Parker handed Chelsea debut

Chelsea’s £10m (€14.6m) signing Scott Parker was handed a debut for his new club as they looked to close the gap on Barclaycard Premiership leaders Manchester United at Blackburn.

The former Charlton midfielder was included in a starting line-up featuring five changes to the one which lined up at Scarborough in the FA Cup fourth round last week with injuries and suspensions limiting Claudio Ranieri’s choice.