Besiktas 0 Chelsea 2Withstanding the best that Besiktas could throw at them on the pitch and the missiles hurled at them from the stands, Chelsea last night secured a win through Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Wayne Bridge.
The victory guaranteed them top place in their group and was deserved after they defended with discipline and controlled a game which witnessed several crowd incidents.
Besiktas are certain to face UEFA censure for their fans' behaviour. Missiles, including lighters, were thrown on to the pitch, notably at Hasselbaink as he prepared to take corners and then at Chelsea's players as they celebrated their first goal. The people on Chelsea's bench ended up behind umbrellas to prevent themselves being hit by anything, but a flare did make its way into the area housing Chelsea's fans.
Moreover, the referee took the players off for three minutes before starting the second half because so many streamers had been hurled into one corner of the pitch that it was unplayable. The streamers continued to rain down despite pleas in Turkish over the Tannoy and the match restarted more than five minutes late with stewards still clearing paper off the field.
Nothing, though, could distract Chelsea. With their unexpected back three defending well and Claude Makelele and Frank Lampard dominant in midfield, they barely allowed Besiktas a chance and their late strikes were no surprise.
Chelsea came here already assured of a place in the next round and needing only a point to guarantee top spot, yet they can hardly have expected a straightforward night after Besiktas' 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge just over two months ago.
Much to Besiktas's anger, the match had been moved by UEFA to Gelsenkirchen after the recent bombings in Istanbul but their travelling fans and the large Turkish population in Germany made this a 52,000 sell-out, with only a tiny contingent from Chelsea caged in one corner.
Claudio Ranieri, true to form, had made changes and these were dramatic even by his standards. After Chelsea's home defeat by Besiktas he was widely criticised for using a back three for the first time this season but the Italian employed the system again here, having not done so in between.
The thinking was presumably to keep as close an eye as possible on the three narrow forwards Besiktas use, with two of them coming up in support of Ilhan Mansiz. For five minutes Besiktas poured forward but it was not long before Chelsea established a real foothold. Makelele and Lampard were breaking things up in midfield and the defence was largely dominant. It was 23 minutes before Carlo Cudicini had a shot to save and he was not seriously worried until just before half-time.
Besiktas ought to have drawn first blood just before that interval, however. Daniel Pancu somehow avoided an offside flag but then blazed wildly over.
Despite that chance, Besiktas were disappointing given that they needed to win to be sure of progressing. Chelesa looked the likelier scorers as crosses came in. Hasselbaink duly delivered after 77 minutes when he scored from Damien Duff's pass and then the striker set up Bridge to make certain.
BESIKTAS (3-4-2-1): Cordoba; Emre, Ronaldo, Zago; Kaan Dobra (Okan Koc, 70), Tayfur, Yasin Sulun (Ahmed Hassan, 82), Ibrahim; Sergen Yalcin (Tumer,75), Pancu; Ilhan Mansiz. Subs not used: Ramazan, Yildirim, Umit Aydin, Serdar.
CHELSEA (3-5-2): Cudicini; Gallas, Desailly, Terry; Johnson, Lampard, Makelele, Geremi Babayaro (Bridge, 83); Gronkjaer (Duff, 72), Hasselbaink. Subs not used: Ambrosio, Mutu, Cole, Stanic, Melchiot. Booked: Gronkjaer.
Referee: A Frisk (Sweden).
