Chelsea 1 Rosenborg 1: Chelsea failed to make a winning start to their Champions League campaign as Rosenborg held on for a creditable draw at Stamford Bridge.
The Londoners were expected to make short work of their unfashionable opponents in their Group B opener but lacked sufficient threat up front.
Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard scored more than 50 goals between them last season but their absence through injury once again highlighted the Blues' attacking shortcomings.
The Norwegians stunned Jose Mourinho's side by taking a 24th-minute lead through Miika Koppinen and only a second-half leveller from Andriy Shevchenko spared Mourinho from proverbial egg on his face.
Chelsea had not scored in their two previous Barclays League games and the lack of a cutting edge was all too evident. The misfiring Shevchenko looked pedestrian while Kalou flattered to deceive with jinking runs which failed to produced the end product.
Perhaps it was the half-empty Stamford Bridge which had put the Blues off their stride but they were caught out when Marek Sapara's free-kick was volleyed home by Koppinen.
It was yet another indication of Chelsea's lack of firepower and while all their passing looked pretty on the eye, there was little penetration.
Mourinho had made it clear on the eve of the match that a good start to the campaign was vital. The Portuguese coach must have been seething by the way his side lacked invention, ideas and an instinct for goal.
Prior to the game, Mourinho's analogy for being without his injured players was to claim their absence was like trying to make an omelette without the best eggs available.
His comments certainly impacted on the Waitrose supermarket chain he mentioned as they delivered some cases of eggs to the ground prior to kick-off.
The attendance of 24,973 was the worst for Chelsea for four years and they had a lucky escape in the 51st minute when Alexander Tettey fired high over the crossbar from 18 yards.
It was a costly miss for the Norwegians as Chelsea finally found the net in the 53rd minute when Shevchenko headed a cross from Malouda over Lars Hirschfeld and into the net for the equaliser.
