Clean sheets not enough for Čech

Chelsea FC may be one of only six teams with a perfect record after two UEFA Champions League matchdays, but goalkeeper Petr Čech says there is plenty of room for improvement when the London club tackle Club Atlético de Madrid over their next two Group D fixtures.

Nervous moments
Chelsea followed up their 1-0 home victory against FC Porto with another single-goal success away to APOEL FC last night, Nicolas Anelka scoring with a side-footed finish from the edge of the area after 18 minutes. As against the Portuguese champions, however, Chelsea failed to build on their advantage and had to endure a couple of nervous moments as APOEL went in search of an equaliser.

Early control
"We started well," said Čech. "We were ready for their style of football and controlled the game before scoring a good goal. We started the second half quite well for the first five minutes, then we started losing balls stupidly and allowed them to come back into the game. Unfortunately after that it got difficult for us because we lost possession many times in areas that were dangerous for ourselves and we had to chase the ball."

Reaction save
Čech was tested most in the 65th minute when he reacted sharply to repel a Savvas Poursaitides effort, which had taken a deflection off John Terry, with his feet, and was then well placed at his near post in the 84th to watch a Constantinos Charalambides header narrowly miss the upright. "In the end we had to fight to defend the lead," continued the Czech. "The positive is that we knew how to do it, although after that second-half performance we know that we have to improve."

'High targets'
Charalambides, meanwhile, looked back with regret at what might have been against Carlo Ancelotti's side. "To say we lost 1-0 to Chelsea sounds flattering but deep down we feel that we could have done more," he said. "A draw would have been a fairer result but our target remains the same – qualification or at least third place. We have set ourselves high targets and we want to keep them." The Cypriot champions now face a double-header with Porto, 2-0 victors against Atlético on Wednesday.