Grant upbeat despite Chelsea´s Istanbul Champions League loss

2 April 2008 23:03

Onder Turaci(R) Fenerbahce Istanbul fights for the ball with Didier Drogba of Chelsea during their Champions League quarter-final, first-leg soccer match at the Sukru Saracoglu in Istanbul. Fenerbahce won 2-1.

ISTANBUL (AFP) - Avram Grant insists Chelsea can still reach the Champions League semi-finals despite watching Colin Kazim-Kazim take the fizz out of his side's quarter-final first leg against Fenerbahce.

Grant's team seemed to be cruising towards the last four as Deivid's own goal gifted them an early lead at the Sukru Saracoglu stadium. But Fenerbahce, inspired by Kazim-Kazim, staged a remarkable second half revival.

Kazim-Kazim came off the bench to equalise before Deivid completed his transformation from villian to hero with a stunning winner nine minutes from full-time.

Chelsea had been in complete control until the equaliser and will have left Istanbul wondering how on earth they squandered such a commanding position.

Now they have it all to do in the return at Stamford Bridge next Tuesday, but Grant is convinced they will go through if they produce a similar level of performance.

"I haven't spoken to the players yet but the message will be we need to win the next game," Grant said. "We play at home in the second leg, we can win this game.

"It is a fact that we lost but the most important thing is to be in the next round. We can do it. If we have this performance in the second leg it will be good.

"We are at home and we need to win even though Fenerbahce are a good team. This is not the best result but it is not a bad result."

The bitter memory of Champions League semi-final defeats in three of the last four seasons has made Chelsea desperate to reach the final in Moscow this year.

They will have to work harder than expected to achieve that dream now. But Grant was adamant his side should have won convincingly.

"We played such good football we deserved to win 3 or 4-0. That would have been the normal result. Then one minute of sleeping and they are back in the game," he said.

After Deivid turned Florent Malouda's cross into his own net in the 13th minute, Chelsea dominated to such an extent that it seemed the only question was how many goals they would win by.

Michael Essien hit the crossbar and Didier Drogba's ferocious shot was parried by Volkan Demirel, who then raced off his line to tackle the Ivorian when Michael Ballack sent him clear just before half-time.

Ballack was denied by Demirel early in the second half but then Fenerbahce coach Zico sent on Kazim-Kazim.

Ricardo Carvalho went to sleep in the 64th minute when Mehmet Aurelio's pass picked out Kazim-Kazim, who lashed a fine strike past Carlo Cudicini.

Ballack missed again moments later and how costly it proved when Deivid beat Carlo Cudicini with an unstoppable 30-yard shot nine minutes from full-time.

Kazim-Kazim, 21, was the most unlikely of heroes for Fenerbahce. Known as Kazim-Richards during his time in England with Bury, Brighton and Sheffield United, he changed his name when he moved to Istanbul last year.

The Turkey striker's most notable contribution to English football was to be signed by Brighton when a fan donated the 250,000 pounds transfer fee after winning a Coca Cola competition.

Now his influential cameo has left the game's most expensively assembled squad in danger of another European let-down.

Zico said: "Colin is getting used to the team and our play slowly. He is a quality player. When he can handle the adaption problems he has had he will be a great asset.

"That is what I'm trying to help him with. In the forthcoming days he will contribute a lot to Fenerbahce and the Turkish national team.

Fenerbahce have never been this far in the competition before. Now they are within touching distance of a semi-final against Liverpool or Arsenal.

Zico laughed off Grant's claim that Chelsea should have won easily and insisted the pressure was all on the Blues now.

"I believe there is no normal score in a match. The score is the one when the match finishes. If you don't take your chances you won't get the result you want. We managed to take our chances and got the result we wanted," he said.

"In the second match if they win 1-0 they go through. But there is one truth. Chelsea has to come forward to beat us in London. This is an advantage for us because we also go looking for a goal."