Chelsea made harder work than necessary of a second Champions League Group D win as they beat Apoel Nicosia.
Nicolas Anelka steered home a precise angled strike just inside the far post to open the scoring.
Chelsea were in control but nearly paid the price for not adding to their lead when Savvas Poursaetides' deflected shot was saved by Petr Cech's legs.
Constantinos Charalambides also headed a far post header agonisingly high late on for Apoel as Chelsea held on.
It ended in unconvincing fashion for the visitors as it seemed they let complacency get the better of them.
They were far superior to their Cypriot rivals but - after their domination of the first half - stepped off the gas and almost gave the vociferous home fans an unlikely cause for celebration.read more
