Chelsea have the upper hand in their Champions League last-16 tie with
Galatasaray after coming away from a testing environment in Istanbul
with a 1-1 first-leg draw on Wednesday.The visitors led at half-time
thanks to an early goal from Fernando Torres, but Galatasaray improved
in the second half and restored parity after the hour mark when Cameroon
defender Aurelien Chedjou found the net.
A draw was a fair
reflection of the way the game went, but Chelsea will now hope to finish
the job in the return at Stamford Bridge on March 18.
Chelsea
manager Jose Mourinho opted to select Torres in attack ahead of Samuel
Eto'o in one of three changes to the team that beat Everton at the
weekend, with Ramires and Andre Schuerrle also coming in.
It
proved to be an excellent decision as it was Torres who finished off a
clinical breakaway to put the Blues in front with just nine minutes
played, giving Chelsea the lead they deserved as their hosts paid for a
poor start.
Former Arsenal man Emmanuel Eboue lost possession
high up the field, and Chelsea pounced down the left flank, Schuerrle
releasing Cesar Azpilicueta, who advanced into the box and drew
goalkeeper Fernando Muslera before squaring for his fellow Spaniard to
apply an easy finish.
It was a sixth goal in his last five
Champions League starts for Torres, and it briefly silenced the
boisterous Turkish fans inside the impressive Turk Telecom Arena.
Chelsea
could possibly have put the tie to bed in the minutes that followed,
with Galatasaray utterly disorganised and poor in possession.
Willian
had an effort comfortably stopped by the Uruguayan Muslera before
Schuerrle's low ball from the right - with the home defence at sixes and
sevens - was met first time by Ramires at the edge of the box, but his
shot flew high over the bar.
There was little by means of a
response from Roberto Mancini's men, with Didier Drogba unable to
wriggle free from the marking of John Terry and Wesley Sneijder
incapable of influencing proceedings from the left flank.
Winger
Izet Hajrovic saw his snap-shot from 20 yards saved by Petr Cech, but
the recent signing from Swiss side Grasshoppers was then the victim of a
tactical switch by Mancini, who sent on central midfielder Yekta
Kurtulus in his place and changed to a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Gala
improved after that and an Alex Telles cross-cum-shot had Petr Cech
panicked before Burak Yilmaz put the ball in the net after a
quickly-taken throw, but with an extra ball on the pitch at the time,
the Spanish referee disallowed the goal, and booked Chelsea skipper John
Terry for throwing one ball away.
A lively Torres almost made it
2-0 for Chelsea in the 52nd minute, bursting through the middle of the
home back line before seeing his shot turned behind for a corner by
Muslera.
However, Galatasaray finally started to grow into the
contest in the second half, the raucous crowd receiving a lift when Gary
Cahill nearly turned the ball into his own net after intercepting a
Burak Yilmaz pass intended for Drogba.
The Ivorian striker almost
created an equaliser against his old club in the 62nd minute, heading
down a left-wing cross for Selcuk Inan, but the home captain somehow
contrived to stab the ball against the post from a yard out.
The
Turkish champions were not to be denied a leveller three minutes later,
though, Chedjou wriggling free of his marker to convert a Sneijder
corner from point-blank range.
Galatasaray finished strongly,
although the closest they came to winning the game was from a fierce
Telles shot that Cech tipped over.
