GROUP A CHELSEA v CLUJ: LUIZ FELIPE SCOLARI will not be returning to Brazil but he may have to go back to the drawing board. Qualification for the knockout stages of the Champions League was secured but this was an unconvincing Chelsea victory on a night when Scolari looked anything but comfortable.
The Chelsea manager is undergoing his first examination since taking over and it will take much more than a slender win against Cluj to erase the first traces of doubt.
Scolari was a restless and occasionally exasperated figure here, the Brazilian looking on with a mixture of anxiety and frustration as Chelsea made hard work of what should have been a routine evening. There was little panache to Chelsea's play and, while progress out of the group phase represents a job done, Scolari will know that his side will have to show a significant improvement if Roman Abramovich is to get his hands on the trophy he covets most.
Scolari was fooling no one when he claimed he was under "zero pressure". There may not be "180 million coaches" telling him what team to pick at Stamford Bridge, as was the case when he was in charge of Brazil, but Abramovich has previous when it comes to dismissing managers who come up short in this competition.
With that in mind and Chelsea's domestic form less than inspiring in recent weeks, Scolari could have been forgiven for viewing this fixture with a touch of apprehension. There had been speculation beforehand that he might start Didier Drogba alongside Nicolas Anelka for the first time this season but this was no night for experimentation.
Indeed, Mikel John Obi captured the mood when he said: "We find ourselves in a tight corner and we have to play like crazy animals so that we get some goals and get through."
Scolari's message to his players is likely to have been more restrained although there was nothing relaxed about the Brazilian's body language on the touchline. He stood pitchside for almost the entire first half and would no doubt have remained closer to the players had the fourth official not intervened. Scolari reacted with predictable annoyance. The opening period had tested his patience as Chelsea toiled, with the Brazilian unable to contain his frustration.
It was not until the 40th minute that his pained expression turned into a smile. Salomon Kalou's goal provided a reason to celebrate after Deco's free-kick, allied to John Terry's presence in the penalty area, caused consternation in the Cluj defence. It was a scrappy goal that was in keeping with an unconvincing first-half performance.
Even allowing for Frank Lampard's absence, it was alarming how few chances Chelsea created in the first half.
What Chelsea would do to have the kind of threat on the flanks that Damien Duff and Arjen Robben offered during Jose Mourinho's first year in charge. There are other aspects of the Special One's past that Chelsea might also wish to recall, not least the ability to protect a lead. Chelsea are no longer impregnable when in front, something that was highlighted when Yssouf Kone, Cluj's record signing at a mere €856,000, headed home to equalise.
Scolari stood motionless. News that Roma had taken the lead against Bordeaux would have brought comfort although it was not until Drogba, a replacement for the limited Kalou, restored Chelsea's lead with a wonderful goal after he linked adroitly with Joe Cole on the right-hand side of the penalty area, that the Brazilian could breathe easily.
Guardian Service
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