Chelsea FC News: Lucky Drogba Free Kick Seals Win over Malaysia All-Stars

Chelsea kicked off their preseason tour of Asia with a 1-0 win over a Malaysian All-Stars team in front of 84,980 supporters in Kuala Lumpur, the biggest ever official attendance of a friendly match involving the Blues.

Despite dominating most of the match, it took a late, fortunate and controversial goal to give Chelsea the win. Manager Andre Villas-Boas again chose to play completely different sides in the first and second half, both combining a mix of youth and experience. However, it was a far from convincing performance against a weaker Malaysian side than the team that conceded six and then four goals against Liverpool and Arsenal respectively last week.

No. 1 goalkeeper Petr Cech and Brazilian defender Alex both sat out the match as they are still nursing minor injuries, but the rest of the big-name Chelsea stars all played 45 minutes.

Fernando Torres failed to impress as the main striker of the 4-3-3 formation used in the first half, remaining fairly quiet apart from one moment of brilliance where he nutmegged a defender as he turned before seeing his shot blocked. It was a moment of class that has rarely been seen from the Spaniard since his £50 million move, however, and it was the only bright spark of a poor performance.

Chelsea had a great chance to take the lead when Salomon Kalou went through on goal, but rather than shooting himself, he inexplicably tried to pass across goal to Frank Lampard who couldn't reach the pass; he would have been offside anyway. Dutch full-back Patrick Van Aanholt, on as a substitute for the injured Ryan Bertrand, had Chelsea's next best chance but his effort was saved by the Malaysian keeper.

Daniel Sturridge missed a great chance to score in the second half after being played through by John Obi Mikel, but his effort was saved. John Terry also had two headers from set pieces over the bar, but Chelsea struggled to break down their opponents, demonstrating why their creative target Luka  Modric's transfer from rivals Tottenham Hotspur needs to be sealed before the start of the Premier League campaign.

Despite Malaysia hardly threatening the Blues' goal for the entire match, Nathaniel Chalobah's careless pass across the face of his own goal gave them a great opportunity in which their striker shot narrowly wide of Ross Turnbull's goal.

Didier Drogba's 78th minute free kick, a similar effort to the goal that won Chelsea the FA Cup against Portsmouth in 2010, rebounded off the foot of the post before hitting the Malaysian keeper Mohd Izham Tarmizi on the back and crept towards the goal. His team protested furiously as the assistant referee gave a goal, and replays seemed to indicate that the ball did not fully cross the line.

Chelsea were almost left embarrassed as Thamil Arasu wasted a great chance to equalise, but the Blues held on for a second consecutive 1-0 win in preseason.

A display that brings more questions than answers about how Villas-Boas' team are going to line up for the Premier League opener against Stoke City on August 14th, the Blues will have to improve considerably if they are to start the season as expected. It is by no means panic time yet, but fans will expect to see a better performance against a Thailand All-Star side on Sunday.

Chelsea first half - Hilario, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Rajkovic, Bertrand (Van Aanholt 38), Benayoun,McEachran, Lampard, Kalou, Benayoun, Torres

Chelsea second half - Turnbull, Ferreira, Terry, Chalobah, Cole, Clifford, Mikel, Zhirkov, Anelka, Drogba, Sturridge