An untidy, sloppy, shitty Chelsea have been ignominiously dumped out of the UEFA Cup for the third consecutive year by a team that has often been described as one of “Europe’s footballing minnows”.
Are we to ever make it past the first round of this bl**dy competition? But hey, I say well done and congratulations to Viking! They showed the value of commitment, passion, belief, determination and team work. They never gave up and they gave everything.
Chelsea however, limped and stuttered along looking vulnerable in defence throughout the game and lacked that incisive edge in the final third. An edge that Chelsea, and in particular Jimmy, are so desperate to grasp. 
It pains me to say it but Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink is becoming a major cause for concern and is (in my humble opinion) at present, the weakest of the three strikers. But……Jimmy is only one of many players who played below their best this evening.
Chelsea’s fate was sealed in the 87th minute when Erik Nevland – the striker rejected by Manchester United four years ago – scored the goal which sent Chelsea out of the UEFA Cup on this damp, miserable and humiliating evening.
Chelsea looked to have booked their place in the second round when John Terry, playing his first game of the season since overcoming his injury, headed home Chelsea’s second in the 62nd minute.
But Nevland, who had only made two appearances in as many years whilst on loan at Old Trafford, capitalised on Chelsea’s defensive inadequacies to secure the 4-2 win on the night and 5-4 victory on aggregate as Viking joined the likes of St. Gallen and Hapoel Tel Aviv as unlikely conquerors of Chelsea.
Ranieri’s men got off to the worst possible start as they found themselves two goals behind after 33 minutes.
The first came in the ninth minute, when Cudicini flapped at a cross and Morton Berre bundled the ball home from close range.
More poor play at the back gifted Viking the second when Terry and Robert Huth ran to Nevland, allowing the striker to back-heel to the unmarked Peter Kopteff, who evaded William Gallas’ lunge before hammering a powerful shot past Cudicini.
Chelsea however, grabbed themselves a lifeline on the stroke of halftime when Zola’s ball into the box was deflected into the path of Frank Lampard and he drilled the ball into the bottom left corner.
Yet Chelsea failed to learn the lessons of the first half and were again guilty of defensive indecision as Viking grabbed a third.
They failed to clear a corner after an hour and Nevland headed into the net from the edge of the six yard box.
However in the 62nd minute it looked as if John Terry may have spared The Blues blushes as he threw himself at Graeme Le Saux’s corner and headed high into the roof of the net. The tie now stood at 4-4 on aggregate – leaving Chelsea ahead on the away goals rule.
But then, (and hasn’t there always been a “but then” recently) with 3 minutes remaining, Nevland manoeuvred his way in front of Graeme Le Saux to steer a left wing cross in from close range.
Chelsea were severely punished tonight for a careless, lame performance. Too many players brought back too soon from injury – Le Saux, Terry, Petit – all looked lacking throughout.
Chelsea must find their form, guts and rhythm before Sunday’s game at Anfield, or…….. we will find ourselves with 3 consecutive defeats in a week! Of that you can be sure.....
stevefurlong@chelsea-mad.co.uk