Chelsea walked away with a disappointing 0-0 draw against CFR Cluj at the Dr Constantin Radulescu stadium in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Chelsea walked away with a disappointing 0-0 draw against CFR Cluj at the Dr Constantin Radulescu stadium in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
The Romanian side showed great bravery and didn't sit back and allow the Premier League giants to control the match. As a result, the Blues never really got going and wasted the few chances they had.
The Blues got off to a decent start, attacking the Cluj defence from the get-go. Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou combined well up from to create chances, but the home side's defenders stood firm. Frank Lampard also had a shot at goal early on but was blocked on the line.
The discipline wasn't ideal from either side, and the referee spent a lot of time blowing for things like shirt tugging and silly challenges, which meant the game didn't really get flowing.
Oddly enough, Cluj looked better than their high-profile opponents, with Alvaro Pereira taking a number of long range efforts that weren't far off target. They were calm in defence and unafraid to come forward, despite the high calibre of the Blues defensive machine.
After the break, Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari replaced Kalou up front with Nicolas Anelka in an attempt to break the deadlock. The Blues then went a striker down a few minutes into the half when Drogba was stretchered off after catching his studs in the soft turf.
There weren't too many highlights in the second half, with only Juliano Belletti coming close for the visitors. He sent his effort wide right from six yards out and would have been disappointed with the effort.
CHELSEA: Cech, Bosingwa, Terry, Alex, Bridge, Lampard, Mikel, Ballack, Malouda, Kalou, Drogba.
Subs: Hilario, Ivanovic, Di Santo, Ferreira, Belletti, Anelka, Stoch.
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