A Chilly Eurpoean Night Freezes Chelsea's Chances To Qualify.

A late fall evening in the south of France froze the beleaguered legs of Chelsea on their way to the knockout round of Europe's premier club competition on Wednesday night.

Chelsea took on an eager Bordeaux side ahead of matchday six, where the close race in Group A will decided who goes forth and who will compete for a spot in the EUFA Cup.

Chelsea, who came out and thumped Laurent Blanc's side back on matchday one, were heavy favorites going into this match. However, after having being thrashed by Roma 3-1 in their last match, the doubts that this would turn into a draw or even a loss found substantial support.

The first half of play saw Bordeaux testing the remarkable skill of Chelsea's net minder, Petr Cech. Shot after shot came his way early in the match and forced the Chelsea back four to work overtime.

The game remained one-sided until after the first half when the Chelsea first team decided to finally come out of the dressing room.

One rampant issue that ran against the Blues was the consistent offside calls that were brought against Anelka.

Service from the wings was uncalculated at best as the French side continued to hold off the Lions until late in the second half.

Nicolas Anelka would finally receive a break at the 60th minute when Lampard played the ball into the path of Anelka, who would run in it and break the scoring open for Chelsea. The goal itself was a stroke of luck on the part of Anelka. A tad bit more pressure would have pushed him off the ball, and better positioning by Mathieu Valverde would have been the end of the only chance that Chelsea had the entire game.

A high shot over the bar by Frank Lampard would be the only other real chance that Chelsea would have in the match, despite the introduction of Drogba at the 63rd minute.

After the goal, Chelsea seemed to have retained some spark but it was quickly doused by Alou Diarra, the former Liverpool player. A well placed piece of corner service from Bordeaux at the 82nd minute drew a header from the captain as he stunned a flat-footed Chelsea with a textbook leaping header.

The goal would seal the deal and tie the game, squandering Chelsea's chance to get the go ahead nod for the knockout stages.

Looking ahead to the matchday six, Chelsea clearly have the advantage over CFR Cluj, while Bordeaux travel to Italy to face Roma. Chelsea will be without Frank Lampard who was sent off in the 86th minute.