Galatasaray 1 – 1 Chelsea – Wednesday 26th February
Chelsea took a hesitant step towards the Champions League quarterfinals with a wasteful display in Istanbul. The Blues bossed much of the first half, content to play on the counter attack and with the home team playing so poorly, especially defensively, could and should have had more than the one goal.
Chelsea’s profligacy going forward was contagious with the team dangerously backing off in the second half, before eventually securing an away goal draw without too much alarm towards the end of the game. The sight of Didier Drogba playing against his former team was a strange one, but the Ivorian only proved to be a fleeting nuisance without carrying an outright threat.
Ratings:
Petr Cech 6 – Should have come for the corner from which Galatasaray scored.
Branislav Ivanovic 7 – Brana continued his recent run of good form with some robust defending.
Gary Cahill 6 – With Drogba occupying Terry, Cahill was often the spare man and had little to do.
John Terry 6 – Lost Chedjou for the equaliser, but was evidently surprised he had to carry his man so close to own his goal. Dealt with Drogba for much of the game, but was made to work for it.
Cesar Azpilicueta 8 – Man of the Match – Along with his opposite full back, was defensively sound and his opportunistic tackle, forward run and well judged pull back for the goal needs little fanfare.
Ramires 6 – Bits and pieces display from Ramires who was often too early or late with his movement and decisions. Still, stuck to his task despite a whack on the nose.
Lampard 7 – Arguably Frank’s best defensive display of the season, the veteran covered runs and made tackles, notably so with one perfectly timed sliding challenge in his own penalty area.
Andre Schurrle 6 – Involved with the goal, but apart from defending his flank well, offered little else. Teammates never found his runs.
Willian 6 – Rather common for Willian lately, the Brazilian started the game well at the heart of most Chelsea attacks, before fading a little.
Eden Hazard 6 – With Chelsea content to sit back without the ball, Hazard did not see much possession come his way. Had one moment of stand out quality with a through ball to Torres right through the heart of the Galatasaray defence that the Spaniard did not convert.
Fernando Torres 7 – Torres had one more of his involved games as Chelsea’s ultra-counter attacking display suited his game a little more. Scored one with a neat finish, but could and perhaps should have had one or two more.
Substitutes:
Mikel 7 – Mikel’s introduction saw Chelsea retain possession much more easily to take the sting out of the game in the last 20 minutes.
Eto’o 6 – Eto’o played 20 minutes? I didn’t even notice.
Oscar – Did not play requisite 10 minutes to record a rating.
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