Jose Mourinho emphasised beforehand his players should not panic if they did not win. There was always the second leg, he noted. Perhaps his calmness reflected a nagging feeling that, with Damien Duff injured and Arjen Robben only capable of playing half an hour, his team might struggle to break down Liverpool. Certainly a lack of width was felt.

On a night when Chelsea could have done with stretching opponents who defended in numbers and with resolve, too often they ended up playing through areas in which Liverpool had plenty of bodies. The speed, width and dribbling ability Duff and Robben offer have almost been taken for granted but Chelsea missed them. Joe Cole and Eidur Gudjohnsen could not replicate their work.

Robben only sparkled occasionally but Mourinho will trust the Holland international is closer to his best for the return. Chelsea's attacking is less dynamic without either him or Duff, and Liverpool were never going to struggle like Bayern Munich against the long ball.

Excluding two FA Cup ties for which Mourinho had rested players, this was the first time since mid-September Chelsea had begun without either Robben or Duff, and there were fears that this might affect their creativity.

Duff had succumbed to a hamstring injury but Mourinho chose to start with Robben on the bench, no great surprise given the Dutchman made his latest comeback from injury only as a substitute last weekend.

The upshot was Chelsea lacked genuine wingers at the outset, with Mourinho playing Gudjohnsen and Cole on either side of Didier Drogba. The left flank, where Duff and Robben have worked so effectively, was never going to be a site for regular Chelsea thrusts. Gudjohnsen likes to come infield from there off his right foot and they could hardly expect raids from the full-back William Gallas, another right-footer.

Gallas did provide an excellent chance in the 22nd minute when he came forward. Cutting back on to his favoured foot he delivered a cross which Cole knocked into Frank Lampard's path. A goal seemed likely, but the midfielder scooped over.

Even the early threat from Cole on the other flank soon dried up. Initially Cole had worried Liverpool with his drives down the wing. Three times inside the first quarter of an hour he provided flashes of danger, although they came to nothing. One cross culminated in Gudjohnsen failing to make contact with a ball which Drogba squirted across the six-yard box.

Much of Chelsea's play was being funnelled through the centre to little effect, and as a consequence of their selection. Gudjohnsen, a striker for much of his career and a midfielder of late, feels most comfortable in the middle of the pitch, his instinct being to make for the penalty area.

Moreover, with Cole also getting little possession out wide as the first half progressed and Glen Johnson making few darts forward, Chelsea were not stretching their opponents, and that appeared to suit Rafael Benitez's players.

With a heavily manned central midfield into which Steven Gerrard was dropping from his role in supporting Milan Baros, Liverpool were content to see Chelsea come at them through there. With Liverpool making it hard for Chelsea to weave pretty patterns by closing down and getting bodies back, the Londoners could have done with pulling their opponents' defence out of shape.

The potential vulnerability of Sami Hyypia when dragged wide had been apparent early on when Cole jinked past him, but Liverpool's centre-halves were able to remain largely in the middle to deal with danger. Whereas Bayern Munich found it difficult in the last round to cope with Chelsea's high balls to Drogba, Hyypia and Jamie Carragher seemed far more comfortable in dealing with that ploy.

It was notable that Cole nipped past Hyypia again near the touchline early in the second half, only for the Finn to recover and make an important lunging tackle in the penalty area as the England player shaped to shoot or cross, and Mourinho must have been hoping for more of the same. Yet Cole was still not getting the

level of service he would have liked and the delivery from deep positions by the full-backs was not of the required quality.

The cheer that reverberated around Stamford Bridge when Robben came on in place of Tiago in the 59th minute was telling. His first touch was a neat clipped pass that sent Gallas on an overlap and, when he delivered a corner with which John Terry could not quite connect, there was a sense among the crowd that his introduction might make a difference.

Next time, they will hope.