ANELKA WINS DRAB ENCOUNTER IN PORTO

IT was a case of job done for Chelsea.

A tough trip to Porto, a 1-0 win and another goal for Nicolas Anelka, his third of this season's competition.

Now move on to Sunday and that big Premier League showdown with Arsenal because this was a largely forgettable encounter, particularly during a dire first half.

Michael Ballack's deflected attempt was the only real chance Carlo Ancelotti's side could muster while Porto at least hit the woodwork through Fernando Belluschi's 25-yarder.

Watched by a sparse crowd, Porto rarely managed to cut through Chelsea's well-drilled defence and the half-time whistle was most welcome.

At least the Blues started the second half with more purpose as Deco, given a decent reception from the Porto fans, shot just wide.

A goal finally arrived when Yuri Zhirkov fed Florent Malouda and his cross allowed fellow Frenchman Anelka to stoop to conquer in clinical fashion.

Petr Cech was only called into serious action once after then, keeping out Ernesto Farias's shot, so Chelsea win the group with one game still to play.

"It's always going to be difficult coming here, they are a very good side with good players," Terry told Sky Sports. "I thought we dealt well with it and did what we had to do.

"We looked confident, we're playing with confidence. We've got some tough games coming up, we need to regroup now and make sure we're sharp for Arsenal.

"It was a good performance."

• NICOLAS ANELKA'S SMILES BETTER

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