Galatasaray hold Chelsea 1-1 in Champions League

Ankara, Feb 27 (IANS) Chelsea kept Didier Drogba well-shackled in his first game against his former English club but Aurelien Chedjou's second-half goal earned Galatasaray a 1-1 draw in their last-16 Champions League football first-leg here Wednesday.

Chelsea dominated the opening 45 minutes but just had Fernando Torres' early goal as a reward, reports Xinhua.

However, Galatasaray's superstar Drogba took advantage of sloppy marking to find space in the box and steer home Wesley Sneijder's inswinging corner on 65 minutes to leave the tie evenly poised.

Torres had silenced a raucous home crowd when he fired Chelsea into a ninth-minute lead but the Premier League leaders could not press home their first-half dominance and the Turkish side improved markedly after the break.

Galatasaray manager Roberto Mancini, who won the Premier League in 2012 with Manchester City, said his side had deserved at least a draw.

In the other game of the night, Real Madrid romped to a 6-1 win at Schalke 04, virtually sealing the qualification.