Summary
The Blues go into next Thursday's return leg with
a slender 1-0 advantage after Oscar came off the bench to produce a moment of
magic and score the only goal of the game at the Generali Arena.
Following a first half in which we had dominated
without making the breakthrough, the game appeared to be heading towards a
stalemate as Sparta Prague defended deep, and in large numbers, after the
break.
Eight minutes from time, however, the Brazilian
swung the balance of the tie in Chelsea favour with what could prove to be a
crucial away goal, his fifth in Europe this season, latching on to an Eden
Hazard flick and finishing smartly.
We now have only a few days to recover before we
welcome Brentford to Stamford Bridge for our FA Cup fourth round replay on
Sunday, a game we now approach in good spirits after back-to-back wins.
Team news
Rafael Benitez made three changes to the team
which beat Wigan Athletic last weekend. In defence, Ryan Bertrand came into the
side at the expense of Ashley Cole, while in midfield, Ramires partnered Frank
Lampard with David Luiz missing through suspension. Marko Marin and Juan Mata,
both late substitutes at the weekend, started, but John Terry, Cole and Oscar
had to be content with places on the bench. Demba Ba was unavailable after
representing Newcastle United earlier in the competition.
First half
It was a confident start by the Blues, who began
the game on the front foot. Hazard appeared to be brought down right on the
edge of the penalty area inside the opening couple of minutes only to see his
appeals for a free-kick fall on deaf ears, while a minute later Lampard forced
Tomas Vaclik into the first save of the game.
Our quick, incisive attacking play, particularly
on the break, was causing Sparta Prague all manner of problems early on, with
Marin and Hazard instrumental.
Sparta v Chelsea
The duo combined down the left-hand side with a
clever exchange of passes, but as the Belgian raced into the box he dragged his
shot across the face of the goal.
As an attacking force, the hosts had been fairly
quiet, but David Lafata, making his competitive debut for Sparta, will feel he
should have done better when he met a cross from the right and volleyed high
over the bar.
Lafata had been the most prolific marksman in the
Czech top flight for the past two seasons, and his movement during the opening
exchanges suggested both Branislav Ivanovic and Gary Cahill would need to
remain alert.
The home supporters were appealing for a penalty
after 25 minutes when Cesar Azpilicueta and Ladislav Krejcl went
shoulder-to-shoulder inside the box after the Spaniard had displayed a terrific
burst of pace to recover. In truth, it was an ambitious shout, and one that
referee Daniele Orsato quite rightly waved away.
As the half wore on the home side were gradually
beginning to ask questions of the Blues defence, but 11 minutes before the
break we should have broken the deadlock.
Marin picked out Hazard, who in turn found the
marauding Mata; the Spaniard then helped it into the path of Torres, but the
striker couldn't get enough power behind his shot and was thwarted by the feet
of Vaclik.
Sparta v Chelsea
Marin's start to his Chelsea career had been
dogged by injury, but after scoring his first goal against Wigan and also
netting for the Under-21 side on Monday, the confidence was flowing through the
German in what was undoubtedly his most impressive display in a blue shirt thus
far.
At the other end, however, the warning signs
hadn't subsided, and it was Lafata again going close eight minutes before the
break, pouncing on a cross from the right and firing inches past Cech's
left-hand post.
Second half
Both sides emerged for the second half with no
changes to personnel, and it was Sparta who had the first sight of goal, Matej
Hybs shooting straight at Petr Cech from long-range.
We were enjoying plenty of possession but, unlike
during the opening 45 minutes, attacks were tending to break down in the final
third.
There was no doubt that Sparta had spoken at the
break of the need to limit the supply to our creative players, and their
new-found approach appeared to be working.
With 22 minutes left to play Benitez made his
first substitution of the night, introducing Yossi Benayoun at the expense of
Marin, who looked to be tiring.
It took until the 69th minute for us to trouble
Vaclik, as Lampard headed straight into the arms of the goalkeeper from Mata's
cross, and as the clock ticked down it became clear that one goal would
probably be enough to win the game.
With nine minutes remaining Benitez made a second
switch, replacing Mata with Oscar, and it was a substitution which paid off
within a minute.
With his first touch of the ball Oscar collected
it in his path, before exchanging passes with Hazard on the edge of the box,
easing away from his marker and drilling his strike into the bottom corner of
the net.
Sparta v Chelsea
It was a goal which came at the perfect time, and
while we'd struggled to create many clear-cut opportunities during the second
half, on the balance of play it was probably deserved.
Shortly after we almost doubled our advantage as
Torres forced a magnificent save from Vaclik with a powerful strike which
looked destined for the top corner, but with only minutes remaining the main
priority was ensuring we didn't concede.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Azpilicueta, Cahill, Ivanovic, Bertrand; Ramires, Lampard (c);
Hazard, Mata (Oscar 81), Marin (Benayoun 67); Torres.
Unused substitutes: Turnbull, Cole, Ferreira,
Terry, Ake.
Scorer Oscar 82
Booked Cahill 40
Sparta Prague (4-3-3): Vaclik; Zapotocny, Svejdik, Holek, Hybs; Husbauer (Bednar 84), Vacha,
Matejovsky (c); Kadlec, Lafata (Kweuke 75), Krejci (Pamic 81).
Unused substitutes: M Cech, Vidlicka, Polom,
Janos.
Booked Husbauer 66
Referee Daniele Orsato (Italy)
Crowd 18,952
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