Chelsea 0 - 0 Natrons (365390650)

Dark skies made the crowd of 15992 at Stamford Bridge a little nervous, but the rain held off. Yves Irastorza was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Zdeněk Vyhnánek and Niko Harjula. Chelsea decided to use a 5-3-0 set up. Starters: Bălan - Apiñaniz, Conceição Sá, Gkoniadis, Pilogallo, Havelange - Hillaert, Kulig, Pizarro -.

A 5-4-1 alignment was the formation of choice for Natrons. They fielded: Mac Rae - Bressán, Verschoor, Geva, Vidolis, Czarzasty - Wałach, Angulo, Andersson, Esigençe - Flavell.

Natrons were relying on their ability to counter-attack. The referee showed Natrons's A. Esigençe the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Unfortunately for Chelsea, U. Pilogallo was injured when the game became more physical, and he had to leave the field. M. Pandini replaced him. With 32 minutes gone, Natrons had a free kick in a decent position. Despite this being a great chance for a shot, they tried a cheeky move intended to bypass the defence. However, J. Andersson did not manage to connect with it cleanly and the ball went out. With 38 minutes played, M. Gkoniadis of Chelsea fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee was unimpressed, and booked him for diving. 0 - 0 was the halftime score. Chelsea claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 55 percent.

46 minutes into the match, the referee signalled for a Natrons substitution. P. Alexandrescu came on for A. Esigençe. As the 46 minute mark approached, the Natrons coach decided it was time for a substitution. D. Geva reluctantly made way for C. Berechet on the pitch. 55 minutes in, Chelsea's H. Kulig received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. 65 minutes into the game, Chelsea had difficulty finding their positions and their organisation dropped to weak. I. Wałach had a good try after 77 minutes, coming in on a fine move from the left, but the ball went wide. 82 minutes into the game, Natrons wanted to bring some new energy to their game. P. Flavell gave M. Bâlă a quick hug as he left the field. Chelsea enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 52 percent of possession.

M. Gkoniadis performed admirably for Chelsea. F. Bălan was a disappointment, however. Natrons's best player was P. Alexandrescu. On the other hand, J. Andersson's play was disheartening. The match ends 0 - 0.