28/11/2007  Rosenborg 0 Chelsea 4
 
Chelsea secured their place in the knockout stage of the Champions League with a four-star performance against Rosenborg in Trondheim.

A brace of goals from Didier Drogba and a 40-yard free-kick from Brazilian defender Alex had given Chelsea a commanding first-half lead over the Norwegians.

Chelsea then spurned a host of chances in the second period before Joe Cole added a fourth goal in the 73rd minute.

The Blues had their hosts on the ropes from the kick-off in the Lerkendal Stadium with Drogba going close from an acute angle in the second minute.

The Ivorian, playing his first game since recovering from a knee injury sustained on international duty, was clearly in a determined mood.

In the fourth minute he cleverly turned Vidar Riseth and fired a 25-yard shot just wide of an upright.

A minute later Chelsea squandered another chance when a mistake by Steffen Iversen allowed Joe Cole to find namesake Ashley on the left flank.

His deep cross was headed back into the six-yard box by Drogba - only for Michael Essien to volley over the crossbar.

But Drogba finally got on the scoresheet in the sixth minute when Joe Cole's 20-yard drive was parried into his path by goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld and the striker thumped the ball home from six yards.

Rosenborg's first effort on goal arrived in the 12th minute when Iversen fed Marek Sapara but his 20-yard shot was straight at Carlo Cudicini.

However, a second Chelsea goal arrived in the 20th minute when Drogba lifted a loose ball over Hirschfeld to put Avram Grant's side in total command.

Chelsea should have gone further in front shortly afterwards with Hirschfeld just managing to save a lob from Frank Lampard and then pulling off a fine save to deny Drogba his hat-trick.

Chelsea's movement in the final third was difficult for the home side to handle with Joe Cole at the heart of most of their attacks.

His trickery and pace on the left flank caused problems throughout the opening half and allied to Drogba's physical presence, it gave Chelsea a potent pairing.

Drogba's brace had taken his total for the season to nine but Chelsea made it 3-0 in the 39th minute with a blistering free-kick from defender Alex.

The Brazilian drilled his low effort through a crowded penalty area and into the corner of the net beyond an unsighted Hirschfeld.

Alex then brought a superb save from the Rosenborg goalkeeper after he rose unchallenged to meet a corner from Lampard in the 43rd minute.

The visitors should have made it four a minute from the interval when Lampard supplied Shaun Wright-Phillips inside the penalty area but the England winger hit his effort straight at the Rosenborg goalkeeper.

Chelsea continued where they left off at the start of the second half with Wright-Phillips unlucky not to make if four for when he sent a 20-yard drive just over the crossbar in the 49th minute.

In the 53rd minute a cross from Drogba was sent crashing against the crossbar by Wright-Phillips but Lampard's effort from the rebound was easy for Hirschfeld to deal with.

Chelsea were now cutting through the home defence at will and in the 56th minute it required clearance off the goal line from Bjorn Tore Kvarme to prevent Essien increasing Chelsea's lead.

The Barclays Premier League side had opened up the home defence with a delightful three-man move which began with a clearance by Wright-Phillips and ended with a one-two between Essien and Drogba.

Essien should also have hit the target when Kvarme failed to clear Lampard's through-ball but the Ghanaian smashed his volley high over the bar.

Rosenborg had little invention in attack but they had their best effort in the 66th minute when Cudicini had to be at his best to tip over a free-kick from Mikael Dorsin.

Chelsea's continued supremacy culminated in a fourth goal in the 73rd minute when Shevchenko set up Essien.

The Chelsea midfielder unleashed a right-foot thunderbolt that was brilliantly saved by Hirschfeld only for Joe Cole to put the rebound into the net and provide them with their biggest away win in Europe since 1989's 5-0 hammering of Galatasaray.