Uefa Champions League: FC Porto 1 - Chelsea 1The most important of Andriy Shevchenko's 10 Chelsea goals came last night, securing a crucial advantage in this tie. But the impact of the match was not overwhelmingly positive.
The departure of John Terry with an injury that seems set to rule him out of Sunday's League Cup final against Arsenal may be one that Chelsea have cause to rue. He left the stadium on crutches.
There was early alarm as Didier Drogba seemed to pull up after a first-minute shot, the pain causing him to move gingerly for the next five minutes. But though Chelsea could be relieved that their 26-goal striker soon recovered his fitness, it was tempered with the ninth-minute loss of their captain.
Terry was involved in a half-challenge on the left touchline and hobbled off. The Chelsea and England captain punched the ground in frustration as it immediately became clear he could not continue with an aggravation of the ankle injury that had required strapping when he had trained here on Tuesday night.
Chelsea still had only 10 men on the pitch as Fucile skipped around the visitors' crowded penalty area, evading Lassana Diarra, Claude Makelele and Michael Essien, who had stepped back into defence to cover his captain's absence. Though nothing came of the run, it had caused enough confusion for Makelele's attempt at a clearance to be too hurried.
The Frenchman chipped up the ball to head clear but it fell straight at the feet of Raul Meireles. His well-struck drive took a heavy ricochet from Fucile's heel, deflecting beyond Petr Cech's despairing left hand.
It was the first goal Chelsea and Cech had conceded since the goalkeeper's return from a fractured skull seven games ago but the Premiership champions were not sorry for themselves. Jose Mourinho responded by introducing Arjen Robben, who might have felt aggrieved not to have been selected in the first place after a reasonable performance against Norwich in the 4-0 FA Cup win on Saturday.
The Dutchman's impact was immediate. His first touch came in collecting another weakly headed clearance, this time from Pepe; he drove at Porto. Bosingwa and Pepe were tight to him but failed to intervene, allowing Robben feed Shevchenko in the area.
The Ukrainian was unmarked and remained unchallenged as he took two further advancing steps into the box before sweeping a left-foot shot past Helton for the equaliser. So Porto's lead had lasted only four minutes. But the Portuguese club pressed on.
Cech's value to Chelsea has never been disputed but it was underlined when Lisandro Lopez was supplied between Essien and Ricardo Carvalho.
Cech sped from his line to thwart the shot as soon as the Italian had dispatched it.
Porto were enjoying all the possession, Chelsea's only other chance having come from Drogba's wayward header when he was fed by Frank Lampard's free-kick.
With the pressure building inexorably, Chelsea were soon exposed again.
It was a touch of sublime brilliance with which the excellent Ricardo Quaresma sent Chelsea hearts into palpitations. The defence seemed well set when Meireles cut the ball back from the Chelsea 18-yard line to Quaresma.
The Portugal international has long been a transfer target for Jose Mourinho and his next touch showed what it is he so admires. There appeared to be no danger when Quaresma lifted his right foot but the peril was clear moments after the outside of his boot stroked the ball over Cech and against the bar; it was mere inches from being one of the great Champions League goals.
Half-time brought another Chelsea change: Robben replaced by John Obi Mikel, whom Mourinho had intended to introduce after Terry's injury, suggesting the switch was tactical.
Porto responded by bringing on Marek Cech for Meireles, a substitution that permitted Quaresma to shift inside. The move was testament to the fetters Diarra had largely applied to the forward on the left flank, justifying Mourinho's decision to favour the Frenchman over Paulo Ferreira and Geremi.
Though Quaresma was given more space in the centre, he saw little of the ball as Chelsea began to suffocate the game with their measured possession. Chelsea were breaking away more adroitly and when Michael Ballack hit Shevchenko's pass first time to Drogba, the Ivorian almost snatched a win with a shot that struck a post.
Guardian Service
FC PORTO: Helton, Bosingwa, Pepe, Bruno Alves, Fucile (Bruno Moraes 64), Gonzalez, Paulo Assuncao, Raul Meireles (Cech 55), Lopez, Postiga (Adriano 77), Quaresma. Subs not used: Vitor Baia, Ricardo Costa, Alan, Joao Paulo. Booked: Pepe.
CHELSEA: Cech, Diarra, Terry (Robben 14), Carvalho, Bridge, Essien, Makelele, Ballack, Lampard, Shevchenko (Kalou 88), Drogba, Robben (Mikel 47). Subs not used: Cudicini, Geremi, Ferreira, Wright-Phillips. Booked: Makelele, Essien, Cech, Ballack.
Referee: Massimo Busacca (Switzerland).
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/YVIRIOZQ35EWRPZXR27KGMO6YU.png)