Defending champions Chelsea are out of the Champions League after failing in the group stage despite a big win against Nordsjaelland at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, making it the first holders to exit in the group stage.
[PHOTOS OF CHELSEA VS NORDSJAELLAND]
Chelsea defeated Nordsjaelland with a 6-1 margin and Fernando Torres finally struck twice but that was not enough to take the Blues to the next level after Juventus beat Shakhtar Donetsk in another match. Both the teams finished with 10 points but Juventus sailed through with their away-goals advantage.
The exit came at a time when Chelsea is hit by controversies and poor form. Roberto di Matteo was unceremoniously sacked as the club manager last month just 263 days after taking up the mettle from Andre Villas-Boas. He was shown the doors after the humiliating 0-3 loss to Juventus in a UEFA Champions group match.
The club that won FA Cup and Champions League this year is in sorry state of late, and interim coach Rafa Benitez must be having sleepless nights following poor performance of the team. He has not tasted a single win since taking up the responsibility from di Matteo last month. The Blues drew with Manchester City and Fulham, and lost to West Ham United 1-3, slipping to third position in the Premier League table.
Wednesday's exit from Champions League would come as a demoraliser for the defending champions who lifted the cup just a few months ago.
Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech said after the exit from the Champions League that the players should be blamed for the poor performance and not the new manager.
"Unfortunately if you change your manager, you only change the manager. But the responsibility is on everyone," Reuters quoted Cech as saying. "We are all in the same boat, the manager and the players. The responsibility is the same for everyone. You are a team."
