Benfica 0-1 Chelsea (UCL Quarter Final Leg 1)

As the sun began to set over the very picturesque Estadio da Luz, Chelsea fans were in for quite a surprise when the team sheet was read out. Di Matteo had rolled his dice and opted for a big slice of Portuguese and Spanish influence. The most notable inclusion on the team sheet include Paulo Ferreira, who had not featured in Chelsea blue in 2012.  With Essien, Lampard and Drogba left out of the team for the night, Di Matteo had opted to take a step away from the old guard in order to add the energy and pace required from the likes of Torres and Meireles to chase a game down and try to hit on the break away from home, to gain that all important away goal.Whilst the fans were deliberating on whether Robbie had made the right calls in regards to the team, the crowd was entertained by one of the best pre-match spectacles I have ever seen. Vitoria, Benfica's eagle, swooped around the stadium and over the crowd in a polished performance, before gracefully landing on his perch and tucking into his reward. The hope was that Chelsea would be able to match such a performance and tuck into the reward of a victory away from home.

Chelsea started well , and were closing down Benfica, making them make mistakes, and for the first half an hour the home team appeared rattled, so far all was going well. Ferreira was showing no signs of rustiness in what will have been a familiar surrounding, Terry was as solid as ever and Meireles and Mikel were chasing down well. David Luiz and Ramires were also impressing in front of a familiar crowd with a few bright pieces of play and Torres had also fashioned himself a couple of chances but was unable to hit the target. Benfica began to creep into the match near the end of the first half, but Chelsea were able to see the rest of the half out.

The second half was a much more exciting affair, just after half time, Luiz was able to get his body in front of an Oscar Cardozo shot, and a few minutes later, Chelsea had their opportunity to reply, Torres drifted in a cross and Kalou found himself some space rose to meet the ball, but header over, massive sighs from the Chelsea fans and groans of why on earth we continue to play him. Not long after, Mata was able to round the keeper from a break, but was forced wide and his shot agonisingly hit the near post. Cech it must be mentioned , along with the Chelsea defence was solid all night and he made a crucial save from a powerful header. As 70 mins came up, Merieles made way for Lampard accompanied by the whistles and grief that he had heard from the Benfica fans all night, Meireles had had a good game though, and took a yellow card for the team for a professional foul to stop Benfica on the break, and had also had a great long range effort on target.  A few minutes later Ramires broke down the right touch line, passed to Torres who although being clattered stayed on his feet and worked his way to the byline and delivered a perfect cross in front of the goalie and away from the defenders right into the six yard box, giving Salomon Kalou the opportunity to go from previous villain to hero, he duly slid in a tucked away Torres's cross. 1-0! the Chelsea fans go wild , and cries of 'it's so quiet, it's so quiet, it's so quiet..in Lisbon echo around the ground. The most notable highlight of the last few minutes of the game was a clearance by Cole which almost went into his own net.

 As the final whistle blew, the Chelsea fans erupted once more at a job well done. It was a good away performance in Europe, Chelsea cleared the ball and defended smartly, Terry and Luiz were rock solid for the night, Chelsea also broke well and took their chance when it came. The performance did lack the ability to hold onto the ball and fashion chances to build on the good defencive work, and this was something that was noted against Tottenham. Chelsea at the moment lack the midfield and ideas to perform well in the final third and use the balls that are so hardly fought for and won. But with a 1-0 away win against a Benfica team that had not lost at home in ten European games, the job was most certainly done on the night and there were smiles all round. Chelsea now have given themselves a manageable chance in the second leg at the Bridge next Wednesday. But as Di Matteo said in his post-match interviews, nothing is done yet and there is still plenty of work to be done.