CSKA Moscow 0 Chelsea 1: Moscow has proved an inhospitable place for at this time of year for foreign generals but Jose Mourinho continues to march his troops through Europe unchecked.

A combination of Arjen Robben’s individuality, doughty defending and a little luck extended Chelsea’s 100 per cent record in this competition to four matches last night and took them into the second round.

If a second-half penalty miss by Vagner Love helped Chelsea, the love more on the minds of the visiting fans will have been their growing affection for Robben. The Dutchman not only calmly scored from a brilliant move but also showed why his pace and ability to beat opponents will be a vital weapon for his club.

Though Chelsea rarely threatened to extend their lead after the interval, a controlled and mature performance ensured they were in little danger of conceding either. Apart from one spell during which the spot-kick was missed they always looked comfortable.

Much of that stemmed from John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho at centre-back and the goalkeeper Petr Cech. The midfield offered good protection.

"We defended like lions to go home with another clean sheet," said Mourinho.

"It was a high intensity match with two teams playing at their highest level.

"We did not changed our attitude for this game and will do the same against Paris St Germain and Porto in the next two games.

"To defend as well as we did, we need all 11 players to be playing well."

Only Glen Johnson had a difficult evening, conceding the penalty with a rash tackle. It was as well for Chelsea that Scott Parker and then Tiago did good jobs at right-midfield.

Mourinho, though, was in forgiving mood.

"Glen did very well," he said. "He has to play this kind of game to get experience and learn from his mistakes. Of course, the penalty was a mistake. He has to control his position and not go in for the sliding tackles."

Scott Parker was another player singled out by Mourinho after the former Charlton midfielder had another outstanding game.

He added: "Scott is a player I trust and he did very well for us again. He was a big help to Frank Lampard and Makelele."

Robben was Chelsea's most eye-catching and effective player. He looked comfortable on both flanks, swapping with Damien Duff, who can produce better than this. The only negative aspect was the ease with which Robben went to ground under challenges.

"He's an incredible player," said Mourinho. "We missed him a lot during the three months (he was injured). He brought us a different dimension.

"Maybe people thought Robben and Duff together is not possible, but it is possible and very difficult for the opponent."

The goal illustrated that. Eidur Gudjohnsen's flick allowed Robben to pick out Duff who returned a wonderful back-heel pass ball to Robben. The Dutchman then drifted across a defender and almost passed the ball into the net.

Robben said: "I saw Damien go into space and he flicked it back very nice. I finished it quite good. I knew what I was doing - it was great.

"I am really pleased with my form at the moment and I feel really strong. I am happy to have scored my first goal for the club but it is more important that the team won.

"When you reach the next round, you know that it will be more difficult but our confidence is good.

"We can only grow now. We really played well in the first half against a strong opponent.

"It was difficult for us to control the game in the second half but I think our organisation was very good and we created some chances also."

Only the intervention of the CSKA captain Sergey Semak prevented Chelsea from going further ahead when he cut out a Gudjohnsen cross which was bound for Duff.

Yet CKSA had plenty of forward momentum and it was a tribute to Chelsea's defending that the Russian champions forced only one save from Cech in the first half, when Vagner escaped Carvalho.

CSKA should have equalised early in the second half. Johnson fouled Yury Zhirkov in the box but Vagner struck his penalty over the bar.

CSKA's increasing frustration resulted in their fans throwing on flares, one of which Cech had to hurdle, and UEFA is likely to punish the club for that.

Mourinho has promised to take the two remaining group matches seriously but he will surely rotate players, which is bound to help his Premiership challenge.

No wonder his team did not so much retreat from Moscow as leave with the broadest of smiles.

CSKA MOSCOW: Akinfeev, Semberas, Ignashevich, Semak (Olic 70), Berezoutski, Gusev, Vagner Love (Kirichenko 82), Krasic (Aldonin 46), Zhirkov, Jarosik, Rahimic. Subs Not Used: Mandrykin, Ferreyra, Laizans, Shershun. Booked: Olic, Semberas.

CHELSEA: Cech, Johnson, Terry, Ricardo Carvalho, Gallas (Paulo Ferreira 54), Duff, Parker (Tiago 65), Lampard, Makelele, Robben, Gudjohnsen (Kezman 68). Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Babayaro, Cole, Huth. Goals: Robben 24.

Referee: Massimo De Santis (Italy).