In a very important Group A match of UEFA Champions League, Chelsea is going to face Romanian champion CFR Cluj at home on 10 December 2008. Chelsea’s qualification into the knockout stage of the tournament and CFR Cluj’s qualification into the round of 32 of UEFA Cup vastly depend on the result of this match. With 8 points from 5 matches, Chelsea currently takes the second place in the point table, 1 point ahead of third placed Bordeaux. So, Chelsea can qualify for the knock out stage in two ways. Either they have to defeat CFR Cluj in their last group stage match or Bordeaux can not defeat group leader AS Roma.
Match: Chelsea vs CFR Cluj; Group A, UEFA Champions League 2008-09
Date: 10 December 2008, Wednesday
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Kick off: 19:45 BST (British Standard Time)
I earlier mentioned that this is a very important match for CFR Cluj too as they are looking to clinch a UEFA Cup place, by securing the third spot in the Group A. However, the task for the Romanian champions would not be so easy because they need to win over Chelsea on the road. Even a win over Chelsea would not ensure CFR Cluj a place in UEFA Cup unless Bordeaux fails to defeat Roma in their last group stage match. However, there is no doubt, CFR Cluj will try their best to secure a place in UEFA Cup. No matter, how hard the task is. In fact, CFR Cluj can put on an inspirational performance against Chelsea as they Romanian club has nothing to lose in the competition.
Coming to Champions League for the time, CFR Cluj created one of the biggest upsets in the history of Champions League when they defeated AS Roma 2-1 on the road in their very first match in the tournament. After that they held Chelsea to a goalless draw at home. Though CFR Cluj could not continue their success over the last three matches, the Romanian club already made their first trip to Champions League a success story. Now, they can feel free to show their best against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday. CFR Cluj’s domestic performance so far this season has not been as impressive as it was last season. From 17 matches, CFR Cluj managed 20 points, 6 points behind leader FC Dinamo Bucuresti, and currently secures the fourth place jointly with FC Steaua Bucuresti in Romanian Liga 1. In their recent domestic league match, CFR Cluj defeated Gaz Metan Medias 2-1.
Chelsea can not afford to rely on the Roma vs Bordeaux match in their bid to qualify into the round of 16 in Champions League. So, they will definitely look for a victory over CFR Cluj in front of their home fans. Chelsea’s recent indifference form may not give much confidence to their players, but you can not forget the fact that Chelsea was the runner up in Champions League last season, and they have one of the strong squad in Europe. After three games, Chelsea came back to winning ways on Saturday as they defeated Bolton Wanderers 2-0 on the road, setting up a new record of most consecutive away wins in Premier League. So, you can expect that with this victory, Chelsea has come out of their recent setback, a 2-1 home defeat to Arsenal previous week.
Reports have it in the media that senior Chelsea players are unhappy over manager Luiz Felipe Scolari. However, assistant manager of Chelsea, Ray Wilkins, denied any dressing room dissent at Chelsea. He claims that the players are getting along with the coach very well. Now, Fans are expecting to see Chelsea appearing with their dominating form against CFR Cluj.
Online Live Score and Updates
I am giving some names of live score and update websites from where you can get the live score updates of the match:
Live Score
Goalzz
Live Football Scores
Goal.com
Footie Scorez
Chelsea is undoubtedly favorite against CFR Cluj at home. However, if a confident CFR Cluj can appear with their strong resistance against Chelsea, then this could be a very competitive match. No doubt, fans of both sides are expecting to see an exciting match.