Captain John Terry ended Roma's stubborn resistance with a second-half matchwinner at Stamford Bridge.He headed home from Frank Lampard's 77th-minute corner to keep Luiz Felipe Scolari's side top of Champions League Group A.
Roma, struggling in the lower reaches of Serie A, were not expected to upset Chelsea's European momentum but they almost did so with a dogged defensive display that nearly earned them a share of the spoils.
The opening few minutes saw Chelsea enjoy the lion's share of possession with the impish Deco pulling the strings in midfield. But eight minutes elapsed before Chelsea mustered their first real attempt on goal via a 20-yard volley from Lampard which Doni dealt with effectively.
That apart, there was little sign of the beautiful game which Scolari desired as the home side were largely frustrated by the visitors.
In the 21st minute a rare attacking drive from John Mikel Obi brought a booking for Philippe Mexes when he brought the Nigerian crashing down on the edge of the penalty area. But Lampard saw his effort cannon into the crowd after flicking the angle of the post and bar.
Roma were more than happy to stop Chelsea trying to play their way through the middle with Alberto Aquilani particularly impressive.
It required a superb tackle by Terry to prevent Matteo Brighi opening the scoring in the 35th minute. Terry dived in to deflect the ball for a corner after a fine piece of skill from Francesco Totti had set up Brighi.
Scolari was incensed four minutes before the interval when Deco was brought down on the edge of the penalty area but the referee opted to let the home side play on.
Scolari replaced Florent Malouda at the interval with Juliano Belletti and he immediately sent a 20-yard drive high into the crowd.
Roma were forced to make a change on the hour when Aquilani suffered a hamstring injury and was replaced by Simone Perrotta.
The Italians were happy to settle for a point and, with Totti offering a solo option in attack, the onus was on Chelsea to make the breakthrough, which almost arrived in the 67th minute when a 20-yard shot from Mikel was deflected over the bar by Anelka.
But the deadlock was finally broken by England captain Terry in the 77th minute when he slipped his marker and headed Lampard's corner into the net. Lampard almost made it two in the 83rd minute but Doni tipped his free-kick over the bar.
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