UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGFUE: Chelsea 1 AS Roma 0: CHELSEA MADE progress in this Champions League group with a backward step. No home spectator could have complained about an old routine when they were overwhelmed with delight that a long wait was rewarded.
They saw their side win this match with the familiar spectacle of the captain, John Terry, outjumping a marker, Roger Taddei, to head home a Frank Lampard corner in the 78th minute. No effort had been spared to consolidate in the tournament.
Stamford Bridge may be a tough place for visitors but it can be harsh, too, for people on the Chelsea payroll. When Luiz Felipe Scolari saluted the makeshift line-up that beat Middlesbrough 5-0, he spoke of their success in showing they are ready to bid for regular inclusion in the first team. This was a touch misleading.
The Brazilian manager has been charming ever since he got to London and it turned out he was treating those players with mere politeness. In practice, he could hardly wait to reinstate the established names. So it was, for example, that Carlo Cudicini, Alex and Juliano Belletti dropped to the bench. There was no sense in making Petr Cech, Ricardo Carvalho and Deco wait to regain their starting berths.
For the first time since Roman Abramovich's purchase of Chelsea in 2003 there is a sense of glamour about the team. That is not necessarily a nebulous quality either and there are reports of tickets selling out at unprecedented speed for virtually every home match. Of course, the players are not released from the grind of responsibility and, following the goalless away draw with Cluj that left them tied with the Romanian club at the head of Group A, there was a need to discourage last night's visitors.
Roma, however, had not arrived in a state of apprehension. While the vogue for Serie A may have dwindled for the time being these visitors had purpose in their approach, as if no one had told them of their reduced status nowadays. They were brisk, with an intent to attack when the opportunity arose. Chelsea, as expected, stuck to the emphasis on flowing football that has so abruptly turned into a trademark, but it did not get them very far before the interval.
Roma had success then in curtailing the runs by the full-backs that are such a feature of Scolari's system. The visitors got players behind the ball swiftly but were neither stodgy nor beleaguered.
There was, for instance, an exhilarating moment, nine minutes before half-time, when Francesco Totti turned smoothly, strode away from Mikel John Obi and set up Matteo Brighi for an effort that ricocheted off Terry for a corner.
The best of Chelsea, at that stage, had come from a set piece awarded for Philippe Mexes's foul on Mikel. Deco rolled the ball to Lampard for a drive that clipped the juncture of bar and post.
A touch of frustration in the home ranks confirmed the mood of effortless domination had escaped them. Scolari and, indeed, his players were in a rage, after 42 minutes, when the referee, Kyros Vassaras, decided not to stop play as Deco was felled and let Roma mount a counterattack.
After that emotion, the interval had to be a period of reflection and Scolari made his adjustments.
Belletti took over from Florent Malouda and played on the right wing while Salomon Kalou switched to the left.
There appeared to be a craving for more dynamism from midfield in the alteration from 4-3-3 to 4-1-4-1. Belletti had an eagerness to run that might have been designed to open up the space that had been denied the right-back Jose Bosingwa.
There was exasperation for Chelsea, particularly when Brighi went down and required treatment even though it did not seem that Carvalho had actually made contact with his face.
It took a free-kick in the 62nd minute to encourage Chelsea, with Kalou forcing a save from Doni with his header from Lampard's service.
However, this was an occasion when Chelsea could not rise above the limitation of having a single fit forward of experience at their disposal. Nicolas Anelka must have yearned for a partner in attack.
Chelsea were exasperated and Terry was booked for a challenge with studs raised. It was irrelevant that he really did no harm to Totti.
Nonetheless the Chelsea captain ultimately soothed himself and most occupants of the ground with the breakthrough goal.
• Guardian Service
CHELSEA: Cech, Bosingwa, Terry, Carvalho, Bridge, Kalou (Di Santo 77), Lampard, Mikel, Malouda (Belletti 46), Deco, Anelka (Ferreira 90). Subs not used: Cudicini, Ivanovic, Alex, Stoch. Booked: Malouda, Terry.
AS ROMA: Doni, Cicinho, Panucci, Mexes, Riise (Tonetto 82), De Rossi, Brighi, Aquilani (Perrotta 60), Taddei (Menez 81), Totti, Vucinic. Subs not used: Artur, Loria, Montella, Okaka Chuka. Booked: Mexes, Panucci.
Referee: Kyros Vassaras(Greece).
