Chelsea beats Levski Sofia 3-1

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Chelsea beats Levski Sofia 3-1

Thursday, September 28, 2006 (Sofia):

Didier Drogba scored a hat trick on Wednesday to give Chelsea a 3-1 win over Levski Sofia in a Group A match in the Champions League.

"He (Drogba) has scored goals in England, scored in Europe and (is) playing very well so it is a beautiful moment for him,'' said Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho.

Drogna opened the scoring in the 39th minute when John Obi Mikel's shot from a few meters forced a flying save from Georgi Petkov. Drogba took the rebound and slid the ball from a narrow angle into the net.

Seven minutes into the second half, Drogba dribbled past most of Levski's defense before beating Petkov to make it 2-0.

Hat-trick

The Ivory Coast striker got his hat-trick in the 68th when he diverted Lampard's shot over the line. "I scored three goals and I am very happy but the most important thing in the Champions League is to win away,'' Drogba said.

Marian Ognyanov scored the first ever goal for Levski in the Champions League in the 89th. The substitute took a pass from Hristo Yovov just outside the penalty area and curled the ball into the left corner.

The home team, inspired by a crowd of 45,000 fans at Sofia's Vasil Levski Stadium, launched several strong attacks at the beginning of the match.

Levski's best chance in the first half came in the 9th minute when Hristo Yovov's header was cleared by Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech.

Strong group

Chelsea, which dominated much of the match against the Bulgarian champion, came close to opening the score in the 15th when Drogba's volley from inside the penalty box smacked the crossbar.

Five minutes later Michael Ballack's powerful shot from well outside the area was blocked by Petkov.

Levski tried to come back at the end of the second half when Hristo Yovov and Georgi Ivanov had several good opportunities.

Chelsea tops Group A with six points and Levski is bottom with none after two matches. Barcelona, held 1-1 by host Werder Bremen on Wednesday, has four points and Bremen one.

Mourinho downplayed Chelsea's lead. "It means the group is very strong,'' he said. "Normally, when you have Barcelona and Chelsea in the same group, at this moment it should be six (points) and six (points). We have six points, we have to do about 10 or 11.''

Chelsea hosts Barcelona and Levski travels to Bremen on October 18.(AP)

[AEK Man]

I think Chelsea has yet to show how devastaing they will be to their oppenents this season.