Olympiakos 0 Chelsea 0:Roman Abramovich has the scene mapped out in his mind - May 21st, Moscow. Chelsea's Russian owner has his invited friends and peers looking down from behind executive glass on to the Champions League final. His team are there, his chest swells with pride.
The dream remains alive after a tense stalemate in the Greek capital gave Chelsea the upper hand in this last-16 meeting. Manager Avram Grant's eye-opening selection gamble of leaving out John Terry, the captain, and Frank Lampard did not return in any haunting manner and he could be pleased with the application of his charges as the business end of the season got under way.
Chelsea's best players were defenders, with Ricardo Carvalho ably supported by Alex, and although they created nothing more meaningful further forward than a clutch of half-chances, the scoreline was one that they would perhaps have taken.
Olympiakos shaded the first half and showed themselves to be an attractive team, yet Chelsea will fancy their chances in the return in two weeks.
Grant's decision to rest, rotate or, in old fashioned parlance, drop Terry and Lampard, dominated the build-up to the occasion. The coach had stressed that, with virtually all of his squad available, he had no first-choice XI; the modern game was one for squad strength.
His selection had been made with one eye on Sunday's English League Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur. It was also a show of faith in Alex and Claude Makelele, the backbone of the team in recent weeks, players in rich veins of form.
Although it was no surprise to see Didier Drogba replace Nicolas Anelka up front, as Grant dared not deviate from his lone- striker formation, Shaun Wright-Phillips could feel aggrieved to have been edged out by Florent Malouda.
Flares lit the scene at kick-off and the smoke from them dissipated slowly as the tie got under way in cagey fashion. Chelsea were determined to take the sting out of proceedings, but the fervour in these parts cannot easily be diluted.
The men in red and white before the home supporters mirrored their commitment; the passing and movement was assured.
The first half was absorbing, not for the action inside either goalmouth, but for the tactical battle. The chance of the half fell to Olympiakos when Ieroklis Stoltidis flicked on Predrag Djordjevic's corner. Vassilis Torosidis, unmarked inside the six-yard box, stretched every sinew, but he could not make the decisive contact.
The hosts pressed on to the front foot, showcasing their slick teamwork with one move on the half hour that started with an audacious chipped clearance by Antonios Nikopolidis, the goalkeeper, and finished at the other end, a dozen passes later, with Luciano Galletti's cross being charged down for a corner.
Chelsea mustered but one snapshot in the first half, from Malouda, and it was their defence that felt the greater pressure. Time and again, Carvalho made decisive interventions and, as is so often the case in the big matches, he engendered confidence in those around him.
Drogba last started a match for Chelsea on December 1st, and while there was no shortage of endeavour from him, he struggled to escape the shackles of his markers. He also wanted for support.
Olympiakos' football remained the more fluent in the second half, with Chelsea restricted to attempts to punch on the counter. Djordjevic tested Petr Cech's handling with a low drive - it proved sound - while Galletti volleyed wide after a neat incision from Stoltidis.
Malouda's final involvement was to lash a shot high and wide, but Grant's double substitution with 15 minutes remaining was positive. Salomon Kalou and Anelka came on to offer fresh width and Chelsea finished strongly. Ballack tried his luck from distance while Kalou's touch let him down from an Anelka centre. But a winner would have flattered Chelsea.
OLYMPIAKOS: Nikopolidis, Zewlakow, Julio Cesar, Antzas, Pantos, Ledesma, Galletti (Leonardo 83), Torosidis, Djordjevic (Belluschi 76), Stoltidis, Kovacevic (Leonel Nunez 87). Subs not used: Sifakis, Patsatzoglou, Mitroglou, Sisic. Booked: Belluschi.
CHELSEA: Cech, Belletti, Carvalho, Alex, Ashley Cole, Essien, Makelele, Ballack (Lampard 86), Malouda (Kalou 75), Drogba, Joe Cole (Anelka 75). Subs not used: Cudicini, Obi, Wright-Phillips, Terry. Booked: Alex, Belletti, Makelele, Ashley Cole.
Referee: K Plautz (Austria).
