Bordeaux 1 Chelsea 1: CHELSEA HAD this game and their qualification for the knockout phase in the palm of their hands but after a stunning denouement they might require a win at home to Cluj in a fortnight's time to seal their progress.
Other results may yet see Luiz Felipe Scolari and his team through, but anxieties will linger until the knockout phase is reached. There is also the possibility that if Chelsea do progress, it will be as runners-up, throwing up a more difficult draw.
With all the talk surrounding Didier Drogba and the possibility of a transfer to Internazionale, it was Chelsea's other lead striker who put them ahead and with their first serious attack. Nicolas Anelka's goal was merely the prompt for Bordeaux to haul themselves off the canvas, however.
Alou Diarra lost John Terry to head home from the excellent Yoann Gourcuff's corner and there was a further setback when Frank Lampard was dismissed for a second yellow card.
Bordeaux had been billed in most quarters as underdogs but they showed themselves to be neat and urgent from the outset, with offensive menace in the midfield trio that probed behind the centre forward Marouane Chamakh.
At the heart of their performance was Gourcuff, who is on loan from Milan. As Chelsea sought to put down secure foundations, the attacking midfielder was Bordeaux's best bet to destabilise them. His weighted ball over Ashley Cole ushered in Mathieu Chalme for the chance of the first half - the full-back's shot was beaten away by Petr Cech - and shortly afterwards, when Michael Ballack gave the ball away, Gourcuff drew another save out of Cech from 20 yards. The goalkeeper had earlier been forced to palm Fernando's speculative drive round a post.
Chelsea's away form in the Champions League has been something of a curiosity. All-conquering on their travels in domestic football, they are without a European away win in 12 months. Indeed, they had won only five of their previous 23 away ties.
Their previous victory came at Rosenborg and on that night Drogba cut through the sub-zero temperatures to score two early goals. He started on the bench here, feeling a chill wind of a different nature as a result of the fallout from his alleged meeting with Internazionale's technical director earlier this week.
There was an niggling undercurrent to the match. Three Chelsea men, Lampard one of them, were booked inside seven minutes halfway through the first period and the quickness of Bordeaux's players to square up to their counterparts and crowd the referee suggested matters could get out of hand. Chelsea offered little in attack during the first-half and did not muster one attempt on goal. Anelka was frequently isolated.
Chelsea worked feverishly, however, nobody more so than Lampard, and they improved after the interval. John Terry bristled and seemed intent on cleaning out both man and ball with one or two tackles. When he came in on Yoan Gouffran though, the winger somehow escaped and after entering the right of the area, his cut-back was cleared to safety.
The breakthrough came out of nothing. Lampard guided a precision ball which Diarra could not cut out and Anelka's finish for his 14th goal of the season was of the highest order. Dropping his shoulder once and then twice to unnerve the goalkeeper Mathieu Valverde, he slotted calmly home.
When Anelka was substituted for Drogba almost immediately, the France international was given a warm ovation from all corners of the ground whereas the latter was jeered by the home fans.
With Bordeaux forced to throw caution to the wind, Chelsea looked threatening and Lampard had a swerving drive turned away.
Yet the game would turn on its head. Inexplicably, Terry failed to track Diarra at Gourcuff's left-wing corner and his free header glanced in off the near post. With the atmosphere at fever pitch, Lampard then caught Fernando to incur his second booking and subsequent red card.
BORDEAUX: Valverde, Chalme, Planus, Diawara, Jurietti, Menegazzo, Diarra, Gourcuff, Gouffran (Cavenaghi 67), Wendell (Obertan 75), Chamakh. Subs not used: Olimpa, Bellion, Placente, Traore, Tremoulinas. Booked: Gourcuff, Jurietti, Chamakh.
CHELSEA: Cech, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, Ashley Cole, Mikel, Joe Cole (Ferreira 85), Ballack, Lampard, Malouda, Anelka (Drogba 63). Subs not used: Cudicini, Bridge, Kalou, Alex, Stoch. Booked: Terry, Lampard, Ashley Cole, Joe Cole.
Referee: Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium).
