Napoli pile pressure on Villas-Boas with 3-1 win

Published on Wednesday 22 February 2012 00:06

Chelsea lurched to another defeat to leave them in real danger of crashing out of the Champions League against Napoli.

Andre Villas-Boas’ Blues produced more poor defending to throw away yet another lead to deservedly lose their last-16 first leg 3-1, with an Ezequiel Lavezzi brace sandwiching a controversial Edinson Cavani goal.

Juan Mata had given Chelsea the lead with what they will be desperately hoping proves a vital away goal.

To compound Chelsea’s misery, before the game they learned that captain John Terry faces up to two months on the sidelines after aggravating his knee injury,. Terry is due to undergo what is understood to be a small procedure on the right knee that has been troubling him ever since he collided with a post in last month’s FA Cup clash with Portsmouth.

Villas-Boas had been hoping the 31-year-old would recover in time for the clash against Napoli. But, despite taking part in training on the eve of the match, the England centre-back woke up in considerable pain at Chelsea’s team hotel this morning.

As well as being ruled out of club duty for the foreseeable future, Terry will also miss next week’s international friendly against Holland.

In last night’s other last-16 clash, a last-minute strike by CSKA Moscow newcomer Pontus Wernbloom snatched a 1-1 draw for the Russian side at home to Real Madrid. Cristiano Ronaldo had earlier given the Spaniards the lead.

lManchester City striker Carlos Tevez last night apologised “sincerely and unreservedly” for his conduct in recent months. The Argentine has also withdrawn his appeal against City’s fine of six weeks’ wages for gross misconduct, which was due to be heard by the Premier League in the coming days.

Tevez sparked a dispute with the club when he refused to warm up during the Champions League loss at Bayern Munich in September and then spent more than three months in Argentina without permission. The 28-year-old reported back to the club last week after failing to secure a move during the January transfer window and now wants to fight for a place in the team.

Logged in as:

Comment here. Start typing your comment here:

Post comment

Please adhere to our Community guidelines

Your view

Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.