UEFA Champions League: Chelsea Must Not Squander Gift Match with Racing Genk

It has been a rough week-and-a-half for the team from West London.

Chelsea fell to new boys QPR at Loftus Road after going down to nine men on October 23, only to see a police investigation come with. Captain John Terry allegedly made racist remarks to Queens Park Rangers defender, Anton Ferdinand.

The Blues then defeated Everton in the fourth round of the Carling Cup, but got news of the shareholders denying the club's push for a new 60,000-seat stadium.

On top of that, they saw Robin van Persie of Arsenal net a hat trick at Stamford Bridge en route to Arsenal's 5-3 defeat of the Blues.

Needless to say, two losses in three games and news of no new stadium is about as bad a 10-day stretch as any club with Chelsea's reputation could endure.

Thus, a trip to the Cristal Arena for their fourth match in the group phase of the 2011 UEFA Champions League is something they desperately need to win.

The last time the Blues took the pitch with Racing Genk, they blanked them for a 5-0 shutout in West London.

Today they took the pitch without Frank Lampard and captain John Terry in the starting XI, and their absence has already been felt.

24-year-old Brazilian midfielder Ramires gave the Blues a 1-0 lead off a nice pass from Spaniard Fernando Torres, but fellow 24-year-old Brazilian David Luiz had his penalty kick blocked by Genk keeper Laszlo Koteles.

Had Englishman Frank Lampard been on the pitch, it would likely have been his shot to take.

Chelsea isn't blowing the defending Belgian League champions out of the water yet, but they have dominated the ball for nearly 65 percent of the match.

The Blues need something to get them back on their feet after the week they've had.

They'll be back on the pitch in only four days at Ewood Park for a league match with Blackburn before earning a two-week rest that ends with Liverpool visiting Stamford Bridge on November 20th.

A win here (it is currently only halftime), pushing the Blues further towards a spot in the Final 16 of the UEFA Champions league, would be a solid consolation prize to end a miserable week.

The Blues cannot afford to blow this opportunity. If they do, they'll have too much time to think about it starting on November 5th.