Gallas the ace, Duff the inspiration

Sparta Prague 0 Chelsea 1

Gallas, whose only previous Champions League goal came for Marseilles against Manchester United, struck with five minutes left after Hernan Crespo had wasted a hat-trick of chances and Adrian Mutu had gone off injured.

However, Claudio Ranieri was also particularly indebted to a sparkling second-half display by substitute Damien Duff, who lit up the darkness of a tepid first-half. The Republic of Ireland international, who had spoken out ahead of the game at his frustration in not finishing enough games, had initially been left on the bench in Prague.