Levski Sofia - 1 Chelsea - 3: Andriy Shevchenko may not look a £30 million striker at the moment but no one can doubt that Didier Drogba currently appears good value for the £24 million Chelsea spent on him. Invigorated by the Ukrainian's arrival and grateful not to be a lone forward, the Ivorian continued his excellent form by scoring all three of his team's goals in an ultimately comfortable win last night.
Early Levski Sofia pressure was a distant memory by the time Drogba poked the ball over the line to complete his hat-trick and take his season's tally to seven. This was not a spectacular Chelsea performance but Jose Mourinho has made it clear he cares little about that. A first European away win since November 2005 leaves his squad set fair in Group A with Barcelona next at Stamford Bridge.
Drogba's contribution contrasted with another quiet display from Shevchenko, although the former Milan player put one shot not far over. Maryan Ognyanov burst through to pull a goal back near the end but the home side generally lacked the creativity they finally showed at 3-0 down, and their defensive deficiencies were exposed.
Mourinho must have hoped for a show of superiority, even if he had said he would happily take a 1-0 win. However, he selected players who would not be in a first-choice XI, Jon Obi Mikel getting a first start and Wayne Bridge starting at left-back.
Mikel was involved in most of his team's first-half chances and it was his saved shot that broke for Drogba to put Chelsea ahead in the 39th minute. By then Mourinho's team had also twice hit the woodwork.
However, Levski had pushed them back for periods and Chelsea did not gain control for more than half an hour.
Drogba struck a shot against the bar on the turn from about 10 yards in the 14th minute and soon after Michael Ballack was unlucky to hit a post with a fierce effort from outside the box, yet a Chelsea lead would not have reflected the early play.
Mourinho had expected Levski to respond positively to their first ever home group game in the Champions League, and he was right. The home sections of the 45,000-seat stadium had been all but full three-quarters of an hour before kick-off and Levski fed off that.
Though they made few clear chances there was a brightness to Levski's play. Yet the first notable test for Petr Cech came in the 32nd minute when a low Hristo Yovov free-kick eluded its intended targets and had to be clawed round a post.
With sharper finishing Chelsea could have had a couple of goals up by the time they made the breakthrough. Bridge's crosses had been a regular outlet for Chelsea but this time Paulo Ferreira centred from the right. Igor Tomasic, under pressure from Shevchenko, headed into the path of Mikel and although Georgi Petkov saved well, Drogba drilled home the rebound emphatically.
A second arrived for Drogba not long into the second half. Bridge's diagonal pass from inside his own half picked out the striker who used his chest and strength effectively to turn away from Elin Topuzakov and hit a low shot that Petkov got a hand to but could not stop.
Chelsea were looking comfortable despite the best efforts of Levski, and threatened on the break. Drogba completed his hat-trick when a Frank Lampard shot that appeared to be heading wide was diverted into the net via the Ivorian's striker's boot in the six-yard box, the ball barely trickling over the line.
Meanwhile substitute Lionel Messi struck a minute from time to snatch a 1-1 draw for Barcelona against Werder Bremen in last night's other Group A tie.
The Argentine youngster took a pass from Deco and tucked the ball past goalkeeper Tim Wiese as the European champions stretched their unbeaten record in the competition to 15 matches.
Werder had been leading from the 56th minute when Barcelona captain Carles Puyol struck out a leg to send Aaron Hunt's cross past Victor Valdes into his own net. It looked for a long time like the Catalans would find no response but Deco's fine piece of skill and Messi's equally good finish gave them a point they scarcely deserved.
Guardian Service
LEVSKI SOFIA: Petkov, Milanov, Topuzakov, Tomasic, Wagner, Borimirov (Koprivarov 79), Bardon (Ognyanov 71), Eromoigbe, Telkiyski (Georgi Ivanov 66), Stanislav Angelov, Yovov. Subs not used: Mihailov, Hristov, Minev, Miroslav Ivanov. Booked: Stanislav Angelov.
CHELSEA: Cech, Paulo Ferreira, Terry, Ricardo Carvalho, Bridge, Mikel (Kalou 63), Essien, Ballack, Lampard, Shevchenko (Wright-Phillips 82), Drogba (Robben 70). Subs not used: Hilario, Ashley Cole, Makelele, Boulahrouz. Booked: Mikel.
Referee: Laurent Duhamel (France).
