Skip to main content
CNN.com International
The Web    CNN.com      Powered by
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ON TV
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Football

Pires denies Chelsea Champions win


story.desailly.afp.jpg
Chelsea's Marcel Desailly misses the second leg after his sending off

Story Tools

LONDON, England -- Frenchman Robert Pires scored a vital away goal as Arsenal earned a 1-1 draw at London rivals Chelsea in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal.

Pires's neat 59th-minute header cancelled out Iceland forward Eidur Gudjohnsen's strike from a tight angle six minutes earlier.

Chelsea suffered another heavy blow when captain Marcel Desailly was sent off for a second yellow card offense after 83 minutes and will miss the return leg.

Arsenal are now unbeaten in their last 17 games against Chelsea.

But a spirited Chelsea performance had seemed destined to be rewarded with the victory their fans have been waiting on for five and a half years.

Gudjohnsen had charged down an attempted clearance by German keeper Jens Lehmann who had raced out of his area.

Chelsea's hopes were dashed six minutes later when Pires rose to head Ashley Cole's chip from the left of the box past a helpless Marco Ambrosio.

Chelsea will now travel to Highbury in two weeks' time knowing they must score if they are to progress.

French captain Desailly will be kicking himself following his sliding tackle on compatriot Patrick Vieira.

He had already been booked for foolishly knocking the ball out of Lehmann's hands as the keeper shaped to thrown the ball downfield.

Advantage Arsenal

"Maybe Arsenal have the slight advantage now. We were desperate to keep a clean sheet but now we need to go there and score," said Gudjohnsen.

"We had difficulty closing them down in the first half but when we scored we looked like we could get a second.

"Their goal was a blow because we were on top. It was an important goal for them, you could see that by their reaction. But the game is not up yet - it's only half-time."

Chelsea had increasingly dominated proceedings and the Gunners enjoyed a let-off shortly after the restart when a Frank Lampard shot deflected off Sol Campbell and into the side netting.

Arsenal's luck could not however save them from the consequences of the horrendous defensive mix-up which allowed Chelsea to take the lead.

There appeared little danger as Lampard swept a loose ball forward through the inside-left channel.

But Campbell's decision to allow Gudjohnsen to chase the ball and Lehmann's response saw the Icelandic striker hook the loose ball into the empty net from a tight angle.

Chelsea immediately went in for the kill and might easily have snatched a second when Lehmann failed to hold another attempt from Lampard, the rebound just defeating Damien Duff.

Instead, it was Arsenal who grabbed both an equalizer and a precious away goal with a swift counter-attack that generated the space for Cole to pick out Pires, who got in front of John Terry to head past Ambrosio from eight yards.

The Frenchman served his team equally well at the other end, getting his body in the way of another goalbound volley from Gudjohnsen and preserve Arsenal's narrow advantage.


Story Tools
Click Here to try 4 Free Trial Issues of Time! cover
Top Stories
Trapattoni new VfB Stuttgart coach
Top Stories
EU 'crisis' after summit failure
 
 
 
 

CNN US
On CNN TV E-mail Services CNN Mobile CNN AvantGo CNNtext Ad info Preferences
SEARCH
   The Web    CNN.com     
Powered by
© 2005 Cable News Network LP, LLLP.
A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us.
external link
All external sites will open in a new browser.
CNN.com does not endorse external sites.
 Premium content icon Denotes premium content.