Group A: Chelsea 1 Rosenborg 1Chelsea must feel further away than ever from a first European Cup this morning. Their owner, Roman Abramovich, may have his heart set on triumphing in this competition twice in the next six years but there was humiliation to endure here.
Rosenborg, seasoned campaigners at this level but too often just to make up the numbers in the group stage, achieved arguably their greatest ever Champions League result last night. Those in blue shirts departed with red faces.
In the trying circumstances, Chelsea may be relieved that so few people were here to witness this embarrassment.
This arena was barely half full, a relatively meagre crowd of 24,973 witnessing the visitors claim a lead and then yield to incessant pressure to ship Andriy Shevchenko's second-half equaliser. The Ukrainian has won the golden boot for this competition three times in his career and clearly flourishes in Europe. As yet Chelsea, painfully here, do not.
Jose Mourinho's pre-match plug for a supermarket chain - "An omelette depends upon the quality of eggs so, when all the Class One eggs are in Waitrose and you cannot go there, you have a problem" - had effectively been a warning.
His was a team shorn of fire power, with Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and Claudio Pizarro consigned to his cohort of injured players. Yet, even with that in mind, the sparse crowd betrayed the reality that Chelsea were expected to steamroller Rosenborg.
That notion had been dispelled in the opening half hour, by which time the Norwegians led and the Blues, inventive but lacking bite, were already foaming at the mouth in frustration. Up in his box Abramovich appeared to be finding his side's deficit to a side currently fifth in the Norwegian league vaguely amusing, his conversations with his girlfriend, Daria Zhukova, clearly laced with disbelief as Rosenborg maintained their lead to the interval. It was all too much for Mourinho, muttering to himself as he descended deeper into a rage.
The Portuguese will have been apoplectic at the marking for the visitors' goal after Claude Makelele, recalled to the starting line-up, had been penalised for a foul on Mikael Dorsin near the touchline. Marek Sapara's inswinging free-kick might have been cleared, but Miika Koppinen edged in front of a startled John Terry to cushion a subtle volley beyond Petr Cech at his near post.
This is an 11th season in Europe's elite club competition for Rosenborg, but they rarely cause a ripple in the group stage. Here they threatened a shockwave, all the more so because Chelsea were reliant so much upon Shevchenko to haul them back into contention. The Ukrainian has appeared lost since his arrival from Milan at the beginning of last season, too often meandering through matches with a startled expression etched on his face.
He was more focused here, making intelligent runs and delivering free-kicks with no little accuracy though, for long periods, his luck did not appear about to change. Some seven minutes before the interval, the 30-year-old gathered a pass from Florent Malouda, eked a yard of space on the edge of the area and skidded a shot goalwards only to see the attempt veer away at the last and dribble beyond the far post.
That was indicative of Chelsea's fortune. Salomon Kalou should have converted Joe Cole's early shot but looped it on to the roof of the net before repeating Shevchenko's trick just before the break after holding off Koppinen. Joe Cole, twice more, Alex and Michael Essien were equally profligate when liberated from the Norwegians' creaking back-line.
To add to Chelsea's sense of foreboding, when Shevchenko wriggled free of Dorsin and pulled back for Malouda, the Frenchman's shot was blocked in front of goal by Roar Strand.
There was no sense of panic at half-time, and it was largely born of the belief Rosenborg could not withstand this level of punishment indefinitely. After all they had shipped nine goals in their two previous Champions League visits to England, to Blackburn and Arsenal. So, when Alexander Tettey blazed their second clear opening of the evening horribly over the bar, the sense emerged that Chelsea had effectively been let off the hook.
Redemption was almost immediate. Malouda, allowed to advance unchecked into Rosenborg's half, picked out Shevchenko with his cross and the Ukrainian out-jumped Koppinen to steer the equaliser beyond Lars Hirschfeld. The sense of relief was almost tangible. That was his 47th goal in the competition proper and with the Norwegians' resolve pricked, it at least offered the hosts a route from humiliation. Yet Malouda and Kalou battered against a post while Juliano Belletti was denied at close range. The Norwegians, rejoicing in their point, breathed again.
Mourinho said afterwards: "I think they were not a problem, we were the problem because it's a game you can win (by) five, six or seven. A team that can produce, produce, produce but doesn't put the ball in the net . . . this is what football is about. (Rosenborg) defended, they tried to do things on the counter-attack. They did their game, and if I was in their place I would do the same. You have to use your ammunition, so I'm not criticising. I congratulate them."
CHELSEA:Cech, Belletti, Terry, Alex, Ashley Cole (Ben-Haim 73), Joe Cole (Wright-Phillips 74), Makelele, Essien, Malouda, Shevchenko, Kalou. Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Sidwell, Obi, Ferreira, Sawyer. Booked: Alex. Goals: Shevchenko 53.
ROSENBORG:Hirschfeld, Koppinen, Basma (Kvarme 46), Dorsin, Strand, Riseth, Skjelbred (Iversen 84), Tettey, Sapara (Konan 69), Traore, Kone. Subs Not Used: Hansen, Stoor, Lago, Nordvik. Booked: Dorsin, Kone. Goals: Koppinen 24.
Referee:Laurent Duhamel (France).
