William Gallas celebrated his first start of the season with a winning goal six minutes from time, his first Champions League goal since scoring for Marseille against Manchester United in 1999.

The first-half was not of the quality that people have come to expect from Champions League football. Chelsea settled first but didn’t maintain rhythm, and the referee was the most active participant.

Adrian Mutu’s towering header after two minutes from Glen Johnson’s volleyed lob-cross, rising high above a crowded Sparta defence, was only just wide. But at the other end big striker Gluscevic got behind Marcel Desailly to a Poborsky free-kick which Desailly had conceded, and headed the ball back into the area, but Chelsea cleared. It was messy stuff.

Both sides were giving the ball away too much, committing too many fouls and, in Chelsea’s case, getting caught offside too often. Mutu forced Sparta to give the ball away on 11 minutes, tackling back on midfielder Kovac, and Emmanuel Petit’s volleyed pass found Hernan Crespo who hit a diagonal left foot volley which Blazek held athletically at his near post. That got the away following singing the Argentine’s name.

But at the other end Carlo Cudicini had to show good hands to hold Labant’s driven free-kick as forwards ran in to put him under pressure.

By the 27th minute Chelsea had committed ten fouls and by the 33rd been caught offside five times. It was stop-start, stop-start. Neither side was able to build up a period of pressure.

There were good things, flicks by Crespo, occasional passes by Juan Sebastian Veron, but many of the best things were skills to get out of tight corners after under-hit passes or missed tackles.

With five minutes of the first-half left Chelsea were just edging things again, and Veron’s marvellous pass set Geremi racing up the right, but his cross was superbly intercepted by central defender Hubschuman as Mutu prepared to fire the trigger.

Right on half-time Kovac rose to a long Poborsky cross and headed just wide of the near post – a long cross causing problems again. Nil-nil was a justifiable interval score.

Mutu had suffered a knock on the ankle which he’d hurt in the first-half against Spurs, and he and Petit went off at half-time to be replaced by Frank Lampard and Damien Duff. Duff went to the left, Lampard to the centre, Veron pushed on and the shape became 4-4-1-1. Sparta had been playing 4-4-2 with Labant at left-back, and now switched Poborsky to the middle and brought striker Sionko on at right-midfield with injured Kovac withdrawing.

The Chelsea full-backs hadn’t got forward much in the first-half to give the team shape, but started to more now, and Johnson found Crespo six minutes in, but his attempted chip was easily blocked by Blazek’s hand.

At the other end another long Labant cross, from the right following a cleared corner, presented Jun with a free header which he badly misdirected from close range.

Sparta changed their left of midfield after 56 minutes, but it was Chelsea’s left two minutes later causing the danger. Duff got away from the slipping Petras on to Wayne Bridge’s pass and crossed dangerously and low, but central defender Johana intercepted superbly.

Sparta worked hard but got few people forward. Chelsea flicked and touched, twisted and spurted, and now with Lampard and Duff drove forward too. Yet there was never strong superiority. And when Veron’s delightful pass slipped Crespo away and the striker’s chip beat Blazek but was slackly wide the away fans started recalling Dennis Wise’s San Siro goal with fervour.

Poor Crespo was wide again when he chased another good Veron ball and fired hard with his left foot. He was working hard and not hiding and you felt quality would reward him in the end.

But there was to be not time and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink replaced him on 71 minutes. Eight minutes later Johana blocked crucially again, this time as Hasselbaink’s left foot met Claude Makelele’s crisp pass forwards.

Chelsea pushed on more and more and Sparta were only countering, mostly defending. In the end the long awaited goal came six minutes from time. Geremi had got round the back of the Sparta defence and won a corner. Duff took it and it was cleared back to him, he forced the room to cross again, coming inside on his left, Hasselbaink flicked it on and Gallas swept it in at the far post, a flashing finish.

Jezek replaced Labant immediately with Zboncak dropping to left-back. Desailly finished the game limping after picking up an ankle injury, playing on because Chelsea had used all our substitutes.

It wasn’t a great performance, but as the Chelsea choir sang as the teams took to the pitch: “Chelsea are back, Chelsea are back.”

M-O-T-M=Marcel Desailly