ABRAMOVICH (LONDON) 2: 0 ABRAMOVICH (MOSCOW)

LONDON/MOSCOW, 21 October. (RIA Novosti sports commentator Mikhail Smirnov) - In the space of thirteen days, Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea FC and the oil giant Sibneft, which sponsors the Moscow soccer team CSKA, will have to watch two Champions' League encounters between the two sides. The first match in England ended in a 2:0 win for Mr. Abramovich's London side. However, the majority of football experts are inclined to believe that both Chelsea and CSKA will make it through to the next stage of the competition, which means that he will have the opportunity to continue following the ambitions of both Londoners and Muscovites.

Three conditions need to be fulfilled for this to happen. Chelsea, who already have nine points in the group stage and have all but booked themselves a place in the next round, must come away from the November 2 match in Moscow with at least a point and then beat Paris St. Germain and Porto. Porto should then claim at least a draw against PSG. Then the Muscovites, who already have four points, will only have to beat the Portuguese at home to avoid a decider in Paris. This is a realistic scenario given that Chelsea and CSKA are playing better than their rivals in the group.

The London match proved this point. In point of fact, the aggression and energy the guests displayed in the first half probably unnerved the Chelsea training staff to some extent. But, the home side's ability to take full advantage of set pieces proved to be the undoing of the Russians. Despite the latter's territorial dominance and ability to keep possession, Chelsea went into the break two goals up. So Abramovich's box was a sea of tranquility and the team closed out the match without any problems.

Right after the match, CSKA coach Valery Gazzayev told RIA Novosti, "It hurts to lose such a match." He mentioned that three key players - Jiri Jarosik, Ivica Olic and Rolan Gusev - were all out injured, but promised that Chelsea would have a hard time in Moscow. The coach said that the London team had put up a very good defensive display, with goalkeeper Petr Cech making two or three remarkable saves, and that the home players had taken the two chances they had.

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho said he was happy with the result and acknowledged that CKSA were the better side in the first half. He also said that his side had no intention of slackening off in the remaining Champions' League fixtures despite the lead it had over the others. CSKA, Porto and PSG will all be vying for second place, and so we could leave Moscow empty handed, the Chelsea coach said. He added that his players had to respect the club and other teams.

They will soon have the chance to prove this.