Copenhagen fall to Euro loss
After two months of waiting and talking, competitive football returned to PARKEN, as FC Copenhagen welcomed Chelsea for the first leg of the last 16 tie in the UEFA Champions League.
by Joe Short
Head coach Ståle Solbakken chose the same XI that had started against Rosenborg a week ago, electing to play Jesper Grønkjær on the left wing and stick with the productive striking partnership of Dame N’Doye and Cesar Santin. The back four, plus goalkeeper Johan Wiland, was arguably Solbakken’s strongest, having played together in the majority of the Champions League group games.
No matter how much pre-match preparation you do, there is no knowing what will happen on the night. The FCK crowd maintained a constant noise level as Copenhagen took time to find their feet in the match, but it was Chelsea who won the early battle. Wiland was called into action as soon as the seventh minute, while Mikael Antonsson was forced to dive in front of a Fernando Torres shot to block the effort from a tight angle.
The game found its balance after ten minutes of Chelsea possession, and it looked like Copenhagen were pushing themselves back into play before a loose pass from Grønkjær gifted Nicolas Anelka the opening goal on 17 minutes. The Frenchman picked up the wayward ball, skipped past his man and buried the strike below Wiland.
Chelsea midfield remain strong
The Lions responded with a Claudemir shot that sailed harmlessly over the crossbar, while at the other end Wiland did well to save from Torres after the Spaniard tricked his way past Mathias Zanka.
Copenhagen, although retaining the majority of possession, could not penetrate a solid Chelsea midfield. Whenever N’Doye dropped back to receive the ball, either Frank Lampard or Michael Essien bore down on him, preventing quick distribution. This frustration lasted until the half time whistle with little progress from the Danish champions.
Vingaard offers spark of life
The second half started much brighter however, with Martin Vingaard replacing Cesar Santin. Grønkjær moved up front, and Vingaard slipped into the left side, where his effect was felt at once. In the opening seconds Vingaard tested Petr Cech, and three minutes later should have done better with a chipped effort, having seen the Czech goalkeeper yards off his line.
In an instant it was 2-0 however, as Anelka once again exhibited his predator instincts. Lampard’s pass through the FCK defence met Anelka, who again drove low past Wiland. Torres almost made it three in the 58th minute, but Wiland once more blocked.
Torres saw another effort stopped – this time Oscar Wendt cleared his bobbled shot off the line – before FCK took control of possession. Chelsea dropped back in the last 15 minutes and obliged Copenhagen to push forward: which they did, but struggled in the final third.
N’Doye blazed wide from long range; Vingaard made space for himself before shooting at Cech; while Claudemir could also only find the goalkeeper having opened his body up nicely for a curled effort. In the remaining minutes FCK could muster only a weak N’Doye header, and yet the three minutes of stoppage time passed under the proud noise of the Copenhagen faithful.
The spring half of the Superliga will begin before these two sides meet again in London. FCK must face away games at FC Midtjylland and Aab in the coming weeks, as Solbakken’s side hope to maintain their unbeaten league record this season.
FC COPENHAGEN: 0 CHELSEA: 2
FC Copenhagen: Wiland, Pospech, Zanka, Antonsson, Wendt, Bolaños, Claudemir, Kvist (C), Grønkjær, N'Doye, Santin.
Chelsea FC: Cech (GK), Ivanovic, Cole, Essien, Ramires, Lampard, Torres, Malouda, Bosingwa, Terry, Anelka.
Referee: Björn Kuipers (NED)
Goals: Anelka, Chelsea FC (17’), Anelka, Chelsea FC (52’)
