Flair of Lampard Puts Chelsea in Fantasy League of Their Own

The only battle Chelsea lost was the struggle to maintain an interest in the match. It was a novel sort of exercise in damage limitation by Bordeaux to offer so little that their opponents could not work up the interest to pile up even more goals. The score did not become a reasonable reflection of the mismatch until stoppage time when Nicolas Anelka netted after the substitute Juliano Belletti had hit the bar. This opening to Group A in the Champions League had its pleasures all the same.

Luiz Felipe Scolari will have been gladdened that so little was taken out of his squad before the arrival here of Manchester United here on Sunday. The emerging verve of this side was also confirmed, particularly with the third goal eight minutes from the end. Mikel John Obi's weaving run and a flick of Frank Lampard's heel put Florent Malouda in position to fire into the far corner of the net.

There ought, in principle, to have been some sort of menace in a game like this. Chelsea's gaze, after all, is unavoidably fixed on the final in Rome next May. Having come close under Claudio Ranieri as well as Jose Mourinho and closer still under Avram Grant, the club has no option but to imagine its hands on that trophy at last. The majority of the line-up here had also started when Manchester United raised the European Cup aloft after that shoot-out four months ago.

It was just about possible beforehand to imagine a threat from Bordeaux. They do have a few good footballers and Yoann Gourcuff, lost in the throng at Milan, has been recovering during this loan spell with Laurent Blanc's team. In fact, the concept of Bordeaux making an impression was fantasy.

Scolari, managing a side in the Champions League for the first time, would not have suffered from beginners' nerves. It was his own midfielder Mikel who caused fleeting panic when he hit a sloppy pass in the 10th minute that invited Marc Planus to have an attempt on goal. The effort flew high. By then it had already been obvious that Chelsea would have many chances.

They were well aware of the most appealing avenue. The right-back Jose Bosingwa, indeed, was so far advanced that he was offside soon after kick-off. Regular watchers of Bordeaux had predicted that Chelsea would prey there on Diego Placente, whose best years had been with Bayer Leverkusen early in this century. The opener did come from that wing, in the 14th minute, as Bosingwa crossed and Lampard, undisturbed by markers, headed home with care.

Resilience did not appear part of the visitors' repertoire and nor, for that matter, did attacking. All the same, this was additional evidence of the gusto in Chelsea's play that has been fostered by Scolari. Anelka had an effort saved but it was inevitable that the lead would be extended. Lampard's corner from the left was headed into the net by Joe Cole with half an hour gone.

Footballers of his height do not get such chances very often but this was one occasion when everything was possible for a Chelsea line-up encountering marginal resistance. Lampard's miscue, after a delivery from Bosingwa had broken to him, felt like light entertainment. Chelsea could afford to grin at the little errors, although Scolari was not party to such indulgence. He looked disgusted whenever an opportunity was squandered.

It says much for the Brazilian's professionalism that he could find it within himself to be disgruntled. Most spectators, when not heartened by the freedom with which Chelsea play, would have been staring in disbelief at the ineptness of Blanc's men. If Chelsea were troubled it would have been by their lack of ruthlessness and by the yellow card collected by Deco for a foul on Alou Diarra. Scolari soon took off the Portugal international, although that was less a punishment than a means of allowing Michael Ballack some match practice, following a foot injury, before United come here on Sunday.

A trace of slackness in Chelsea was perhaps inevitable. When Lampard swung a crossfield pass after 69 minutes and merely picked out the opposition midfielder Wendel there was no price to be paid. Without the suggestion of danger from Bordeaux the levels of concentration slipped in the Premier League team.

It is, for all that, a gratifying evening for a side when that is the most severe worry to which they are subjected.

Other result

Roma 1 CFR Cluj 2

Remaining fixtures

Oct 1 CFR v Chelsea, Bordeaux v Roma

Oct 22 Bordeaux v CFR, Chelsea v Roma

Nov 4 CFR v Bordeaux, Roma v Chelsea

Nov 26 Bordeaux v Chelsea, CFR v Roma

Dec 9 Chelsea v CFR, Roma Bordeaux