Champions League - Group B: Drogba eases pressure

Eurosport - Wed, 03 Oct 22:24:00 2007
Didier Drogba netted the winner as under-fire Chelsea recorded a well-earned 2-1 win over Valencia at the Mestalla on Wednesday.
The Ivorian striker put last weekend's red card firmly behind him with a well-taken strike with just under 20 minutes remaining to add to Joe Cole's equaliser after David Villa had opened the scoring for Valencia early on.
The result came as a welcome relief for Chelsea manager Avram Grant, for whom the performance proved beyond doubt that his newly-acquired squad of players are more than willing to fight for him in the same way they once did for a certain Jose Mourinho.
Chelsea were put under pressure for large parts of the match, but the Blues dug in when in mattered and showed a fighting spirit that augers well for the future under the Israeli coach.
The match started badly for Chelsea, with Villa displaying just why he is considered to be one of the hottest young talents in Europe at the moment. He finished clinically after unwittingly playing a rather fortuitous wall pass with Michael Essien before bursting through on goal, leaving the onrushing Petr Cech helpless to prevent the hosts taking the lead with just nine minutes played.
And it threatened to get worse for Grant's side as Valencia put their foot on the gas and began to put the Chelsea back line under a degree of pressure. The Spanish side's record signing Joaquin nearly doubled their lead on 20 minutes, but his first touch was poor when played in on goal and Cech was out quickly to narrow the angle and make the save.
But despite the pressure Chelsea were being put under, Joe Cole managed to haul the visitors back into the game a minute later, tapping in from close range after Florent Malouda had raced onto a clever Drogba pass to the byline.
Drogba then saw a quick turn and shot fly inches over the bar, but the rest of the opening period was largely bossed by Valencia, who went close to taking the lead again through Villa; his first time effort on 26 minutes after good work from the impressive Joaquin went just over Cech's bar.
Drogba had pulled up clutching his hamstring just before half-time, and the apparent injury looked like making Chelsea's second half task all the more difficult, But the Ivorian emerged for the second half and was to deliver the telling blow on 71 minutes.
The finish was cool under pressure from Raul Abiol, but it was all about Joe Cole's pass through to him. There was a hint of hand ball when the England winger first received the ball in midfield, but his perfectly weighted pass with the outside of his boot was nothing short of exquisite. It fell perfectly into Drogba's stride and the marksman did the rest.
Earlier, Villa had seen an effort ruled out for offside, and Italian defender Emiliano Moretti had headed inches wide of the post from a corner.
And after Chelsea's second, the pressure mounted in the closing stages, Villa squandering a great chance on 86 minutes by completely missing the ball when it was teed up nicely for him on the edge of the area and substitute Ruben Baraja fluffing his lines deep into injury time.
But Chelsea managed to hold on, with a little bit of help from the versatile Drogba, who by that time was employed as a fourth centre back, to record their best performance and result under Grant.
Rosenborg 2-0 Schalke
Second-half goals steered Schalke to a 2-0 victory over Rosenborg in the other Group B on Wednesday.
Midfielder Jermaine Jones broke the deadlock at the Lerkendal Stadium in the 62nd minute with a left-foot shot off a pass from Ivan Rakitic.
Striker Kevin Kuranyi sealed the victory in the 89th minute, breaking free, evading defender Christer Basma and putting the ball past Rosenborg goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld.
Rosenborg, who had held Chelsea to a surprise 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge two weeks ago, paid the price for failing to take their chances in the second half.
Schalke, who got their first points on the board, are third in the group