Chelsea held to draw by minnows Cluj in Transylvania
Drogba was stretchered off during Chelsea's 0-0 draw
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Wednesday, 01, Oct 2008 11:01
Romanian minnows CFR Cluj pulled off a surprise result at home to Chelsea in the Champions League after holding last year's runners-up to a 0-0 draw.
An injury to striker Didier Drogba added to a frustrating night for the Blues, although they had goalkeeper Petr Cech to thanks for keeping them in the match late on as Cluj almost nicked a win.
Buoyed by a 2-1 win against Roma in the last round Cluj defended confidently against Luiz Felipe Scolari's side and restricted them to half-chances throughout most of the match.
Drogba linked up well with Salomon Kalou before he got injured but Kalou scuffed his two chances and Drogba did likewise from a Frank Lampard free-kick.
The Transylvanians played largely on the counter-attack but Alvaro Pereira showed a sign for what was still to come when he whizzed a shot just wide of Cech's goal before half-time.
Nicolas Anelka replaced Kalou at the break as Chelsea looked for a way to break down the stoic Romanian defence.
But their plans were severely affected when Drogba collapsed heavily after going up for a headed ten minutes into the second half. The Ivorian was down for several minutes and had to be stretchered off the field.
Chelsea were not as threatening without Drogba up front and only had two long-range Lampard shots to show for their second-half efforts.
As the match wore on Cluj grew in confidence and increasingly threatened the Blues' goal.
Eugen Trica unleashed a fearsome shot that had Cech beaten but it shaved the outside of the post, much to the relief of Chelsea. The Czech keeper then had to be alert to deny Pereira with a good save in the dying minutes.
The draw means both sides move on to four points in group A. Chelsea will play Roma home and away in their next two fixtures.