Blues make meal of their prey

HUNTING clearly suits Chelsea. Avram Grant’s unloved and unappreciated side have already tracked down and overtaken a clutch of rivals in their pursuit of the Premier League title and a quarter-final first-leg deficit eventually proved no obstacle to gobbling up Fenerbahce last night.

It was not an easy kill. The Yellow Canaries were winged by Michael Ballack’s early headed goal but progress to the last four of the Champions League for the third time in four seasons remained in the balance until Frank Lampard swept in a flattering second just minutes from full-time.

Grant will not take any pride in simply squeezing past opponents whose resources and experience are meagre in comparison to his own but forgettable displays such as this will be of little relevance if he breaks Liverpool’s hold over Chelsea in Europe in their two-legged semi-final later this month.

Lampard suggested that the clubs being paired once again was an “amazing situation“, but in reality the doughtiness of both teams made their meeting almost inevitable once they were paired in the same half of the second round draw.

Grant refused to talk up his side’s chances, feigning ignorance of the phrase “third time lucky”, but he will know better than anyone that there will be no more effective way of proving he is a worthy successor to Jose Mourinho by doing something the mercurial Portuguese never achieved: conquering the Kop and progressing to the final in Roman Abramovich’s back-yard in Moscow.

At times last night, it appeared that he would not be given the chance. Chelsea’s were living on their nerves in the second half as Fenerbahce pressed for a crucial away goal, while Michael Essien earned a needless booking which rules him out of the semi-final first leg on 22 April.

Most damagingly of all, Grant now has just one senior goalkeeper to choose from after Carlo Cudicini limped off in the 25th minute with a hamstring injury. The Italian clutched the back of his leg after making a clearance and was replaced shortly afterwards by Hilario. With regular number one Petr Cech facing at least two weeks out with a gashed face — the Czech required 50 stitches after being accidentally kicked by Tal Ben Haim in training on Monday — the Portuguese will almost certainly have to stand in for next week’s crucial Premier League games against Wigan and Everton. The teenage goalkeeper Rhys Taylor — who played in the FA Youth Cup final first leg against Manchester City on Monday — is set to earn an elevation to the substitutes’ bench.

Hilario performed well enough against a largely toothless Fenerbahce attack and made two important saves late on, but Grant will still urge his medical staff to nurse Cech back to health in time for the trip to Anfield in a fortnightbut his absence gives the Israeli a headache to match his goalkeeper’s.

The manager must also be aware that Chelsea will need to up their performance levels if they are not to yet again fall victim to Liverpool in this competition. Having been handed a dream start by Ballack, who glanced home Lampard’s inswinging free-kick in the fourth minute, the Londoners should have ground overawed opponents into the dust.

But after Joe Cole muddied an upright with a snap-shot at the near post, Chelsea reverted to type, dropping deeper into their own half to protect their slender advantage. Their cravenness prompted angry outbursts from the home fans and invited Fenerbahce pressure: in a frantic 60-second spell, Hilario sprawled to his left to block a scuffed volley from Gokhan Gonul and then had his fingertips stung by a 25-yarder by Kazim-Richards.

Lampard’s killer second goal, prodded in from close range after enterprising work from Essien down the right, eased Chelsea’s nerves but the fact it came against the run of play was damning proof of how far they had retreated. Liverpool, seasoned campaigners at attritional battles, will not wilt as quickly.

Not that Grant was deterred. “I am naturally an optimist and I feel pleased,” he insisted. “Our target was to be in the semi-finals and we did it. It wasn’t easy and it was a nervous game but we defended well. The most important thing was the result and that was good for us.”

Substitutes: Chelsea (Hilario for Cudicini, 25, Belletti for Kalou 58), Malouda for Cole, 85. Fenerbahce: Kezman for Maldonado 60, Boral for Senturk 74.