Chelsea 0-0 Blackburn, Blues 'goal' denied

	Chelsea 0 - 0 Blackburn
0		0

Chelsea were forced to settle for a 0-0 draw against Blackburn after a second-half `goal' was controversially ruled out by referee Howard Webb.

Chelsea looked to have sealed all three points when Salomon Kalou converted a cross from Julian Belletti, but Webb disallowed the goal for offside.

Chelsea had squandered a host of first-half chances, but Blackburn could have stolen the points themselves if Petr Cech had not tipped Robbie Savage's late effort over the crossbar.

However, Blackburn's point was overshadowed by a serious head injury to defender Christopher Samba.

The opening 15 minutes failed to produce clear-cut opening, although Blackburn keeper Brad Friedel was called on to hold a tame header from Chelsea skipper John Terry.

Blackburn, one of the teams identified by Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, as adding strength to the Barclays Premier League, proved they were worthy of his praise with some clever attacking play.

However, Rovers were thwarted on numerous occasions by the last-ditch efforts of Terry and Ashley Cole as the goalscoring threat from Benni McCarthy and Roque Santa Cruz threatened to puncture the home defence.

Chelsea were bidding to take their unbeaten home run in the top flight to 66 games, but without the driving force of the injured Frank Lampard in midfield and the strength of Didier Drogba in attack, the Blues struggled to gain control of the game.

Drogba's absence was underlined in the 22nd minute when Juliano Belletti broke free down the right flank.

But his perfectly-flighted cross was headed over the bar by the unmarked Andriy Shevchenko - making his first start of the season in Mourinho's side.

It was a poor effort from the Ukrainian striker who should have at least hit the target from eight yards.

In the 27th minute Chelsea were prevented from taking the lead by a superb acrobatic save from Friedel.

Joe Cole's mazy run ended with his attempted pass to Salomon Kalou falling at the feet of Michael Essien on the edge of the penalty area.

The Ghanaian midfielder sent a powerful half-volley towards the top corner, only to see the American keeper fly to his left to tip the ball over the crossbar.

Two minutes later the foraging Belletti burst into the penalty area and send a right-foot shot into the arms of Friedel as Chelsea increased the pace of their game.

Shevchenko's touch let him down when Essien put him through on goal moments later. The Ukrainian failed to control the pass adequately enough and that allowed Friedel to gain the advantage he needed as Shevchenko failed to lift the ball over his advancing frame.

Shaun Wright-Phillips was the next Chelsea player to try his luck, but he too failed to find the target with a 20-yard low drive.

Joe Cole was unlucky with a curling shot in 35th minute, but Friedel had already spotted the danger and moved swiftly to clutch the ball to his chest.

Morten Gamst Pedersen wasted a good chance for Blackburn three minutes before the break when he fired into the side netting at the far post.

A sign of Mourinho's displeasure with his team's failure to break down Rovers saw him make a double substitution in the 54th minute - Florent Malouda replacing Wright-Phillips and Mikel John Obi taking over from Steve Sidwell.

The change almost brought instant results when Belletti's cross was turned in by Kalou but was controversially ruled out by referee Howard Webb for offside.

The decision sparked uproar on the bench, with Mourinho and assistant Steve Clarke berating the fourth official Peter Walton and remonstrating with him to look at the touchline TV screen.

It ended with Webb having to ask Mourinho to calm down, but TV replays suggested the Chelsea manager had a good case for the goal looked to be perfectly legal.

The controversial moment brought the game to life, with Chelsea fans making clear their dislike of Webb's decision with constant abuse and barracking.

Savage took advantage of some sloppy Chelsea defending to force Cech into a fine one-handed save in the 76th minute, but moments later Kalou sent a shot inches wide of the target at the opposite end.

Then, six minutes from time, a Shevchenko header from a cross by Malouda was brilliantly saved by Friedel. However, the Ukrainian striker's boot met the head of Samba as he tried to control the rebound and the Rovers player was stretchered off with a serious injury.

Shevchenko's effort was to be Chelsea's last real effort of the game as stubborn Rovers held on for a point.

Full Report: Soccernet.com