18/09/2007  Chelsea 1 Rosenborg 1
 
Chelsea failed to make a winning start to their Champions League campaign as Rosenborg held on for a creditable draw at Stamford Bridge.

The Londoners were expected to make short work of their unfashionable opponents in their Group B opener but lacked sufficient threat up front.

Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard scored more than 50 goals between them last season but their absence through injury once again highlighted the Blues' attacking shortcomings.

The Norwegians stunned Jose Mourinho's side by taking a 24th-minute lead through Miika Koppinen and only a second-half leveller from Andriy Shevchenko spared Mourinho from proverbial egg on his face.

Chelsea began brightly enough and they should have taken the lead in the ninth minute but Salomon Kalou headed Joe Cole's inswinging cross onto the top of the goal instead of into the net.

Two minutes later Michael Essien blasted wide after Shevchenko's neat header had put the Ghanaian through on goal.

Chelsea had not scored in their two previous Barclays League games and the lack of a cutting edge was all too evident.

The misfiring Shevchenko looked pedestrian while Kalou flattered to deceive with jinking runs which failed to produced the end product.

Perhaps it was the half-empty Stamford Bridge which had put the Blues off their stride but they were caught out when Marek Sapara's free-kick was volleyed home by Koppinen.

Lampard's absence was clearly a factor as nobody in the Chelsea line-up, not even the powerhouse frame of Essien, was prepared to step up to the plate and drive the side on.

In the 32nd minute a cleverly worked corner saw Alex head a cross from Florent Malouda just wide of the target.

Two minutes later Joe Cole fed the sprinting Kalou with a delightful pass but the Ivorian striker, short on confidence, fired his angled drive beyond the far post.

It was yet another indication of Chelsea's lack of firepower and while all their passing looked pretty on the eye, there was little penetration.

In the 38th minute it was Shevchenko's turn to fire a left-foot shot the wrong side of the upright as the English side strived to get themselves back into the game.

Mourinho had made it clear on the eve of the match that a good start to the campaign was vital.

The Portuguese coach must have been seething by the way his side lacked invention, ideas and an instinct for goal.

Prior to the game, Mourinho's analogy for being without his injured players was to claim their absence was like trying to make an omelette without the best eggs available.

His comments certainly impacted on the Waitrose supermarket chain he mentioned as they delivered some cases of eggs to the ground prior to kick-off.

The attendance of 24,973 was the worst for Chelsea for four years and they had a lucky escape in the 51st minute when Alexander Tettey fired high over the crossbar from 18 yards.

It was a costly miss for the Norwegians as Chelsea finally found the net in the 53rd minute when Shevchenko headed a cross from Malouda over Lars Hirschfeld and into the net for the equaliser.

The goal was greeted by much celebration among the Chelsea players but Mourinho was far from impressed.

The Portuguese coach wanted his players back in their own half and concentrating on the task ahead.

His concern was underlined moments later when Petr Cech was forced into a flying save to deny Yssouf Kone.

It was just the warning Chelsea required and the home side increased the pace of the game almost immediately.

Chelsea almost cracked it in the 61st minute when Shevchenko and Malouda combined superbly only for the France winger to see his shot cannon back off a post.

Chelsea were now camped in Rosenborg's half and in the 64th minute a cross from Ashley Cole almost found its way into the path of Shevchenko but the Ukrainian striker failed to connect with the loose ball.

In the 75th minute, Kalou shaved an upright with a curling shot after Shevchenko had found him with a simple pass.

Chelsea tried everything to find the winner, even throwing defender John Terry into attack. But Rosenborg held on to take a point and the home side were greeted with more booing on the final whistle.