24/11/2004  Chelsea 0 Paris St Germain 0
 
Chelsea's unblemished record in the Champions League came to an end as stubborn Paris Saint Germain prevented them from scoring in the competition for the first time this season.

Manager Jose Mourinho rested several members of his first-team squad and in doing so blunted the attacking edge which has served them so well both at home and in Europe.

Substitute Didier Drogba returned from injury but wasted the best chance to break the deadlock 10 minutes from time when Eidur Gudjohnsen put him clear with a deft pass. His effort was well saved by Lionel Letizi.

Mourinho had asked his players for the same motivation and commitment as their opponents and in the early stages, he was rewarded with some fine football from his charges.

Considering they were lying on the bottom of Group H when this Champions League fixture kicked off, the visitors showed little urgency or desire to change their plight.

Having already reached the last 16 of the competition, Mourinho could afford to make seven changes to the side held to a drew by Bolton in the Barclays Premiership on Saturday.

The newcomers included Carlo Cudicini, Glen Johnson, Scott Parker, Mateja Kezman, Joe Cole, Alexei Smertin and Wayne Bridge and, as expected, all were desperate to prove to Mourinho that they deserve a regular place in the starting line-up.

As a result, Chelsea moved effortlessly into their customary stride and Cole and Kezman combined to set up the game's first real opening as early as the fifth minute. However, before Cole could bring the swift interchange of passes to a successful conclusion, the Paris defence cleared the danger.

In the ninth minute, Kezman should have opened the scoring when he got clear of Mario Yepes but the Serbian snatched at the shot and the ball flashed wide of Letizi's right-hand upright.

Paris were allowed little room to flourish in attack and when they did press forward, the Chelsea rearguard, marshalled by Ricardo Carvalho and William Gallas, snuffed out their goalscoring aspirations with ease.

However, their persistent endeavours earned them a corner in the 15th minute but the brief moment of panic in the Chelsea penalty area was swiftly overcome and normal service was resumed.

Chelsea's early ambitions eventually floundered as both sides became embroiled in a midfield tussle for supremacy. It was the stubborn French side who gradually began to gain more freedom and a succession of corners was the reward for their new-found confidence.

But as was so often the case in the opening half, their attempts to break the deadlock lacked the necessary cutting edge.

The visitors almost discovered that incisive quality three minutes before the interval when Reinaldo moved into space behind the Chelsea defence, courtesy of a fine ball from Edouard Cisse. However, his drilled effort from an acute angle found the sidenetting instead of the intended target.

The first half ended with both defences in tact and it was easy to see why Mourinho had been full of praise for the French side's defensive qualities before the hostilities had begun.

In a bid to engineer a breakthrough, he opted to replace the lacklustre Arjen Robben with Damien Duff at the interval and his arrival gave Chelsea a more direct attacking threat.

Indeed, a left-wing cross from Duff caused confusion in the Paris defence in the 49th minute and Letizi had to be at full stretch in order to palm the ball away to safety.

In the 54th minute, skipper Frank Lampard tried his luck from a range of 20 yards but his shot on the turn lacked the direction it required and the ball flew a yard over the crossbar.

Duff was beginning to cause the visitors much anxiety on the left flank and it culminated in a booking for Stephane Pichot.

Lampard's subsequent free-kick eluded the Paris defence as well as the unmarked Cole who just failed to apply the touch it needed to deflect the ball beyond Letizi.

Mourinho decided to increase Chelsea's attacking options on the hour by introducing top scorer Gudjohnsen and Drogba into the action.

Drogba, sidelined with a groin injury since early October, received a huge ovation from the home fans and abuse from the French contingent as the ex-Marseille striker replaced Kezman. Skipper Lampard made way for Gudjohnsen who also took charge of the captain's armband.

Drogba then wasted Chelsea's best chance of the night with 10 minutes to go. Gudjohnsen's clever through ball mesmerised the Paris defence and put Drogba clear.

However, Letizi guessed correctly and dived low to his right to prevent the Ivory Coast international from hitting the winner on his return to action.