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Chelsea opened their Champions League campaign by grinding to a galling goalless draw with Sevilla at Stamford Bridge.<\/p>\nChelsea opened their Champions League campaign by grinding to a galling goalless draw with Sevilla at Stamford Bridge.<\/p>\n
Kurt Zouma had the best chance of a frustrating west London night, the France defender\u2019s free header losing all sting through a deflection.<\/p>\n
Frank Lampard\u2019s Chelsea ended the night with all six of their \u00a3200million summer signings on the pitch for the first time.<\/p>\n
But despite flashes of promise the Blues boss is yet to find the best fit for his expensively assembled jigsaw.<\/p>\n
Lampard will doubtless have been puzzled by this stalemate \u2013 with his regimented but uninspired Chelsea almost the exact opposite of Saturday\u2019s sloppy but exciting Blues in the 3-3 Southampton draw.<\/p>\n
Fit-again Edouard Mendy at least kept a clean sheet, the Senegal stopper producing a tidy performance on the night Petr Cech was named in Chelsea\u2019s Premier League squad.<\/p>\n
Technical director Cech will only come out of retirement in a coronavirus-related emergency, but the 38-year-old has impressed on the Blues\u2019 Cobham training fields in recent weeks while helping hone Lampard\u2019s keepers.<\/p>\n
At 38 Cech is younger than 39-year-old veteran stopper Willy Caballero, and will add extra cover in the Blues\u2019 league squad.<\/p>\n
Who knows quite how the struggling Kepa Arrizabalaga would have greeted that news, especially when coupled with a return to the bench given Mendy\u2019s return.<\/p>\n
Where Chelsea played fast and loose in the weekend\u2019s turbulent draw with Southampton though, here the Champions League Group E opener proved in the main insipid.<\/p>\n
Chelsea did manage to start the night brightly enough, with Reece James exploiting space on the right flank.<\/p>\n
Two half-chances came and went though, and Jorginho\u2019s cheap yellow card handed Sevilla a dangerous set-piece.<\/p>\n
Suso whipped in the cross and Nemanja Gudelj\u2019s header would have nestled in the net but for a deflection off Zouma that allowed Mendy to palm clear.<\/p>\n
Nothing encapsulated Chelsea\u2019s off-kilter first-half more than Timo Werner managing to overrun his own onwards header.<\/p>\n
As the ball dropped the wrong way, another smart James pass was wasted.<\/p>\n
Lucas Ocampos drilled low on goal after Zouma\u2019s miscued clearance, but Mendy was up to the challenge.<\/p>\n
Werner still had time to scuff a late effort in closing a lackluster half, before Chelsea headed for an obvious dissection of a frustrating showing.<\/p>\n
The hosts returned in brighter spirits, with Pulisic\u2019s switch to the left adding immediate balance.<\/p>\n
Zouma connected with a free header from a fine Chilwell corner, only for Gudelj\u2019s fortunate deflection remove the sting and gift goalkeeper Yassine Bounou a facile save.<\/p>\n
Another headed chance for Zouma quickly came and went, before the match again descended into a midfield muddle.<\/p>\n
Joan Jordan connected sweetly with a volley after a corner, only to see his dipping effort land the wrong side of Mendy\u2019s crossbar.<\/p>\n
Lampard by this stage had pitched Mateo Kovacic and Hakim Ziyech into the fray in a bid to inject some much-needed impetus.<\/p>\n
That tempo never increased however, leaving the Blues to lament a disjointed draw.<\/p>\n