Olympiacos 0-0 Chelsea

Olympiacos CFP produced an impressive display to tame Chelsea FC and earn a scoreless draw in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League first knockout round tie.

Olympiacos impress
Panagiotis Lemonis's men refused to be overawed by their English opponents in this their first appearance in the knockout rounds since reaching the quarter-finals in 1998/99 and enjoyed the lion's share of possession and chances in a closely contested encounter. Chelsea's Avram Grant, however, will be the happier of the two coaches after his team kept a clean sheet and are in the driving seat ahead of the return leg at Stamford Bridge on 5 March.

Terry and Lampard out
Grant, who had urged caution ahead of the match, sprang a surprise by leaving captain John Terry and England colleague Frank Lampard on the bench, while returning African Cup of Nations stars Michael Essien and Didier Drogba started. On the evidence of the opening exchanges the visitors were not holding back, however, with Essien trying his luck after 30 seconds, his shot drifting just wide of the right post.

Great support
Olympiacos, backed by a deafening and frenzied support, responded. After Luciano Galletti's shot was blocked by Claude Makelele, Ieroklis Stoltidis surged on to Predrag Djordjević's pass but opted to cross when a shot looked the best option and the ball was cut out by Ricardo Carvalho. Chelsea enjoyed a lot of possession during a tentative first half, while Olympiacos looked dangerous on the counterattack. But it was the visitors who registered the first effort on target, Florent Malouda's snapshot saved by Antonios Nikopolidis after 16 minutes. Nikopolidis was again in the right place five minutes later to save Carvalho's downward header.

Chelsea press
Stoltidis, who scored twice in the Greek side's 3-0 win over Werder Bremen in their final group game, then had Chelsea hearts fluttering when his near post header zipped just past the left post on the half-hour mark. Drogba, who seemed to be struggling with a right hamstring problem, then saw a speculative shot saved comfortably by Nikopolidis as the home goal came under increased pressure.

Absorbing contest
The quick-slow tempo of what was becoming an absorbing contest continued after the break. The hosts had the first sight of goal five minutes into the half when Stoltidis's left-wing cross just evaded the head of the on-rushing Galletti. Clear scoring chances were at a premium, however, and it seemed a speculative effort or dead-ball situation would be the only route to a goal.

Čech saves
Right on cue Djordjević tested Petr Čech for the first time in the game with a well struck shot but the Chelsea keeper made a smart save low at his right post. Then on 65 minutes Galletti volleyed narrowly over after another left wing cross by Stoltidis as the hosts searched for the opening goal. Chelsea were finding it hard to fashion chances, Malouda's shot from distance after 70 minutes their sole second-half effort up to that point. Grant brought Salomon Kalou and Nicolas Anelka on with 15 minutes left, but neither could make an impression in the closing stages with the visitors seemingly content with a draw.