Chelsea all at sea

the match

Bordeaux were fast out of the blocks, and Fernando, Chalme & Gourcuff all had good shots saved by Petr Cech early on. Despite the zealous attack from Bordeaux, Chelse always had an answer in defence and Bordeaux struggled to convert chances. Up the other end Chelsea looked uninspired and one-dimensional: Anelka couldn't make much of the long balls, and Ballack is clearly still out of shape. A very good goal from Anelka gave Chelsea the lead on the hour, but sloppy defence at a corner allowed Diarra to head home an equaliser, courtesy of the post, with just over five minutes to go ... match drawn.

A lot of cards

Frank de Bleeckere had his "strict" hat on during this game, and his hand was never far from his pocket. Six men ended up with a caution to their name, and Lampard picked up two yellows and the complementary red card.

An iron fist

The match was controlled exceptionally by Frank de B; the players knew who the boss was, and were shown no mercy by the Belgian ref. His calls were stringent, but were applied equally to every man on the field. At times FDB was a bit fussy, giving out correct (but trivial) cards. Nevertheless he gave cards consistently. This was the undoing of Lampard, who picked up a second yellow for a careless tackle on Fernando. Perhaps Frank was a bit fussy and could have let a few more things go, but then again there could be no debate about any of the decisions.

A bit different from ManU v Celtic

At Old Trafford a few weeks ago Frank's assistants got three wrong. Tonight they were back to their normal excellence. At ManU Frank was invisible, and seemed reluctant to reach for the cards. Tonight he was very strict, and tried to impose himself on the field. Strange to see such contrasting styles from one referee. Unsurprisingly though, Frank pulls both off with consummate ease.