SALOMON KALOU'S brainless late penalty took the sheen off Frank Lampard's scoring return.
Lampard was recalled to the Chelsea first XI and proved a point by thumping the Blues into a 51st-minute lead.
It looked like his goal, an ice-cool effort from 20 yards, would earn an impressive victory in Valencia.
But Kalou handled in the box just five minutes from time to allow Roberto Soldado to slot home from 12 yards.
It had taken Chelsea just three minutes to force their way in when Fernando Torres nabbed the ball off David Albelda.
Torres won the ball and was then bundled over in the box by Adil Rami � only to see Italian ref Nicola Rizzoli wave play on.
Ramires then tore through the Valencia back-line and was pulled back by Victor Ruiz, who was booked. Lampard came close with the free-kick.
Valencia finally began to settle down and Pablo Hernandez hit the side-netting after 25 minutes.
The hosts continued to press but saw little reward. And Ever Banega resorted to going down clutching his face after a clash with Florent Malouda.
After the break, both teams came charging out of the blocks and the game exploded into life on 51 minutes.
Jose Bosingwa was left free in the box and he crossed for Torres.
The Spaniard's bullet header was flying towards goal, but somehow Diego Alves managed to keeper it out � despite initially diving the wrong way.
Valencia charged down the other end but Soldado missed Pablo Hernandez's cross.
The action did not end there, however, and Alves pulled off THREE thrilling saves in an amazing two-minute spell.
First, he blocked from Ramires, who hit a piledriver after racing through to a one-on-one.
The stopper then denied Torres and completed a hat-trick with a brilliant reflex save when the ball careered of team-mate Ruiz.
Five minutes later, though, Alves was beaten after Lampard grabbed his first goal of the season from open play.
Malouda picked out the England man, who rifled home from 20 yards.
Valencia looked to hit back and Petr Cech denied Banega in a head-to-head duel.
But the Chelsea stopper could do nothing about the leveller, when Soldado slotted home from 12 yards.
The Blues still sit top of their Champions League group though and have a double-header with minnows Genk up next.
Source: thesun.co.uk
| Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. |
