Napoli have had the best of the chances in the early going and have put Chelsea on the back foot, but the Blues have taken an early lead at Stadio San Paolo thanks to some poor defending and a terrible error by defender Paolo Cannavaro. The Blues have their away goal through Juan Mata very much against the run of play, and lead 1-0 in the first half.
Napoli Vs. Chelsea, 2012 UEFA Champions League: Juan Mata Goal Has Blues Ahead
In the 27th minute, Daniel Sturridge played a ball into the penalty area that didn't have any clear targets. Incredibly, Cannavaro failed to deal with it and it took an odd deflection off his head. That deflection caused the ball to land right into the path of Juan Mata, who suddenly had a one-on-one with Morgan de Sanctis. He buried the chance, and Chelsea have a lead that is very surprising based on the way the game started.
For more on the Blues, head over to Chelsea FC blog We Ain’t Got No History.
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