Irrepressible captain John Terry provided the inspiration, with his solitary strike enough to hand the Blues all three points.

A game between two evenly matched sides failed to live up to the pre-match billing during a disappointing opening period, with chances few and far between.

Frank Lampard came the closest to opening the deadlock, testing Doni's reflexes early on with a dipping volley.

The England man then went even closer on 23 minutes, with a 25-yard drive clipping the top of the crossbar, but there would be stalemate at the interval.

Aware that their opponents were offering little in terms of an attacking threat, Chelsea then went on the offensive after the break.

It became only a matter of time before a breakthrough arrived and skipper Terry duly provided it on 78 minutes as he met Lampard's corner to glance a powerful header through the mass of bodies inside the box.

Tempers then threatened to boil over on more than one occasion before the Stamford Bridge faithful were able to celebrate a crucial success.

Roma, struggling in the lower reaches of Serie A, were not expected to upset Chelsea's European momentum but they almost did so with a dogged defensive display which nearly earned them a share of the spoils.

The opening few minutes saw Chelsea enjoy the lion's share of possession with the impish Deco pulling the strings in midfield.

But eight minutes elapsed before Chelsea mustered their first real attempt on goal via a 20-yard volley from Lampard which Doni dealt with effectively.

That apart, there was little sign of the beautiful game which Luiz Felipe Scolari desired as the home side were largely frustrated by the visitors. Scolari's touchline demeanour clearly demonstrated his distinct displeasure with Chelsea's inability to get on top.

In the 27th minute Deco set Salomon Kalou free on the right but the striker's shot was lacking power and accuracy and Doni again collected the ball safely.

Roma were more than happy to stop Chelsea trying to play their way through the middle with Alberto Aquilani particularly impressive.

It required a superb tackle from Terry to prevent Matteo Brighi from opening the scoring in the 35th minute.

Terry dived in to deflect the ball for a corner after a superb piece of skill from Francesco Totti had set up Brighi.

Lampard tried his luck at the other end after Deco had bamboozled the Roma defence with a clever back-heel but the England midfielder was again off target.

Replaced

Scolari replaced Florent Malouda during the interval with Juliano Belletti and he immediately sent a 20-yard drive high into the crowd.

Roma were forced to make a change on the hour when Aquilani suffered a hamstring injury and was replaced by Simone Perrotta.

Moments later Kalou brought an outstanding save from Doni with a firm header.

Chelsea were now beginning to get on top once more but the cutting edge remained noticeably absent.

Mikel sent a 25-yard drive well wide of the target as Chelsea struggled to find a way beyond the Roma rearguard.

A fine ball from Deco was squandered by Kalou when the Ivory Coast striker sent over a tame cross that was easily dealt with by Christian Panucci.

Roma were happy to settle for a point and with Totti offering a solo option in attack, the onus was on Chelsea to make the breakthrough.

That almost arrived in the 67th minute when a 20-yard shot from Mikel was deflected over the bar by Nicolas Anelka.

But the deadlock was finally broken by England captain Terry in the 78th minute when he slipped his marker and headed Lampard's corner into the net.

Lampard almost made it two in the 83rd minute but Doni reacted quickly to tip his free-kick over the bar.

Teams 

Chelsea  Cech, Bosingwa, Bridge, Terry, Carvalho, Lampard, Mikel, Deco, Malouda (Belletti 45), Kalou (Di Santo 77), Anelka (Ferreira 90)
Subs Not Used  Cudicini, Ivanovic, Alex, Stoch
Booked  Malouda, Terry
Goals  Terry 77 

Roma  Doni, Riise (Tonetto 83), Panucci, Cicinho, Mexes, Aquilani (Perrotta 61), Vucinic, Totti, Taddei (Menez 81), De Rossi, Brighi
Subs Not Used  Artur, Loria, Montella, Okaka Chuka
Booked  Mexes, Panucci
Goals

Attendance  41,002

Referee  Kyros Vassaras (Greece)