Gallas Is The Late Hero For Chelsea  (Sky Sports)

Sparta Prague 0 Chelsea 1

Richard Jolly reports

Not much separates big cheques and big Czechs and ultimately it took a late William Gallas goal to give Chelsea a winning start to their Champions League campaign.

Despite Roman Abramovich's 110 million spending spree, an obdurate Sparta Prague side frustrated Chelsea for 84 minutes until Gallas' close-range volley.

Having complained of not finishing games, Damien Duff didn't start this but emerged to help decide it, delivering the cross Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink flicked on for Gallas to finish with aplomb.

Until then, Chelsea's millions counted for litte against the side lying seventh in the Czech league as Sparta threatened to add their names to Viking Stavanger, Maccabi Haifa and St Gallen among the European minnows whose names induce shivers at Stamford Bridge.

Hernan Crespo, who commanded one of the biggest fees, and Igor Gluscevic, as sizeable as any of the Sparta side, missed clear-cut opportunities which Sparta surely believing they merited parity.

Crespo, in his first Chelsea start, showed the awareness if not the shooting to please Claudio Ranieri. He excelled, though, at finding space to fail to finish. Glen Johnson, more at ease in Sparta's half, was the provider for the first chance, but Crespo's finish was tame, a chip straight at Jaromir Blazek.

Juan Sebastian Veron only presented a sporadic threat but, paired in attack with his compatriot Crespo , he twice split the Sparta defence with sublime passes. Crespo even beat the alert Blazek once only for his lob to drift wide; the combination of angle and agile keeper otherwise denied him.

Nonetheless, the Argentine alliance benefited both Veron and Crespo, whose partnership with Adrian Mutu is very much in the formative stages.

But it wasn't just 16 million strikers missing chances, the unmarked Gluscevic spurning the opportunity to sink the Champions League's big spenders. That he contrived to head the ball away from goal merely added to his embarrassment.

Mutu had also missed the target, albeit with a harder header from an early Johnson cross. The teenage right back was the exception in a Chelsea side packed with Champions League experience. His lax positioning almost cost Chelsea as Radoslav Kovac stole in to meet Karel Poborsky's cross, Carlo Cudicini relieved to see him head past the post.

Johnson and Wayne Bridge were happier in the second half after 45 minutes where they were constrained by the midfield diamond Claudio Ranieri's tinkering had produced.

While Veron, at the head of that diamond, failed to impose himself, Chelsea's rhythm was missing and they conceded a succession of free kicks. Vladimir Labant, once of West Ham reserves, drew a fine save from Cudicini with one curler.

Then Duff emerged to offer width, Veron was given more licence to attack and Chelsea started to produce chances. That they had to wait 85 mintues for a goal did not just reflect Crespo's finishing.

Petr Johana surely didn't rate a mention on Ranieri's summer spending list, but his uncomplicated defending played a major part as Chelsea drew a blank. Two desperate last-ditch interceptions denying tap-ins to Mutu and Crespo were followed by a perfectly timed tackle on Hasselbaink.

It was almost enough for Sparta but Gallas, whose 6.2 million fee makes him one of Chelsea's cheaper players, struck late as Chelsea saw the back of more Czechs.

Teams:

Sparta Prague Blazek, Labant (Jezek 87), Johana, Petras, Nemec, Poborsky, Michalik (Zboncak 56), Kovac, Hubschman, Jun, Igor Gluscevic.
Subs Not Used: Kouba, Zelenka, Kincl, Sionko, Homola.

Chelsea Cudicini, Johnson, Gallas, Desailly, Bridge, Geremi, Veron, Makelele, Petit, Crespo (Hasselbaink 72), Mutu (Duff 46).
Subs Not Used: Ambrosio, Cole, Gudjohnsen, Terry.
Goals: Gallas 85.

Attendance: 18,997

Referee: Helmut Fleischer (Germany).