a good burst from midfield, the summer arrival from Olympiacos forced Petr Cech into a save, with the Chelsea goalkeeper reacting superbly to then deny Falcao from the rebound. Belluschi went the closest to breaking the deadlock before half time with a superb curling shot which struck the crossbar, but Chelsea started the second period strongly and a good run from Anelka resulted in an opportunity for former Dragons hero Deco, who pulled his snapshot wide from the edge of the area. Florent Malouda had also caused Porto problems down the left flank, and he combined with his French international colleague Anelka to open the scoring midway through the second half. Malouda received the ball from Zhirkov down the left and crossed for Anelka, who found himself free in between Rolando and Bruno Alves to head in from close-range. By the time of the goal, Jesualdo Ferreira had already introduced Hulk to inject some potency into the Porto attack, and the newly-capped Brazilian proved the hosts’ biggest threat for the remainder of the game. Having failed to get a good connection on a cross from the left, Hulk produced a vintage left-footed cross to the back post, where Cristian Rodriguez could not direct his header on target. Hulk then skipped away from Zhirkov and ran at the heart of the Chelsea defence, but his final effort did not trouble Cech. Despite the Brazilian’s best efforts, Carlo Ancelotti’s visitors held firm for all three points and win the section. For Porto, second place and the prospect of facing one of the winning teams from the competition’s other groups.
Beto; Sapunaru (Farías, 78), Rolando, Bruno Alves e Álvaro Pereira; Belluschi (Guarín, 71), Fernando e Raul Meireles; Varela (Hulk, 59), Falcao e Rodriguez. |
