Drogba strengthens Chelsea grip

Didier Drogba scored his first hat-trick for Chelsea FC to seal a comfortable 3-1 win against PFC Levski Sofia, ensuring that Bulgaria's inaugural UEFA Champions League group match ended in disappointment for the home fans.

Chelsea domination
The English champions suffered a nervy opening but were soon in the ascendancy and proved too powerful for a determined Levski side. Drogba and Michael Ballack had already struck the woodwork when the Ivory Coast forward broke the deadlock before half-time. The second half proved equally one-sided as two more Drogba goals fired a rampant Chelsea to the top of Group A, and not even Maryan Ognyanov's late consolation could take the gloss off a comprehensive victory.

Telkiyski prominent
Looking to bounce back from their 5-0 defeat at FC Barcelona, the Bulgarian champions began in resolute fashion. With strikers Emil Angelov and Valeri Domovchiyski injured and Georgi Ivanov only fit enough for the bench, midfield pair Dimitar Telkiyski and Stanislav Angelov were handed the responsibility of supporting lone attacker Hristo Yovov. Telkiyski was prominent from the off, twice getting in behind Wayne Bridge but failing to deliver a telling cross.

Uncertain defence
Chelsea's defence seemed uncertain, and Ricardo Carvalho twice lost his footing on a slippery surface as the home pressure continued. Yovov flicked a header straight at Petr Čech on nine minutes, then nearly created a chance for himself moments later after stealing possession from John Terry on the edge of the area. The visitors slowly regained their composure, with John Obi Mikel showing nice touches on his full debut on the right of midfield. Levski almost gave them a goal on 15 minutes when centre-backs Elin Topuzakov and Igor Tomašić left the ball for each other, allowing Drogba to volley against the crossbar. Chelsea were cursing their luck again six minutes later, Ballack seeing his thunderous effort pushed on to the post by goalkeeper Georgi Petkov.

Sustained pressure
Levski were struggling to cope with Chelsea's sustained advances and eventually buckled on 39 minutes. Tomašić headed Paulo Ferreira's cross straight to Mikel and after his firm drive was acrobatically saved by Petkov, Drogba was on hand to drill home the rebound. Stanimir Stoilov's men were unable to gain any momentum at the beginning of the second period and Chelsea, sensing an opportunity, scored again seven minutes after the restart. Again Drogba did the damage, this time controlling the ball on his chest after Topuzakov had failed to intercept Bridge's centre and rifling a low left-footed shot through Petkov's hands.

Double save
Chelsea manager José Mourinho appeared to want more goals, sending on Salomon Kalou for Mikel, and he got his wish on 68 minutes when Drogba flicked in Frank Lampard's attempt from close range for his third. With the tie over as a contest, Levski stirred themselves in the closing stages and Čech had to produce an outstanding double stop from substitute Ivanov and Yovov. Chelsea replacement Arjen Robben twice came close to adding a fourth before Levski grabbed a consolation, Ognyanov racing on to a through-ball and drilling into the net in the final minute to register the first UEFA Champions League goal by a Bulgarian team.