Napoli piles pressure on Blues
Chelsea made to regret missed chances in 3-1 loss
NAPLES, Italy — Ezequiel Lavezzi and Edinson Cavani combined to spark Napoli’s 3-1 comeback win over Chelsea in its Champions League last-16 first-leg game on Tuesday that deepened the gloom hanging over the London club.
The South American pair made the difference in a match where the visitors had taken the lead through Juan Mata before squandering two more chances and putting underfire manager Andre Villas-boas under yet more pressure.
Napoli’s win left England in danger of missing out on the quarterfinals after Arsenal, the Premier League’s only other team in the last 16, were thumped 4-0 at AC Milan last week.
It also left Villas-boas facing more questions about his future as the poor run of form continued for the London team, which has won only two of its last 10 Premier League games.
Chelsea’s day had got off to a bad start with news that captain John Terry could be sidelined for several weeks after aggravating a knee injury — and it soon got worse.
“After the first goal, we missed opportunities to go 2-0 up and then we should have defended better but we made a couple of mistakes against Napoli. With their attack you are going to get punished,” said Villas-boas.
“It is a game of efficiency and Napoli had it. I think the statistics are very similar for both teams. Both teams created a lot. The game was open.”
Napoli, unbeaten at home since returning to European competition in 2008 following a 13-year absence, were quickly on the attack and goalkeeper Petr Cech twice prevented Chelsea from shipping an early goal.
But the visitors went ahead with their first real chance after Napoli captain Paolo Cannavaro sliced Daniel Sturridge’s cross and the ball fell at the feet of Mata, who beat Morgan De Sanctis with a first-time shot.
The subdued crowd came back to life in the 38th minute when Cavani fed Lavezzi on the edge of the area and he curled a delightful shot inside the near post.
Chelsea’s rearguard then got into a mess in first-half added time as Gokhan Inlan delivered a teasing cross and Cavani stole in front of two defenders to head Napoli in front. Lavezzi fired in the third goal with a shot into the far corner in the 65th minute.
MOSCOW — A last-minute strike by CSKA Moscow newcomer Pontus Wernbloom snatched a 1-1 draw for the Russian side against Real Madrid in the other Champions League last-16 game Tuesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo had given the visitors a deserved 1-0 lead after 28 minutes, taking full advantage of a CSKA defensive mix-up and beating nervous-looking goalkeeper Sergei Chepchugov with a low volley into the far corner. It was Ronaldo’s 17th goal in his 23rd Champions League game for Real and 32nd in total in Europe’s premier club competition.
The nine-time European champions dominated for most of the game despite playing in sub-zero temperatures but paid dearly for missed chances.
Sweden midfielder Wernbloom beat Iker Casillas from 10 metres with virtually the last kick of the game following a goalmouth scramble, sending a record home crowd of 70,000 wild.