o 90'+3 And that's all for tonight! The final whistle goes and Chelsea get their Champions League campaign off to the best possible start!
o 90'+2 GOAL! ANELKA GETS HIS GOAL! It's an absolute tap-in for the Frenchman after Belletti's stunning 35 yard drive is tipped onto the bar by Rame... it falls kindly for the Chelsea striker and that's 4-0!
o 90' Anelka can't buy a goal tonight! Belletti tees him up on the edge of the box but he fires wide of the mark!
o 87' Ooh! Off the bar from Carvalho! Powerful free header from the Portuguese from a corner! He was in acres of space there and should really have scored...
o 84' And that proves to be Malouda's parting shot... he is taken off and replaced by Salomon Kalou.
o 82' GOAL! MALOUDA MAKES IT THREE! The Frenchman finishes well to round off a super Chelsea move, ending with a lovely backheel from Lampard into Malouda's path! He does the rest, finding the corner with a well struck shot across Rame!
o 78' Chelsea have definitely eased off the gas after the break, but Scolari wants more from them now! He's screaming instructions from the touchline... two clearly isn't enough.
o 75' Bordeaux make a change as well... off goes Fernando and on comes Ducasse.
o 74' Joe Cole is hauled off to a rapturous reception from the Stamford Bridge crowd... and on comes Juliano Belletti.
o 69' Wendell is caught late by Ballack... but there's handshakes all around afterwards, and no card issued.
o 65' Here's a Bordeaux change now... Gouffran and Chamakh off, Cavenaghi and Obertan on.
o 63' Anelka gets in behind the Bordeaux defence but his first time effort hits the sidenetting!
o 61' Big Phil makes his first change of the night... off goes Deco and on comes Michael Ballack.
o 59' Here come Chelsea on their most meaningful attack of the second half... Anelka feeds Cole, who manages to get the ball back to Lampard... in turn he finds Cole again, but the goalscorer's curled effort bounces wide of the post! And the flag is up, so it wouldn't have counted anyway.
o 58' Here's the first yellow card of the night... and it's for Deco for a cynical chop on Diarra, just as the former Liverpool man was threatening to break away!
o 52' Fernando goes close with a rasping low drive from distance! Cech will say he had it covered, but it's not that far off the mark!
o 48' Oh dear, that's a bad challenge from Joe Cole on Diawara... the former Charlton man reacts angrily, but the referee takes no action!
o 47' Chamakh takes a tumble, over the advertising hoardings and into the crowd... that actually looks quite nasty... but he'll be fine.
o 46' Back underway in west London!
o 45'+1 There goes the half-time whistle! And it's been a comfortable opening period for Chelsea. They head in at the break 2-0 up.
o 44' Chelsea clear their lines easily though and Bordeaux will have to wait a little longer to really test Cech.
o 43' Gourcuff again lets fly goalwards! Deflected behind for a corner, which Gourcuff himself will take.
o 42' Carvalho's got a slightly bloodied nose here... he makes the short trip to the sidelines to get some treatment.
o 40' Five minutes to go until half-time and Chelsea still deservedly lead by two goals...
o 36' Oooh! Gourcuff goes close from the resulting free kick! His set piece effort flies just over Cech's bar!
o 35' Carvalho scythes down Chamakh 25 yards out... and he's lucky not to go into the book for that one.
o 34' WHAT A MISS FROM LAMPARD! Bosingwa (again) with the cross which is bundled towards Lampard by Malouda... he's one on one with the keeper, but can only drag his effort wide of the far post! Bad, bad miss.
o 31' Laurent Blanc, of all people, must be fuming at that one.
o 30' GOAL! It's been coming! Chelsea add a second through Joe Cole's near post header from the corner! It's poor defending - how does someone of Cole's stature beat three defenders to it? All he does is flick it on, giving Rame no chance!
o 29' Malouda breaks on the Chelsea left... but his cross is easily cut out... as is a second effort moments later... Anelka expects better service than that in the middle.
o 26' Anelka bursts free again! But he opts to pull the ball back into the box instead of going for goal... bad decision - there's no one there and the move breaks down.
o 25' Anelka! Again it's Bosingwa whose cross causes problems in the Bordeaux box... Anelka gets a boot to it, but it goes the wrong side of the post!
o 22' Oooh! Another chance for Chelsea! Bosingwa delivers another teasing cross... the keeper's coming out for it, but Menegazzo doesn't see him and sticks out a leg to the ball... it squirts towards goal, but Rame rights himself just in time to get a hand to it! So nearly 2-0!
o 21' Oooh! Terry rises well to meet the corner! But his header is wide of the target! Chelsea dominating at the moment...
o 20' And Rame is again brought into action from the corner! Bit of a scramble that one, but the keeper still had to be alert enough to stick out a boot and make the save!
o 19' Oooh! Anelka brings Rame into action with a rasping drive from just outside the box! Decent stop from the Frenchman, who gets down, low to his right to tip behind for a corner!
o 17' Free kick now to the visitors... Wendell takes it... but his effort hits the wall and Petr Cech won't be tested at all.
o 15' Chelsea deserve that... they've enjoyed the better of the opening stages...
o 14' GOAL! Chelsea take the lead as Bosingwa delivers a perfect cross from the right straight on to Lampard's head! The England man doesn't miss from there and Chelsea lead one-nil!
o 12' Malouda does well to get past his man at the by-line... but his cross is cut out easily by the Bordeaux defence.
o 10' Ooh! Terrible pass from Mikel in the centre of the pitch! Wendell picks it up and lets fly from 25 yards! Over Cech's bar, but that was sloppy from the Chelsea man...
o 9' Larry White is spotted on the sidelines... he looks dapper in his spectacles and suit.
o 8' Chelsea have started well here... they're playing the ball around nicely and Bordeaux are yet to really have a sniff.
o 5' Cole nearly gets on the end of a clipped Deco ball through... but the ball skids off the turf and into the arms of Rame.
o 2' Cracking atmosphere at the Bridge tonight! There's something about European nights that are so special, regardless of who's playing.
o 1' And we're off at Stamford Bridge!
o - So, no Ballack for Chelsea tonight - he has to make do with a place on the bench. Florent Malouda and Joe Cole will support Anelka up front with Didier Drogba suspended for tonight's clash.
o - And tonight's referee is Pieter Vink of Holland.
o - And the visitors: Rame, Jurietti, Diawara, Planus, Placente, Diarra, Menegazzo, Gouffran, Gourcuff, Wendell, Chamakh- Subs: Valverde, Henrique, Cavenaghi, Bellion, Ducasse, Traore, Obertan
o - The teams are in... here's how the Blues will line-up: Cech, Bosingwa, Carvalho, Terry, Ashley Cole, Obi, Joe Cole, Deco, Lampard, Malouda, Anelka - Subs: Hilario, Di Santo, Ballack, Ferreira, Kalou, Alex, Belletti
o - Chelsea kick off their campaign with a home game against Ligue 1 side Bordeaux, managed by Manchester United's very own former defender, Laurent Blanc.

Chelsea too good for Bordeaux

Chelsea got their Champions League campaign off to the best possible start with a comfortable 4-0 win over Bordeaux

First half goals from Frank Lampard and Joe Cole put the Blues firmly in the driving seat before Florent Malouda and Nicolas Anelka put the result beyond doubt late on.

The result saw Chelsea top the fledgling Group A on goal difference after Italian giants Roma slumped to a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of unfancied Cluj of Romania, the Blues' next opponents in a fortnight's time.

The door remains open for Frank Lampard to make a move to Internazionale after Jose Mourinho admitted the Italian champions are still searching for a midfielder.

Mourinho won two Premier League titles with Lampard while at Chelsea and has had a bid rejected by the London club, who say they will not enter into negotiations over a transfer.

Lampard is reportedly torn over whether he should move to Italy and Mourinho is willing to wait.

"The transfer window is open until August 31 and we need a midfielder. Lampard is at Chelsea, but I have worked really well with him," Mourinho said on Inter's first day back for pre-season training.

The Portuguese coach, who left Chelsea last September, took over at the Guiseppe Meazza in June after Roberto Mancini's sacking.

Mourinho also has his eye on compatriot Ricardo Quaresma but wants to trim down a bulging squad first.

"I like Quaresma, but he is at Porto. Anyway, the squad needs trimming. I want to work with 22 players at most, plus the goalkeepers," Mourinho said.

The coach had words of wisdom for Brazilian striker Adriano, who has returned to Inter after recovering his form and fitness on loan at Sao Paolo.

Adriano arrived at Inter's training ground saying he would give his all and score lots of goals.

"The words I've heard are positive," Mourinho said. "But tomorrow I want to see him really tired after the first training session."

The charismatic Mourinho, who said he was pleased city rivals Milan had bought Ronaldinho because it reflected well on Serie A, also warned his new troops as a whole.

"If I arrive at training an hour and half early I cannot accept it if someone arrives late," he growled.

"Fines are not important but if I say 10 then training starts at 10. If there are only 14 players, I'll coach the 14. The others can go home and stay there also on Sundays."

Reuters

Didier Drogba is adamant he and Chelsea team-mate John Terry will be fit for next week's Champions League final against Manchester United in Moscow - but refused to confirm he will be at the club next season.


Both players sustained injuries in Sunday's 1-1 draw against Bolton in the Barclays Premier League, Drogba hurting his knee and Terry dislocating his elbow.


But the Ivory Coast striker is sure they will be fit to face United in the Russian capital next Wednesday as the Blues go in search of their first Champions League crown.

"I took a blow to my knee that was operated on (back in December), and it hurt at the time," he told French daily L'Equipe.

"I put ice on it immediately. But there is nothing serious. I will be at training this week."

On the fitness of Chelsea captain Terry, who was taken to hospital after colliding with his own goalkeeper, Petr Cech, Drogba added: "I have spoken to him - he will play in Moscow.

"No-one wants to miss this gigantic match, the match of our careers. That's the case for me anyway."

Chelsea lost out to United at the weekend in the race for the Premier League title as Sir Alex Ferguson's men secured the defence of their crown with a 2-0 win at Wigan.


United will head to Moscow looking to complete the double, but Drogba said: "This Champions League match is different.


"It will play itself out over 90 or 120 minutes, like in the FA Cup final last year (which Chelsea won 1-0 thanks to Drogba's goal in the second half of extra time).


"We know that we can beat United, we proved it again in the league a fortnight ago.


"But they deserved their title and were rewarded for their consistency. We made too many mistakes."


There has been plenty of speculation about Drogba's future at Chelsea - he was recently linked with a move to Inter Milan - but he insists the Champions League final is the only thing dominating his thoughts.


"At the moment, the only thing I have in my mind is the final in Moscow," he said.


"What will happen in June or July? I still don't know anything."


Drogba admitted earlier this season he found it hard leaving Marseille for Chelsea in July 2004, and was reported as saying he wanted to leave the London club.


He maintains his relationship with supporters in England has improved but admits he has found it difficult to settle.


"I didn't want to leave Marseille," he added.


"I had trouble getting used to Chelsea and I wanted to leave at the end of every season. Not because people were not treating me well, rather because of personal reasons.


"I have started everything again from zero in England. I had to replace a great striker in Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who was a favourite at the club.


"It wasn't easy but my relationship with the English supporters has evolved.


"There was at first a dissension between us but I then understood what they expected of me. Now the rapport I have with them is like what I had with the fans at Marseille."



Sporting Life / Eurosport

Jose Mourinho certainly kept to his word and played a dynamic entertaining side which produced a pulsating game and a record busting 64th unbeaten game streak for the Kings Road Blues.


Incredibly the first half dominance was not reflected in the score with Birmingham exposing Chelsea's defensive frailties. The arial presence of John Terry was missed for the first goal and Glen Johnson still showed some naivity in allowing Kapo to get past him.


Having said that Chelsea could have won this game by a hatful on another day with a superlative performance which the critics loved indicated by the headlines The Times "Mourinho unleashes his entertainers" and The Telegraph headlines read "Chelsea make history in style" .


There were many positives with Wright Phillips playing with a real swagger, tormenting the Birmingham defence and punishing them by setting up Pizarro and Essien's goals. Pizarro scored on his home debut as did Malouda .


Playing this sort of football will certainly keep the critics quiet on that front - but they will probably just moan about something else instead. As for us supporters its great to watch and if we had scored some of the other chances this game could have been dead and buried as a spectacle. Lampard, Malouda and Kalou all had good chances to kill the game.


Personally I think you will see Chelsea only adopt this style playing teams in the bottom half of the table - and they will still play a conservative style against the bigger guns - unless they go behind - in which case they will open up again.


Looking forward to Reading game on wednesday - thanks for holding the Manks to a draw today. Hopefully lightening does not strike twice in that we lost to Middlesboro last season in the corresponding fixture and that Reading can't be expected to keep two clean sheets in a row and that Cech will get some payback by keeping a clean sheet against a side he has only played for a few minutes before last years horrific injury.


Blues Clues Prediction Reading 0 Chelsea 2 - revenge is sweet.