Drogba gives Chelsea win in Spain

LONDON, England -- Chelsea striker Didier Drogba struck a second-half winner against Valencia to give manager Avram Grant his first victory in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

The English side won 2-1 in Spain to bounce back from their opening Group B draw at home to Rosenborg -- after which boss Jose Mourinho agreed to step down.

Chelsea had to come from behind at the Mestalla Stadium, where David Villa put Valencia ahead in just the ninth minute.

The Spain international beat John Terry to a fortuitous rebound off Michael Essien and slotted past goalkeeper Petr Cech.

England center-back Terry played with a face mask protecting the broken cheekbone he suffered in the 0-0 draw with Fulham last weekend.

The London side equalized in the 21st minute when Joe Cole beat Emiliano Moretti to Florent Malouda's low cross to score from close range after the French winger superbly swapped passes with Drogba.

Villa had a goal ruled out for offside after the half-time break following a neat move with strike partner Fernando Morientes, but Chelsea held on before launching an attack of their own.

Cole, who had few first-team chances this season under Mourinho, sent Drogba racing clear with a superb through-ball and the Ivory Coast forward outpaced the defense to slot past keeper Timo Hildebrand.

Valencia piled forward in pursuit of an equalizer, but Chelsea weathered the storm to relieve the pressure on Grant -- who dropped Andrei Shevchenko, a favorite of club owner Roman Abramovich, to the bench for the match.

In Wednesday's other Group B tie, Schalke triumphed 2-0 away to Norway's Rosenborg with two second-half goals.

Jermaine Jones coolly slotted the opener underneath keeper Lars Hirschfeld in the 62nd minute after gathering Ivan Rakitic's chip over the top.

And Kevin Kuranyi curled a low shot around Hirschfeld into the net after finding space outside the penalty area in the 89th minute.

The Germans moved above Valencia on goal difference, having been beaten 1-0 by the Spaniards in the opening match. E-mail to a friend