csconstantine.com

By Philip O’Connor

COPENHAGEN, Feb 23 (Reuters) - The gulf in class and resources evident in FC Copenhagen’s 2-0 defeat by Chelsea showed that while the Danes have displaced Rosenborg as top dog in Scandinavia they are not about to threaten Europe’s elite.

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti had to decide which member of his 90 million pounds ($145.8 million) strike force to leave out of Tuesday’s Champions League clash and opted for Fernando Torres and Nicolas Anelka up front, with Didier Drogba rested.

In contrast, the Italian’s opposite number Stale Solbakken had little alternative beyond his starting pairing of Brazilian Cesar Santin and Senegalese Dame N’Doye.

Santin cost the Danish champions about $1.8 million when he signed from Swedish club Kalmar in 2008—less than one fortieth of what Chelsea paid Liverpool to bring Spain forward Torres to Stamford Bridge.

Danish international Martin Vingaard, who registered Copenhagen’s first shot on target after replacing Santin at the break, pointed to the gulf in striking class as decisive.

“When the game was being decided in the two penalty areas, they showed they are sharper,” he told reporters.

It is goals that have proved the problem for Copenhagen in this competition.

Anelka’s two strikes on the night brought his tally in this season’s Champions League to seven, which is how many the entire Copenhagen team have managed.

The winter break in Danish football has not helped, with Solbakken’s side looking sloppy and sluggish throughout the game. There was no sign of the slick, organised unit that had secured a draw at home to Barcelona back in November.

Without a competitive game since the beginning of December, Copenhagen tried to secure a high-profile friendly against top-class opposition but could not get anything arranged and had to settle for a selection of modest Nordic teams.

Though Copenhagen should improve as their league season resumes before the second leg in London on March 16, clawing back the 2-0 deficit away from home will almost certainly prove too much for the team that dominates Denmark’s domestic scene.

(Editing by Kevin Fylan. To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Labels: Copenhagen, options, Reuters, striking, suffer