toptop

Avram Grant's Chelsea missed out on a chance to secure their place in the next round of the UEFA Champions League as they put in an uninspiring performance against Schalke.

Rosenborg's victory against Valencia presented The Blues with the opportunity to progress from Group B, however a below-par display saw Mirko Slomka's men dictate much of the game

Chelsea's best chance of the first half came through the powerful Didier Drogba, but he was denied expertly by Manuel Neuer.

It was Schalke though who grabbed the match by the horns as Marcelo Bordon powered a header over from six yards, and then Juliano Belletti hacked off the line from Heiko Westermann's close-range effort.

Chelsea's second-half performance was equally unimpressive and Schalke were desperately unlucky not to claim three points when both Rafinha and Peter Lovenkrands were denied by the woodwork.

Wasted

Drogba wasted the first of several chances as early as the fifth minute. Mladen Krstajic had sliced his attempted clearance straight at Michael Essien and when the ball was played into the path of Drogba, a goal seemed certain.

But the Ivorian striker was denied an opener by the agility of Neuer who dived low to his right to tip the ball around the post.

Chelsea had dominated the early stages but Schalke produced two long-range shots within a minute to test Petr Cech.

In the 18th minute Mesut Ozil forced the Czech international to dive low to his left to gather his speculative 20-yard effort, and moments later Cech fumbled a drive from Westermann which ran out for a corner.

Westermann then brought another fine save from Cech when he ran unchecked towards the Chelsea goal before unleashing a 25-yard drive.

Chelsea had a lucky escape in the 27th minute when Belletti had to clear off the goalline after Cech had fumbled a corner straight to the feet of Westermann.

Frenetic

Amid all the frenetic activity, Cech collected an injury which caused some concern for the bench until he was given permission to continue.

The English team were now hanging on and could find no respite from Schalke's persistent attacks.

When they did get another chance to turn the game their way, it was Drogba who wasted it yet again.

He fluffed his second clear-cut chance in the 41st minute when a mazy run from Joe Cole put the Chelsea striker in the clear. But once again Neuer was equal to the task and the Schalke keeper pushed the ball to safety.

Chelsea lost goalkeeper Cech during the interval and he was replaced by Carlo Cudicini.

The Veltins-Arena was packed to capacity with the home fans passionately urging their side to take the game to Chelsea.

Within seconds of a Chelsea corner a long ball from Rakitic found Ozil up against Belletti. The Schalke striker showed Belletti a clean pair of heels but sent his shot straight at Cudicini.

In the 57th minute, Rakitic tested Cudicini at his near post with an angled drive and the Italian keeper had to scramble the ball away to safety.

On the hour a corner from Schalke substitute Lovenkrands caused chaos in the Chelsea penalty area and Cudicini completely missed the ball under a challenge from Asamoah.

Lucky

The Blues were far from their best and remained lucky to be on level terms.

Indeed, Grant's side looked happier to settle for a point as they contentedly played the ball around the back four and the midfield instead of going forward.

Chelsea escaped again in the 69th minute when Rafinha's deflected shot came back off the crossbar.

In the 76th minute, Drogba made it a hat-trick of wasted chances when he was again in the clear but sent his shot straight at Neuer.

In the 87th minute Rakitic put Lovenkrands away but his angled drive beat Cudicini and rebounded to safety off the left-hand upright as Chelsea rode their luck to claim a point.

Teams

Schalke 04  Neuer, Bordon, de Souza, Krstajic, Westermann, Bajramovic, Jones, Ozil (Lovenkrands 60), Rakitic, Asamoah, Larsen
Subs Not Used Azaouagh, Grobmuller, Howedes, Schober
Booked Rakitic
Goals 

Chelsea Cech (Cudicini 45), Belletti (Mikel 64), Bridge, Carvalho, Alex, J. Cole, Essien, Lampard, Makelele, Malouda (Wright-Phillips 79), Drogba
Subs Not Used  Ben-Haim, Kalou, Pizarro, Shevchenko
Booked Essien
Goals 

Attendance 53,951

Referee  Massimo Busacca (Switzerland)