toptop
Brandao Inflicts Late Blues Defeat (Sky Sports)
Marseille 1 Chelsea 0
Chelsea's
poor run of form continued after suffering a late 1-0 defeat to Marseille in the
UEFA Champions League courtesy of Brandao's close-range finish.
Carlo Ancelotti's side were on the back foot for much of the opening 45
minutes with the likes of Benoit Cheyrou and Mathieu Valbuena pulling the
strings for the home side.
Valbuena was unlucky to see his well-struck effort crash off Petr Cech's
crossbar while Gabriel Heinze had his headed effort from Cheyrou's free-kick
disallowed.
Carlo Ancelotti took off key players Didier Drogba and John Terry before
disaster struck when Portuguese right-back Jose Bosingwa limped out of the
action with a hamstring injury.
With nine minutes remaining, Marseille forged ahead when Taye Taiwo's
speculative effort deflected straight in Brandao's path and he could not
fail to miss from six yards out.
The result does not harm Chelsea's Group F campaign as they have already
clinched top spot prior to kick-off while Marseille had already qualified in
second place.
Marseille started brightly and almost took the lead in the seventh minute,
but Cheyrou's volley from 20 yards flashed just wide of the post.
It certainly was not the entertaining start Italian boss Ancelotti had
wanted from his side.
In the 10th minute only the woodwork saved Chelsea when Valbuena rattled the
crossbar with a 20-yard drive that had Cech beaten.
Vulnerable
Moments later Loic Remy flashed another long-rage effort just wide and
Brandao put another shot on the turn inches wide of the upright as Chelsea
looked extremely vulnerable in defence.
In the 15th minute, there was total confusion when Chelsea appeared to have
been awarded a penalty by Russian referee Vladislav Bezborodov after
Souleymane Diawara brought down Florent Malouda.
The Russian pointed to the spot, but, under pressure from Marseille players,
appeared to consult his linesman and change his mind.
He then awarded the Blues a corner instead, much to the annoyance of the
Chelsea players.
Ancelotti's side had rarely ventured into the home penalty area and Ramires
opted for the long-range approach in the 21st minute, though his effort was
far too high.
A clever move involving Malouda and Michael Essien finally allowed Didier
Drogba the freedom to shoot, but the Ivorian, clearly still not back to his
best, missed the target.
Marseille had a goal ruled out for offside in the 35th minute when Gabriel
Heinze was adjudged to have slipped offside from Cheyrou's free-kick.
Heinze rose unchallenged to head home from six yards, but was immediately
flagged offside by the referee's assistant.
In the 43rd minute, Salomon Kalou burst into the Marseille penalty area, but
his shot was high and wide.
Lethargic
Chelsea began the second half in the same lethargic fashion as they ended
the first period.
It was the home side who again looked the more threatening, but, although
they pinned Chelsea down in their own half, the final ball was lacking.
Drogba, who had looked distinctly out of sorts all evening, was eventually
replaced on the hour by Daniel Sturridge.
The former Marseille goal hero was given a standing ovation from the home
fans as he walked off the pitch.
Goalmouth incidents were increasingly rare in a game that had little riding
on it, but Taye Taiwo almost sparked the contest into life in the 64th
minute when his shot flashed past the far post.
Two minutes later, a cross from Taiwo was saved by Cech as substitute Lucho
Gonzalez looked to pounce.
The deadlock was broken in the 81st minute when Taiwo's cross-shot was
deflected into the patch of Brandao by Ramires and the Marseille man tucked
the ball home from six yards.
It was a killer blow for Ancelotti who had watched another insipid
performance from his players and looked distinctly unhappy as he left the
pitch.
Marseille |
Team Statistics |
Chelsea |
1 |
Goals |
0 |
0 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
1 |
Shots on Target |
4 |
9 |
Shots off Target |
5 |
7 |
Blocked Shots |
1 |
3 |
Corners |
3 |
13 |
Fouls |
8 |
3 |
Offsides |
5 |
1 |
Yellow Cards |
0 |
0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
86.1 |
Passing Success |
82 |
22 |
Tackles |
21 |
59.1 |
Tackles Success |
81 |
57.1 |
Possession |
42.9 |
53.2 |
Territorial Advantage |
46.8 |
Marseille
Mandana, Kabore, Diawara,
Heinze, Taiwo, N’Diaye (J. Ayew 86), Valbuena (Gonzalez 62), Abriel (A. Ayew
63), Cheyrou, Remy, Brandao
Subs Not Used
Andrade, Cisse, Sabo
Booked
A. Ayew
Goals
Brandao 81
Chelsea
Cech, Bosingwa (Van Aanholt 80),
Ivanovic, Terry (Bruma 72),
Ferreira, Essien, McEacran, Ramires, Kalou, Drogba (Sturridge 62), Malouda
Subs Not Used
Turnbull, Mikel, Sala, Kakuta
Booked
Goals
Attendance
57,650
Referee
V.
Bezborodov (Russia)